Food Is the Prescription, and Food Pharmacies Could Be the Way to Better Health

The world is full of health-hungry people, and it’s not restricted to food but quality food that is healthy and protects us from deadly disorders and death. Food is not simply a means to sustain life and a pleasure we enjoy. It is an essential component of our health.

Ignoring food’s role in health denies its benefits and risks related to the lack of it. The current expression is not just implying that food is a pharmaceutical (which it would appear to be) but that prescribing food is a medical necessity.

The long-term effects of COVID-19 are adding to the yearly death toll from diet-related chronic diseases in the US, which already stands at about one million. In the United States, malnutrition and chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease (CVD), obesity, and certain malignancies are closely linked to poor dietary habits, making them the primary cause of death.

Among individuals in the United States, about 40% have pre-diabetes, and 11.3% have diabetes; most of these instances are type 2 diabetes. Around 37% of the U.S. population, or 126.9 million people aged 20 and more, will be living with cardiovascular disease in 2022. In 2021, there were 695,000 fatalities in the United States because of CVD, making it the top cause of death for both men and women.

Food Pharmacies

The food pharmacy is one new program model that aims to improve people’s diets by expanding their access to and consumption of healthy foods, especially produce. According to the available studies on the food pharmacy model’s effectiveness, these programs have helped patients better understand nutrition and overcome obstacles to healthy eating. As a result, they may have a major influence on health outcomes connected to diet.

Nevertheless, there has been a dearth of thorough research techniques and limited efforts to assess these programs’ efficacy. To properly evaluate the long-term impacts of food pharmacy programs on healthy eating and diet-related health outcomes, additional study is required. But the current evidence provides more than food for thought on the topic. How is this concept implemented?

Therapeutic meals are meals specifically designed to meet medical needs, and the food as medicine initiative also includes prescriptions for healthy food, produce, and other foods. They are usually supported by healthcare, the government, or charitable organizations, administered by clinicians through the healthcare system, and patients pay nothing or very little for them. But these programs are limited to specific areas of the world.

Researchers identified 32 papers in the literature examining food as medicine interventions using a PubMed database search and by polling a network of international colleagues. Several instances were located in other Western countries, although the majority were in the US. Other countries that contributed were Canada, the UK, and Australia. Brazil, Mexico, Germany, Ireland, and Finland did not have any. Philanthropic funding, rather than institutional or organizational backing, was crucial for the majority of activities. Statistics on the health effects of food-as-medicine programs were inconsistently available in the scholarly literature, reflecting these endeavors’ relative newness.

How Do They Work?

Located in Boston Medical Center! Founded in 2001, the Food Pantry dedicates itself to assisting low-income patients in overcoming nutrition-related illnesses and undernourishment. The Food Pantry serves as a bridge between patients and healthcare providers such as dietitians and doctors. Doctors at BMC clinics provide food prescriptions to improve patient health. Patients having cancer, HIV/AIDS, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and other long-term illnesses frequently visit the Pantry.

When it comes to nutrition, the goal of the food pharmacies at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is to help families struggling to put food on the table. They strive to ensure that families have access to the food and financial resources they require by providing direct grocery delivery to their homes and offering one-on-one resource navigation. Grocery delivery, financial consulting, and free fruit markets are a few of the programs provided because of partnerships with local businesses and organizations. Families who sign up for the Food Pharmacy program get free groceries for six months.

Another program that integrates medicine and food is at Tufts University. The Food Is Medicine launched this university-wide initiative at Tufts University’s Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. Its goal is to improve health care by implementing scalable food-based interventions. Interventions include nutritional meals, doctor education, and improved clinical care for diet-related illnesses.

The University of Utah Health’s response to food insecurity is the Food Pharmacy program. This initiative is a component of the larger Driving Out Diabetes effort. In late summer of 2020, the program was initially offered. Its goal is to help those in the community who are food insecure and dealing with long-term health issues related to nutrition.

The food pharmacy is a trailer that can be moved and has all the necessary equipment for food service. Patients with a meal prescription from their clinician have access to a large selection of nutritious food options held by the pharmacy.

Eligible individuals with valid referrals or prescriptions can pick up meals from the trailer at two sites during business hours.

The value of nutritious foods and meals cannot be overstated as we see the relationship between nutrition and disorders of physical and mental health. In addition to providing healthful foods, these programs also encourage people to educate themselves regarding what they should eat; in addition, the programs, in the long run, can save government money on treating illnesses resulting from poor nutrition. One of the prime examples of these illnesses is obesity worldwide, which is of prime importance in health and medicine.