Hello and

I'm your host, Monica Reinagel,

just in case you're wondering,

this episode was not written by chat GPT.

We're still doing it the old-fashioned way.

The notion of food as medicine is certainly nothing new. You've probably heard the saying let food be

thy medicine which is usually credited to the ancient Greek writer and physician

Hippocrates.

Well, this phrase actually does not seem to appear

in his written texts, but he did believe

that food and nutrition play key roles in health and medicine. And now 25 centuries later, the

food as medicine movement is gaining steam as an organizing principle of medicine.

And while I think this movement is well-intentioned,

I would like to push back on the idea that food is medicine. As I am sure you're aware, non-communicable

diseases such as cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity account for an enormous share of our society's medical burden.

And these diseases are often referred to as lifestyle diseases, and this is a term that I abhor. as if

suffering from these diseases is just a matter of failing to make better choices.

As if a healthy lifestyle is equally available to everyone.

And just as an aside, I've noticed that most proponents of so-called lifestyle medicine tend to lead very comfortable

lifestyles in which a fridge full of healthy food a kitchen to prepare it in time to

shop cook meditate and go to the gym are all guaranteed.

But I digress.

...