Culinary Medicine: Needs and Strategies for Incorporating Nutrition into Medical Education in the United States

Abstract

In the past decade, medical education has increasingly incorporated evidence-based lifestyle interventions as primary strategies for preventing and managing noncommunicable diseases. This shift embraces the growing recognition of the significant impact of lifestyle on health outcomes, driving diseases including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Now deemed “food is medicine” (FIM), diet-related interventions witnessed integration into healthcare systems and recognition in the United States’ White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in 2023. As FIM gains traction, investigating optimal strategies for team-based education becomes essential. Healthcare teams need the necessary knowledge and tools to effectively administer FIM services and collaborate across disciplines, ultimately enhancing disease prevention, chronic disease management, health quality, value, and overall wellness. Culinary medicine (CM), a vital component of FIM, bridges nutrition education, pragmatic culinary skills, and conventional strategies to improve chronic disease management. CM involves experiential learning, imparts practical skills, and encourages behavior change by addressing food-related determinants of health and promoting equitable access. Teaching kitchens serve as physical or virtual learning spaces and as a didactic and experiential method (skills lab), playing a crucial role by integrating culinary, lifestyle, integrative, and conventional medicine. A growing number of medical schools in the United States and globally offer CM education via diverse methods including interest groups, electives, and specialty tracks, encompassing didactic sessions, hands-on kitchen education, and virtual teaching methods. Given the rising demand for CM programs, this article aims to describe, map, and compare existing CM education types in medical education. It provides actionable recommendations for medical schools to establish and expand CM programs by fostering service-learning partnerships, clinical innovation, and interdisciplinary research. As FIM gains prominence, cultivating a robust foundation of educational strategies is vital to ensure seamless integration into both medical education and collaborative medical practice.

Nutrition’s Role in Quality Healthcare in the United States: Opportunities and Education for Pharmacists to Take a Bite of the Apple and Strengthen Their Skills

“…There may be some focus on counseling, diseases, and therapies, but education at the practice-ready skill level is likely specific to certain conditions, such as nutrient deficiencies/excesses and overweight/obesity, as identified in the 2023 ACCP Pharmacotherapy Didactic Curriculum Toolkit [ 39 ]. The culinary medicine approach, which is gaining traction in medical school [ 43 ] and interprofessional [ 44 ] curricula, provides a potential framework for strengthening and broadening pharmacy student nutrition education [ 45 ]. Such courses are experiential-based and offer hands-on culinary skill development along with strategies for translating nutrition science into lifestyle practices that help prevent disease and improve health outcomes [ 43 ].…”

“…The culinary medicine approach, which is gaining traction in medical school [ 43 ] and interprofessional [ 44 ] curricula, provides a potential framework for strengthening and broadening pharmacy student nutrition education [ 45 ]. Such courses are experiential-based and offer hands-on culinary skill development along with strategies for translating nutrition science into lifestyle practices that help prevent disease and improve health outcomes [ 43 ]. Culinary medicine curricula have been shown to improve medical student knowledge and self-efficacy in nutrition counseling [ 43 , 46 ].…”

“…Such courses are experiential-based and offer hands-on culinary skill development along with strategies for translating nutrition science into lifestyle practices that help prevent disease and improve health outcomes [ 43 ]. Culinary medicine curricula have been shown to improve medical student knowledge and self-efficacy in nutrition counseling [ 43 , 46 ]. In a different model of increasing nutrition training in pharmacy education, at least one U.S. university offers a combined Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD)/Master of Science in Nutrition program [ 47 ].…”