April 2024 - 25

POTATOES USA
By Bonnie Johnson
Guest Contributor
Diet as doctor
Potatoes can play role as culinary medicine
navigates pathways to better health
Last fall, Potatoes USA hosted our
inaugural culinary medicine immersion for
health professionals. We invited doctors,
nurse practitioners, dietitians and chefs
to our test kitchen, Spud Lab, in Denver
to explore potato nutrition and scientific
research - all through the lens of
culinary medicine.
Culinary medicine is an exciting field
blending the art of food and cooking with the
science of medicine. Its objective is to help
people reach good personal health decisions
about accessing and eating high-quality
meals that help prevent and treat disease
and restore well-being.
HIGH NUTRITIONAL STAKES
Culinary medicine matters because
what we eat is critical to our overall health.
Evidence consistently shows that a healthy
dietary pattern is associated with beneficial
health outcomes in conditions including
cardiovascular disease, diabetes and certain
types of cancer.
According to the USDA's 2020 Dietary
Guidelines for Americans, core components
of a healthy dietary pattern include fruits and
vegetables of all types.
Unfortunately, we don't eat enough of
them. And it's killing us.
In the United States, only one in 10
adults gets the recommended amount
of vegetables and fruits, according to
the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. On a global scale, the World
Health Organization found an estimated
3.9 million deaths were attributable
to inadequate vegetable and fruit
consumption in 2017 alone.
The solution is to get more people to eat
more vegetables, fruits and other nutritious
foods - and that's where culinary medicine
comes in.
Culinary medicine takes many forms.
Medically tailored meals and groceries
are designed to meet the needs of people
with specific health conditions such as
heart disease and diabetes, while produce
prescription programs allow health care
providers to prescribe fruits and vegetables
directly to patients.
Additionally, medical nutrition education
helps give health care providers the
knowledge and tools they need to engage
patients on nutrition and eating effectively.
This is particularly important because
doctors, though on the front lines with
patients, only receive about an hour per year
of nutrition instruction in medical school,
according to the University of Louisville's
Journal of Wellness.
Preliminary research from scientists at
Tufts University suggests that implementing
medically tailored meals nationwide for
patients with diet-sensitive conditions could
be associated with 1.6 million averted
hospitalizations each year and annual
savings of $13.6 billion.
A PLACE FOR POTATOES
The government and other private, public
and nonprofit institutions have committed
more than $8 billion to fund initiatives that
aim to end hunger and reduce diet-related
diseases such as diabetes, obesity and
hypertension by 2030.
At Potatoes USA, we're using this
opportunity to position potatoes as an
affordable, versatile and familiar vegetable
in healthy eating patterns that can help
achieve culinary medicine goals.
For example, at our culinary medicine
immersion, we helped health professionals
" Evidence consistently
shows that a healthy
dietary pattern is
associated with beneficial
health outcomes, including
cardiovascular disease,
diabetes, and certain
types of cancer. "
According to the USDA's 2020 Dietary
Guidelines for Americans, core components
of a healthy dietary pattern include fruits and
vegetables of all types.
Potatoes USA hosted its inaugural culinary
medicine immersion for health professionals
last fall at its Spud Lab welcoming doctors,
nurse practitioners, dietitians and chefs to
its Spud Lab test kitchen in Denver. Photos
courtesy of Potatoes USA.
learn about potato nutrition, potatoes' place
in the vegetable group and how potatoes fit
into conversations with patients
of diverse backgrounds and various health
conditions. Participants also got into the
kitchen with Potatoes USA chefs, who shared
practical ways to include potato preparation
discussions in their health care practices,
empowering them to guide their patients
toward healthier choices.
Potatoes USA is planning another
culinary medicine immersion in the spring,
and Potatoes USA's nutrition and culinary
team members are studying to be Certified
Culinary Medicine Specialists, meaning
we can lead training for other health
professionals. We're also building culinary
medicine website content that will provide
resources for health professionals.
We're proud to be part of the culinary
medicine movement helping Americans
achieve good health by eating good
food - including the wholesome potato.
Bonnie Johnson is director of Nutrition
and Industry Relations for Potatoes USA.
Spudman.com 25
http://www.Spudman.com
April 2024

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