Dariush Mozaffarian of the Friedman School said treating food as medicine in policymaking would save hundreds of thousands of lives and billions of dollars.
Darius Mozaffarian, director of the Food Is Medicine Institute at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, spoke before a U.S. Senate committee on the afternoon of Tuesday, May 21, arguing for urgent action from Congress to strengthen Food Is Medicine (FIM) efforts across the country.
The “food is medicine” approach focuses on harnessing nutrition through actual food to prevent, treat and manage disease, he explained to the Subcommittee on Basic Health and Retirement Security. This includes prescribing medically tailored diets and produce, as well as providing nutrition education to doctors.
“Food is medicine, and it can improve your health and save you money. Very few things in health care can do both,” said Mozaffarian, the Jan Mayer Professor of Nutrition at the Friedman School, where he served as its dean for eight years, and a professor at Tufts University School of Medicine. “It’s time for Congress to act to get Americans to embrace the idea that food is medicine.”
Food is medicine
In testimony before the Senate, Senator Darius Mozaffarian recommended specific actions for Congress, including:
- Increase funding to the National Institutes of Health, particularly for FIM-related efforts and nutrition research.
- Support the continuation of the FIM pilot program at the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Indian Health Service
- Launching the FIM program for military personnel and their families
- Expand support for produce prescriptions, ensure meaningful nutrition education for physicians, and support the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services in accelerating food and nutrition safety screening and clinical care and referral pathways.
- Ensure that personal health savings accounts can be used for approved FIM treatments
Measurable Health Benefits
Mozaffarian told senators that malnutrition is the leading cause of death and disability in the United States, and that a typical American diet that is high in refined starches, sugar, salt and other additives and low in fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, whole grains, seafood and yogurt contributes to an estimated 10,000 deaths, 1,500 new cases of cancer and 16,000 new cases of diabetes every week.
“Throughout the year, I have met and spoken to thousands of Americans who know in their hearts that the food we eat is making them sick, yet feel powerless to do anything about it. This lack of access to healthy food is literally deadly,” Mozaffarian said.
He said the “food is medicine” approach has been proven to improve blood pressure, mental health and self-management of disease, lower body mass index and reduce the chance of diabetes complications.
Cost Saving Power
Mozaffarian also noted that such treatments can be cost-saving compared to other common medical interventions, especially when targeting high-risk patients with complex medical conditions.
An analysis I conducted with colleagues at the Friedman School found that one state’s medically sensitive meal program resulted in net savings of $9,000 per patient served per year, even after subtracting the costs of the program.
He also estimated, based on his research, that about six million Americans are eligible for medically sensitive meals, and that providing them could save the state about $14 billion a year.
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