Food as Medicine

Nate Wood, MD, is interested in using diet to prevent, manage, and treat disease. An instructor of medicine (general medicine) and the new inaugural director of culinary medicine at Yale School of Medicine and the Irving and Alice Brown Teaching Kitchen at Yale New Haven Health, Wood uses hands-on cooking to educate patients, medical trainees, and health care professionals about foods that promote wellness. His research focuses on developing and testing curricula to effectively teach nutrition and culinary skills using a variety of media.

In his role as director, Wood plans to conduct patient outcomes research and develop a comprehensive clinic that will allow patients to receive culinary medicine education, nutrition therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, physical therapy, and a produce or groceries prescription—along with medical treatment—in a single visit. He also plans to give cooking demonstrations and hand out evidence-based literature at community centers, schools, and events in the local area to spark excitement about healthy cooking and eating.

In a conversation, Wood discusses the plant-forward diet, foods that prevent and treat common conditions, and common misconceptions about healthy eating.

A healthy diet can decrease your risk of developing disease, and an unhealthy diet can increase that risk. Plant-forward diets, or diets composed largely of whole or minimally processed plants with a smattering of other things, can help prevent a majority of diet-sensitive chronic diseases, such as obesity, heart disease, strokes, diabetes, dementia, and certain types of cancer.

If you develop one of these chronic diseases, switching to a plant-forward diet can help manage it. In some cases, it can even reverse it. For instance, we know that some people who go from eating the standard American diet to a plant-forward diet can put their type 2 diabetes into remission.

The best foods to eat are minimally processed plants that are dense in nutrients. Sweet potatoes are one example. Leafy greens like kale, collards, spinach, and chard are packed full of nutrients—calcium, iron, and antioxidants. They also have fiber and are low in sugar.

Nuts and seeds have healthy fats that are good for cardiovascular health and cognition. Walnuts are an amazing source of omega-3s.

In areas of the world called the blue zones where residents live to be a hundred at unusually high rates, people eat a lot of legumes—things like beans, lentils, tofu, edamame, and tempeh. Legumes are cheaper and healthier than meat, and they cook faster. You can buy them dried or canned, and they make a delicious addition to most any dinner.

It’s important to eat a variety of whole and minimally processed fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, and not necessarily worry about loading up on one particular food to treat a specific condition.

One thing is that you don’t have to buy fresh, local, or organic produce to be healthy. Sometimes frozen produce tastes better and can even be healthier because the fruits or vegetables are picked when they’re in season, at the peak of ripeness. Canned goods can also be healthy, if you buy the low- or no-sodium version or rinse off the extra sodium. I cook with canned beans all the time.

Another is that substitutes are not necessarily better than the original product. Sometimes it’s difficult to distinguish the relative healthiness of whole animal products versus processed plant products, such as plant-based patties. Is the Beyond Burger or the Impossible Burger better than a beef burger? It’s complicated. If you really want a healthier alternative, try a soy, mushroom, or lentil burger made of whole ingredients.

Lastly, knowing about nutrition should not cause shame. When I sit down to eat something healthy, I can embrace the complex flavors and textures and enjoy eating it because I know it’s good for my body. Other times I enjoy eating something despite knowing it’s not necessarily good for my body. Some unhealthy foods, like birthday cake, for example, help us build positive social connections, celebrate, enjoy life, or engage with our cultures. Eating the occasional unhealthy food should not make us feel shame.

Food is not just medicine, but also culture, love, and community. We deserve to enjoy it.

The Department of Internal Medicine at Yale School of Medicine is among the nation's premier departments, bringing together an elite cadre of clinicians, investigators, educators, and staff in one of the world's top medical schools. To learn more, visit Internal Medicine.