As experts and organizations advocate for a shift toward a food-as-medicine approach, Missourians are gaining new insight into the powerful role of food in medicine.
Kelsey Gardiner, assistant professor of nursing and health research at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, emphasized the important link between access to healthy foods and improved health outcomes. He noted that people facing food insecurity often have higher rates of chronic disease, and stressed the urgent need for systemic changes to strengthen food access.
“There are things we can do, and solid change is happening across the country through policy and infrastructure changes,” Gardiner said. “More can be done in Missouri to increase access to healthy foods that are directly linked to improved health outcomes.”
Gardiner highlighted the potential of medicinal food interventions in preventing chronic diseases and reducing health care costs. She said recent research shows that such interventions could lead to cost savings of $13.6 billion and improved several health outcomes in one year, making them a valuable addition to health care strategies. He said that it shows that.
Cale Martin, People Impact Strategist at Health Forward Foundation, says it’s paramount to focus on communities affected by systemic racism, socio-economic challenges and limited access to health care. said. Food as medicine is considered a strategic approach to promoting health equity, especially in areas where systemic barriers impede optimal health.
“We know that a healthy diet can prevent chronic disease, but it can also be a treatment option,” Martin emphasized. “Having that connection within our health care system and really integrating these interventions could have a huge impact for many patients.”
While progress is being made nationally and in other states such as Massachusetts, California, and North Carolina, Missouri is still developing an approach to integrating food as medicine into health care systems and policies. Efforts are underway to advance legislation to support these efforts, and several federal laws regarding medically tailored diets are gaining traction.
Disclosure: The Health Forward Foundation donates to our foundation for reporting on health issues and housing/homelessness. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.
Get more articles like this by email
As many Wyoming residents wait for their 2023 federal income tax refunds, a new National Priority Projects report details how the money they won’t get back is being spent.
Lindsey Khoshgarian, co-author and program director of the National Priorities Project, said this year’s tax report shows that while many school districts in Wyoming and across the country are facing significant budget cuts, the average tax payer He said the results show that people are donating thousands of dollars to military contractors. Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, etc.
“So while the average Wyoming taxpayer contributed almost $2,300 to corporate Pentagon contractors, they contributed only $455 to K-12 public education. ”Koshgarian said.
The average American household paid more than $5,000 for militarism and support programs, but invested only $110 in child tax credits. This has halved child poverty during the pandemic era of change.
The Pentagon has not accounted for audit costs for the past six years. But its advocates say the taxes create jobs and keep the world safe in the face of competitors, including China.
Koshgarian said corporate contractors could create jobs, especially in key House districts.
She pointed to a Brown University study that showed $1 billion in military spending would add about 11,000 jobs.
By comparison, $1 billion would add about 27,000 education and 17,000 health care jobs.
“But if you invest the same money in other things like education, infrastructure and health care, you could actually create better jobs for the same amount of money,” Khoshgarian said.
The U.S. Department of Defense has known climate change is an existential threat for decades, and wildfires now cost more than $394 billion annually.
But the average taxpayer invested only $14 in wildfire management.
Koshgarian said he believes concerns about protecting international security, which primarily serve corporate interests, are overblown.
“The United States is already by far the world’s leading military spender,” Koshgarian said. “We are spending more than the next 10 militaries combined. We have by far the most capable military in the world, and no one disputes that.”
Get more articles like this by email
New Mexico residents are scheduled to attend President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address tonight as a bill to expand the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act is under consideration.
The bill, passed in 1990, would send funds to residents of the Southwest affected by uranium mining and nuclear testing in 1945. The original law also included “downwind residents” in Arizona, Utah, and Nevada. However, New Mexico was excluded, even though it was the state where the world’s first atomic bomb was tested and detonated.
Tina Cordova, co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, has made it her life’s work to get New Mexico families compensated.
“I have worked for 19 years to bring attention to the negative health effects suffered by New Mexicans,” Cordova explained. “The Trinity bomb exploded in the middle of our state, adjacent to many towns with 13,000 people living within a 50-mile radius.”
Cordova was invited to attend Sen. Ben Ray Luján’s (D) annual presidential address. The Senate is scheduled to vote in the coming days on a bill to reauthorize the law, which is currently scheduled to expire in June.
Córdoba said the more than 30-year-old compensation program had acknowledged the government’s guilt, but left many of those affected unattended. She knows members of her family who have lost relatives to her cancer, some within 10 years of the nuclear bomb test.
“I hope the people who know me here understand that we will never give up the fight,” Cordova asserted. “We will work hard to pass the RECA amendment this year, but if that doesn’t happen, we will continue to fight this fight for justice for as long as it takes.”
This Sunday, Hollywood blockbuster “Oppenheimer,” about the construction of an atomic bomb, was announced as a leading contender for the 2024 Academy Award for Best Picture. The film does not discuss the impact on those downwind of the bombing site.
Get more articles like this by email
Recently released Connecticut prison residents face re-entry challenges, according to a new report.
The reentry status report found a lack of resources and services for formerly incarcerated individuals. He answered that between 2022 and 2023, his 14% of the population will become homeless after release.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, as many of the state’s reentry welcome centers report that most of their clients are housing unstable.
Scott Wilderman, president and CEO of Career Resources, said many factors can be to blame, including the stigma of being an ex-felon.
“We must do more to educate and work with landlords and encourage them to give individuals second chances,” Wilderman argued. “There’s no question about that. The sad thing is that there’s really no such thing as an ex-offender because everyone sees criminal activity in returning nationals and ex-offenders all the time. .”
He thinks Connecticut should focus more on justice reinvestment. Other criminal justice advocates have called for money saved by prison closures to be used to invest in reentry centers. These centers receive no state funding and are funded by the American Rescue Plan. The funding expires at the end of the year, but it’s unclear how people will be supported after prison.
Mr Wilderman acknowledged that not much had changed, given that the report was in its third year, but noted there was plenty of time to make improvements, particularly in areas such as education, which included: He said he was surprised.
“We know that education is a great leveler and that having a high school diploma is essential,” Wilderman asserted. “It is often a requirement for employment, and in some cases a requirement for further education or vocational training, so it opens up even more doors for the individual.”
The report noted that 66% of inmates with six months left in their sentences said they did not have a high school diploma. Enrollment in programs that help incarcerated people earn degrees is declining. One reason is the continuing teacher shortage in Connecticut.
Get more articles like this by email
