Zest: The Health meets Food Newsletter
July/August 2024
Zest. It says a lot about what the folks who are involved with Culinary Medicine are about. People connected with the Culinary Medicine movement have just that: a zest for life, learning, and teaching.
Zest evokes the excitement and passion that is happening at the intersection of where health meets food.
A new ACCM GME Committee led by Jaclyn Albin, MD, CCMS will soon launch and is recruiting members!
Goals: The committee will assess current resources and approaches for culinary medicine education in GME, develop recommended integration strategies and best practices, and define areas for strategic growth.
Members: We are recruiting members representing a balance of experience and variety of specialties and practice areas, including:
- Physicians leading GME programs
- Physicians leading nutrition education/culinary medicine programs for medical learners
- RDNs leading nutrition/culinary medicine programs or educating medical learners
- Culinary experts/chefs engaged in educating medical learners
- Nutrition research or educational assessment experts
Interested?
To apply, please fill out the form at this link:
https://culinarymedicine.org/ninja-forms/15nv8q/
The form has questions regarding a brief overview of your current role(s), background, needs, and ideas. Please respond by Friday, August 16.
The committee members will be announced the following week.
Culinary Medicine Research and News
There and Back Again: A Forty-Year Perspective on Physician Nutrition Education
Medical education faces an urgent need for evidence-based physician nutrition education. Since the publication of the 1985 National Academies report “Nutrition Education in the United States Medical Schools,” little has changed. Although several key efforts sought to increase nutrition content in undergraduate medical education over the past 40 y, most medical schools still fail to include the recommended minimum of 25 h of nutrition training. Without foundational concepts of nutrition in undergraduate medical education, graduate medical education unsurprisingly falls short of meeting patient needs for nutritional guidance in clinical practice. Meanwhile, diet-sensitive chronic diseases continue to escalate, although largely preventable and treatable by nutritional therapies and dietary lifestyle changes. Fortunately, recent recognition and adoption of Food is Medicine programs across the country increasingly connect patients with healthy food resources and nutrition education as core to their medical care, and physicians must be equipped to lead these efforts alongside their dietitian colleagues. Filling the gap in nutrition training will require an innovative and interprofessional approach that pairs nutrition with personal wellness, interprofessional practice, and community service learning. The intersectional benefits of connecting these domains will help prepare future physicians to address the social, behavioral, and lifestyle determinants of health in a way that recognizes nourishing food access as a core part of clinical practice. There are numerous strategies to integrate nutrition into education pathways, including didactic and experiential learning. Culinary medicine, an evidence-based field combining the culinary arts with nutritional science and medicine, is 1 promising educational framework with a hands-on, interprofessional approach that emphasizes community engagement. Advancing the critical need for widespread adoption of nutrition education for physicians will require support and engagement across societal stakeholders, including co-leadership from registered dietitian nutritionists, health system and payor reform, and opportunities for clinical innovation that bring this essential field to frontline patient care.
The importance of culinary and lifestyle medicine education to combat the growing burden of chronic disease is gaining recognition in the United States. However, few medical schools offer in-depth training with a 4-year longitudinal track. The Culinary and Lifestyle Medicine Track (CLMT) is a 4-year curriculum thread created at West Virginia University School of Medicine to address the need for comprehensive culinary and lifestyle medicine education. CLMT teaches concepts of healthy nutrition, physical activity, stress management, and restorative sleep. CLMT students complete approximately 300 h of in-person and virtual culinary and lifestyle medicine education, including hands-on teaching kitchens, distributed over the preclinical and clinical years. Students are selected into the track prior to matriculation after an application and interview process. The students have exceeded expectations for scholarly and community activity. Track graduates have entered into primary care as well as specialty and surgical residencies, demonstrating that lifestyle education plays a role for students interested in a wide range of careers. Exit survey responses from learners reflected tangible and intangible benefits of participation and offered constructive feedback for improvement. Presented here are the components of the curricular design, implementation, and initial outcomes.
UAMS Collaborates with Little Rock School to Promote Healthy Cooking
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences’ (UAMS) Center for the Study of Obesity collaborated with UAMS Culinary Medicine to pilot a cooking demonstration project at Chicot Elementary and Early Childhood Center in the Little Rock School District (LRSD).
Robert C. Byrd Clinic doubles enrollment for successful FARMacy program launch in Lewisburg
“We are incredibly grateful for the overwhelming response to this year’s FARMacy program,” said Amy Jasperse, RPh, CDCES, CCMS (Organizer of the event and head of the Culinary Medicine and Diabetes Education programs at the Robert C. Byrd Clinic). “Doubling our enrollment demonstrates the growing need for such initiatives, and we’re excited to witness the positive impact it will have on our patients’ health.”
