by There is both a healthcare system and a business case why a balanced diet is important. A lack of good nutrition is number one driver for poor health results in the USA and suboptimal diets lead to an annual costs for the economy that is lost both health costs and productivity.
The findings that payers, health systems and other stakeholders have increased their own individual efforts such as medicine. For example, Emperor Permanent and Highmark Health committed both millions of dollars for the safety of food and nutrition, and the health of Elevance has worked out a specific role in food as medicine.
Now many of these players have come together to start the Food is Medicine National Network of Excellence.
The network announced last week aims to develop, evaluate and share the best procedures in the field of food-IS medicine. The founding members include the Food is Medicine Institute at Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, Emperor Permanent, Blue Cross and Blue Shield by North Carolina, CVS Health, Hoveled Health, Elevance Health , Health, Health Geisinger and Highmark Health.
“According to our level of knowledge, this is the first coalition or the first network of large payers who come together to share and understand how [food is medicine] The best way to use may be used, ”said Dariush Mozaffarian, cardiologist and director of the food, is Medicine Institute at Tufts University. “The combined knowledge and efforts of the network offer a unique and powerful approach for progress [food is medicine] All over the country. A part of our joint mission is to share our findings with public, political decision -makers and the larger health sector in order to catalyze changes. “
What the network wants to achieve
According to the announcement, the network has several main priorities. The first is to develop framework conditions in order to evaluate the effects of food that are medical interventions, including medically cut meals, production of recipes and nutrition education. Medically cut meals are fully prepared healthy meals prepared, while products are recipes of fruit and vegetables. These interventions are often provided for people with diet -related diseases such as obesity, high blood pressure and heart disease.
The network will create studies on these interventions between the patient populations of the members. Emperor Permanent has already underway some studies, including one under his Medicaid population in which those with diabetes receive healthy food vouchers, said Pamela Schwartz, Managing Director of Community Health with Kaiser Permanent.
“We try to understand what the evidence of the most effective interventions tell and who we should address so that we can achieve the health results that we all want what the health of nutritional diseases and lower costs of improved is concerned,” said Schwartz.
As soon as the network collects evidence, it will publish and share its results with other payers and health systems in the country to help you implement your own interventions for food-IS medicine.
In addition, the program members will “promote the effectiveness of food, that medicine is through commitment and communication with political decision -makers and the public,” says the announcement.
When asked whether these talks with political decision -makers will be responsible for food companies, Mozaffarian from Tufts University found that the problem is much wider.
“The food sector is huge, from farmers to retailers to food manufacturers to restaurants,” he said. “Everyone was part of the problem and must also be part of the solution. We have to reward and encourage innovators who do the right thing and use all powers of the federal government to change the priorities of those who are not. “
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s election for HHS secretary, was also loud about “making healthy again”. Mozaffarian noted that he hopes that “RFK Jr. will use the best -established evidence and political solutions for the promotion of food in health care, nutritional security in the Federal Food Programs and a priority for nutritional science at NIH.”
However, Schwartz explained that the first step is to inform the new Trump management about the importance of food that is medicine and which interventions work for certain guidelines before the establishment.
Will this have a meaningful influence on the safety of food and nutrition?
The network has the potential to “significantly improve” foods, as Kyle Dardashi, founder and CEO of Heali, concerns a food startup with chronic diseases. Dardashti founded the company because his own fights fought against Crohn’s disease.
“The Food is Medicine National Network of Excellence offers a valuable opportunity to promote health care on food by focusing on personalized nutrition and condition -specific nutritional interventions. … Clear and enforceable nutritional standards are important for long-term success in order to guide these interventions in medical care, ”he said in an email. “Effective political support and cooperation with the stakeholders of the healthcare system will be of crucial importance for the scaling and maintenance of these programs.”
Another manager for food and nutrition said the network was an “interesting concept”, but asked whether registered nutritionists are part of this network. Vanessa Rissetto, a registered nutritionist and co -founder of Culina Health, found that registered nutritionists drive the value of food as medicine. It is what you do as part of it Your job. The company serves people with a variety of needs – including weight loss, diabetes, hormone health and eating disorders – and gives them access to registered nutritional areas.
“[Registered dietitians] Understand the sharpness of a patient and can quickly judge what you can do and what you cannot do, what you want to do and how you can help you achieve these goals with the resources that are available to you without judgment or shame. … we should never be a subsequent thought, but as part of the interdisciplinary team able to move the needle in relation to the results and the reduction of the total cost of care, ”she argued.
Schwartz from Kaiser Permanente found that several organizations in the network, including emperors, use permanent, registered nutritionists in their individual foods as medical strategies. However, registered nutritionists are currently not part of the network itself.
Ultimately, thanks to the introduction of the new network, Schwartz hopes for food and nutrition across the country in the long term.
“I think we are really positioned together to lead the progress of food as a medicine at the national level, and we intend to really promote systemic change, the far -reaching and permanent effects on the health of the nation and the potential To change the trajectory of diet diseases and hunger, ”she said.
Photo: Fcafotodigital, Getty Images
