Dr. Falquier's Culinary Medicine Journey
“It is amazing what can come from truly listening to yourself.”
Apply for CCMS Now!Sabrina A. Falquier, MD, CCMS, DipABLM
My curiosity and introduction to medicine came, as it did for many of us, from a personal experience.
When I was a teenager I required surgery that questioned my ability to be an athlete, which at that time was a competitive figure skater, and defined who I was tremendously. I experienced different bedside manners was fascinated and inspired by one of the doctors, whom I’m still in touch with today. My physical abilities were not compromised with the surgery, I’m happy to say.
Fast forward about 30 years…. I followed a very traditional route and worked in primary care for almost 16 years. By that point, I had met my incredible husband (20-year anniversary coming up), and we went on to have two fantastic children, who are now teenagers.
Dr. Sabrina Falquier's Clinical BackgroundSomewhere after about 12 years of working in primary care, I noticed I was telling myself and others that life was “fine.”
There seemed to be this routine to life that was helpful in many ways yet something did not feel complete, a feeling of wow – this life is it? In 2016 I learned about Culinary Medicine at a conference and actually cried during the keynote speaker.
There was this awakening in me of a passion and uniting of my love of cooking and food and my career in medicine.
As soon as I returned from that conference, I found places where Culinary Medicine was taking place in San Diego, California, where I’m based. That passion fueled me going back to school for four years to get board-certified in both Culinary Medicine and Lifestyle Medicine.
I began implementation of Culinary Medicine into patient care right away, yet, my passion for this field was beyond the boundaries of my medical group. I took a giant leap of faith and started my own company, Sensations Salud, LLC in 2020 and left direct patient care in 2021.
What is a Certified Culinary Medicine Specialist?
The Certified Culinary Medicine Specialist (CCMS) designation identifies clinicians who have a unique foundation for incorporating healthy eating into patients’ diets: comprehensive knowledge of nutrition and the culinary techniques to prepare food that is consistent with real-world budgets, time constraints, and nutritional ideals.
The obesity and cardiometabolic risk epidemics are running rampant in the United States. With 69% of adults identified as overweight or obese and the typical American diet exceeding the recommended intake levels for fat, sugar, refined grains, and sodium2, the need for healthcare practitioners to actively engage patients on issues related to diet is greater than ever.
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Certified Culinary Medicine Specialist
I now do education and consulting locally, nationally and internationally. I host the podcast: Culinary Medicine Recipe, am a professor at three universities, work with multiple community groups, both in English and Spanish, and have leadership roles both on a local and national level. Not every day is easy and there are so many new skill sets I never thought I would be learning at this stage of my career. Yet, I feel fully alive and fully myself with full agency over my career and life path. I truly believe that has helped me AND the people I work with to be given permission to be their full selves too.
The visual I describe of my transition is going from the “sterile” environment with the white coat and grey and muted colors of medical offices to a peacock with rainbow color feathers. Culinary Medicine gave me the space to find my full self and I am truly grateful.
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