Doctor at Yale shares tips to eating healthy
Living a healthy life starts in the kitchen and Dr. Nate Wood, Director of Culinary Medicine at the Yale School of Medicine, is more than qualified to give a few tips.
With so much information swirling around online and in books, how are everyday consumers supposed to know what’s real and what’s not?
Springfield-area women making a difference in improving health for everyone
Dr. Stacy Sattovia is professor of internal medicine. She received the award for her work in culinary medicine, a discipline that combines the art of food and cooking with the sciences of nutrition, medicine and healing. Her team’s work has created great enthusiasm among our students.
Sowela to offer evidence-based culinary medicine program
“Food is a central focus in Louisiana, and the culture and tradition of Cajun cuisine is known throughout the world,” said Sowela Chancellor Neil Aspinwall. “However, the act of choosing and preparing food can have positive as well as negative effects on individual health. The addition of a Culinary Medicine concentration into our regular culinary program allows the College to help promote healthy lifestyles through the science of nutrition and food preparation.”
The 5 biggest weight loss myths that ‘need to die,’ according to an obesity doctor
It’s no surprise that weight loss myths and get-thin-quick gimmicks are rampant. Dr. Nisha Patel, medical director of the Obesity Medicine and Metabolic Health Program within the transplant department at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, recently took to social media to dispel five such falsities that “need to die.” She breaks down each with Fortune.
Delicious & Nutritious Food for Better Health
How UT Southwestern Medical Center’s Culinary Medicine Program empowers people to have a thriving relationship with the food they eat.
Save the Date for Health meets Food: The Culinary Medicine Conference 2025!
The 2024 Culinary Medicine conference was amazingly successful and we are looking forward to a great conference in 2025.
The conference will take place in June 5 through June 8, 2025 in the Washington, DC metro area.
There will be an online streaming option using a virtual conference platform that will allow for a conference experience including lectures, expert panels, culinary skills-building programming and small group interactions with your colleagues.
FRIDAY: REBOOT OF FUNDAMENTAL KNOWLEDGE
Friday programming will focus on the Food Safety and explore the fundamental information around safety of food in the supply chain, diagnosing and treating food borne illness, and contaminants in our food.
SATURDAY: CHALLENGES IN CULINARY MEDICINE
Saturday programming will explore the intersection of women’s health, food and nutrition. Topics will include an exploration of the role of women in nutrition research as well as nutrition and PCOS and nutrition and menopause.
During this year’s culinary skills building sessions we will explore the challenges our vulnerable patients face with cooking great healthy food using a variety of pre-selected ingredients. Teams will create and share recipes with other conference participants in the afternoon sessions.
SUNDAY: LOOKING TO THE HORIZON – FOOD FOR THOUGHT
What are the current issues and impact of nutrition in the food supply chain and how is this affecting our planet?
Featured Speaker: Health meets Food: The Culinary Medicine Conference 2025
Barbara Kowlacyk, PhD
Milken Institute School of Public Health
Dr. Kowlacyk currently serves as Chair of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Science Board and has served on numerous other advisory committees, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Board of Scientific Counselors Food Safety Modernization Act Surveillance Working Group. She also co-authored a report by the National Academy of Sciences that became the blueprint for the Act, signed by President Barack Obama in 2011, that was the first major reform of food oversight at the FDA since 1938.
“For over 20 years, I have worked to put in place risk-informed, systems-based approaches to food safety. At GW, these efforts will expand to include nutrition security, which considers equitable access to safe, nutritious and affordable food that promotes health and well-being. Too often, efforts to improve food safety, nutrition and food security are siloed, leading to unintended consequences. This new Center will advance integrated approaches to addressing existing and emerging food safety and nutrition security problems in the U.S. and abroad.”
She received a B.A. in Mathematics from University of Dayton in 1991 and an M.A. in Applied Statistics from the University of Pittsburgh in 1993. She went on to earn a Ph.D. in Environmental Health (Epidemiology/Biostatistics) from the University of Cincinnati in 2011.
Monthly Spotlight: Advisory Board Member
By: Karen Joseph, MPH
Name: Amy Moyer
Profession: PT Assistant Professor, Accredited Programs Coordinator, Director of Culinary Medicine at UNC
Location: Greensboro, NC
What’s your favorite ingredient?
Basil and cilantro because they pair well with almost everything I cook.
What’s your least favorite ingredient?
Warm goat cheese. I can’t!
What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
I draw inspiration from food magazines like Southern Living and Bake from Scratch – both feed my love for baking.
What turns you off?
