Food As Medicine Touted As New Drug For Treating Chronic
Illnesses
Author: Mark Hyman, M.D.

A powerful new drug -- one that you already take every day --
may help cure all chronic illnesses.

What am I talking about?

Just take a look at the end of your fork.

It's called food.

Although there's no magic bullet to prevent, treat, cure, and
reverse most chronic illnesses, a growing body of research
suggests that food is the most powerful drug we have to do just
that.

Yet most medical schools never taught physicians about the two
most important things we need to know -- nutrition and the role
of the environment and toxins in our health.

My goal is to help my patients heal and get better and I have
no particular allegiance to any type of treatment -- whether it
is a drug, surgery, radiation, or new procedure.

But time after time, I find the most powerful, fastest acting,
and most dramatic results come from using food as our main
medicine.

I use food for healing, not because I believe it is better to
use natural treatments than to use drugs, but because it works
better and only has positive side effects.

These days, an increasing number of doctors agree.

This June, I will give the keynote speech on the history of
nutrition and medicine at a course in Baltimore called "Food as
Medicine," sponsored by the Center for Mind Body Medicine.

This ground-breaking course brings nutritional science to
healthcare professionals in a digestible, practical, hands-on
format.

The course was created more than seven years ago by Dr. Jim
Gordon, who was the chairman of the White House Commission on
Complementary and Alternative Medicine. He was recently honored
as one of the five pioneers of integrative medicine by the
Bravewell Collaborative and has been a leader in mind-body
medicine, nutrition, and healing for nearly 40 years.

For the last seven years, Dr. Gordon has trained hundreds of
practitioners, including faculty from more than 50 medical
schools, which are now including this knowledge of how to use
food as medicine in their curriculum.

That's a lot different from the early days.

Years ago, I attended a food-related meeting with the
nutritionists, doctors, chefs, and owners of Canyon Ranch, where
I worked. I emphasized that I believed the future of nutrition
and the culinary arts must recognize the therapeutic value of
food to heal chronic illnesses.

As soon as the words "food is medicine" left my lips, I was
under attack.

The chief chef vehemently argued that food is only about good
taste, not good health.

Luckily, this outdated view is changing.

An increasing number of food services, restaurants, and other
institutions now recognize the healing power of food and are
including healing foods as part of their offerings.

The "Food as Medicine" course addresses things that most
practitioners never learn in medical school. These include the
scientific basis of nutrition as a therapeutic tool, how we can
eat in a sustainable way, and how the health of our planet has
directly affected the health of our food and the health of our
bodies.

The course stresses areas such as nutrigenomics, the idea that
food is information that speaks to our genes and activates
messages that create health or disease.

It also explores the role of stress, nutrition, hormone
balance, the health of our gut, and the importance of
detoxification and food.

The course is based on the basic tenets of Functional Medicine
but is broken down into simple, practical tools practitioners
can use every day with their patients.

It addresses specific nutritional approaches for conditions
such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, ADD, asthma,
allergies, autoimmune diseases, fibromyalgia, and adrenal,
thyroid, and neurodegenerative problems. We also teach
practitioners about the use of nutritional supplements and
cutting edge laboratory tests.

We also increase self-awareness -- and make it fun -- with food
demonstrations and organic meals.

The faculty this year is amazing.

They include:

• James Joseph, a leading antioxidant researcher from Tufts
University
• Collin Fogarty Draper, an expert in nutrigenomics
• David Ludwig, head of the obesity program at Children's
Hospital and Harvard Medical School
• Gerard Mullin, from John Hopkins Medical School
• Michael Lumpkin, a professor at Georgetown University Medical
School
• Many other distinguished speakers

Kathie Swift -- the nutrition director of The UltraWellness
Center -- is the course director.

The course will benefit health practitioners, including
physicians, osteopaths, medical school faculty, nurses, nurse
practitioners, registered dietitians and nutritionists,
physician assistants, community healthcare practitioners,
psychologists, mental health professionals, and other health
professionals.

According to Dr. Walter Willett, chairman of the Department of
Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health and one of the
leading researchers in the world in nutrition, "It is time to
end the confusion. `Food as Medicine' presents the best current
scientific evidence for physicians, nutritionists, and other
health professionals who want to counsel patients and teach
students."

But the course is open to everyone.

So I encourage all of you to tell your healthcare practitioners
about it -- and consider attending yourself. This course
provides tools and information to use the most powerful weapon
against disease in the 21st century, your fork.

Remember what Hippocrates said:

"Leave your potions in the chemist's crucible if you can handle
your patients with food."


About The Author: Mark Hyman, M.D. is a pioneer in functional
medicine, practicing physician and best-selling author. A sneak
preview of his book "The UltraSimple Diet" is available. See The
UltraWellness Blog for more on Food as Medicine:
http://www.ultrawellness.com/blog/