Having to rely on the same 10 recipes; it feels like getting stuck in a culinary rut.
What’s your favorite recipe or meal?
A light, fresh vegetable pasta dish- especially one with a light, non-cream-based sauce.
What culinary flavor(s) or aroma(s) do you love?
That’s easy. Greek and Mediterranean cuisine hands down! Especially dishes like Fattoush – the colors, sweet onions, fresh cucumbers, creamy feta plus the brightness of the kalamata olives, tomatoes and balsamic vinegar – it’s got everything!
What culinary flavor(s) or aroma(s) leave you feeling “uninspired”?
Anything with lamb; No judgment. I’m just not a big meat eater.
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
Running a small café where I live on the premises.
What profession would you not like to do?
Accountant, because I need to be moving around and would lose my mind if I had to sit still at a desk all day.
Julia Child invites you to a pot luck dinner with James Beard and Aguste Escoffier, what dish would you take?
I’d bring a deep dish fruit pie or cobbler – scrumptious desserts AND they have nutritional value!
The Culinary Medicine Roundtable: Past, Present and Future Recording
The recording of this past month’s roundtable is now available for viewing.
After registering you will be enrolled in the course and materials for the roundtable will be available to you. The topic is Culinary Medicine: Past, Present and Future. Speakers from across the country who are active in the Culinary Medicine movement spoke about the origins of programming, the current state of the art, and a glimpse of what the future holds.
Upcoming Virtual Culinary Medicine Classes
The Health meets Food team has been offering virtual online hands-on Culinary Medicine programming for over 3 years. Participants use Zoom to gather, collaborate, cook together, and discuss case studies. Each module will follow the workflow of in-person programming and will take about 3 1/2 hours to complete.
For registration problems, questions, or for more event information, please contact Cecilia Hatfield at cecilia@culinarymedicine.org.
Saturday August 10, 2024 at 12:00 PM to 3:30 PM EDT – Module 3 – Fats – Virtual Programming via Zoom
Free Food Security Continuing Medical Education Online
The Health meets Food team offers free continuing medical education programming focused on food security issues:
1. Food Security in Older Adults
2. SNAP and WIC
3. Food Banks and Medically Tailored Meals
This is a significant issue for many in our society and the courseware covers background as well as actionable information for healthcare professionals. All three of these modules are also available for use by partner-sites using the Health meets Food courseware for healthcare professional students.
American College of Culinary Medicine Clothing and Swag
We are excited to announce the availability of Health meets Food clothing and swag. Great as a gift for yourself, family, friends and (even better) your Culinary Medicine colleagues.
Choose from baseball caps, t-shirts, polo shirts, embroidered aprons, mugs, and water bottles.
The Certified Culinary Medicine Specialist (CCMS) Program
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. Physicians, Physicians Assistants, Pharmacists, Registered Dietitians and Nurse Practitioners are eligible for certification.
The hybrid 60-credit curriculum includes a distinctive combination of online nutrition education courses, live conferences, and in-person attendance at hands-on teaching kitchen modules.By completing the program, clinicians will enhance their confidence and quality of care by learning how to:
- Integrate nutritional counseling to supplement pharmacological treatment
- Educate patients about weight loss and weight management
- Develop practical examination-room dialogues that inspire behavioral change
- Implement new strategies in even the busiest primary care offices
Apply for the CCMS Program Now!
Culinary Medicine Programming for Chefs and Foodservice Professionals
The Advisory Board and the Health meets Food team is excited to announce pioneering Culinary Medicine programming for chefs and foodservice professionals. The programming launches today as a 20 module series and the courseware will be available for culinary schools as well as a certification program.
Chefs and foodservice professionals are perfectly positioned to play a central role in changing the way Americans eat. However, many chefs and foodservice professionals feel their nutrition education and ability to communicate practical, effective guidance to consumers as well as their skill to produce food that is healthy and delicious is lacking.
The Certified Culinary Medicine Professional (CCMP) program provides foodservice professional at any level with a unique combination of nutritional knowledge and improved healthy culinary skills so that they can effectively incorporate healthy options into menus to help consumers.
Through certification, foodservice professionals will enhance their knowledge, confidence, and skills by learning how to:
- Evaluate and apply the most rigorous current research to menu and recipe development.
- Enhance the quality of meals prepared.
- Improve the diet quality especially targeting diet-related chronic diseases
Featuring a hybrid 45-credit curriculum comprised of online education, live conference learning, and hands-on teaching kitchen modules, the CCMP program is designed for those passionate about integrating science-based nutrition research into their culinary skillset and will equip candidates with the nutritional knowledge and culinary skills to optimize health.
View the program’s hybrid curriculum and steps towards certification.
