‘Culinary Art’ course in 60 medical institutions of America: Doctors will not just change the diet, will also cure the disease by telling how to cook food.

Lauren Estes has very steady hands. When this student of Tufts Medical School cuts dill leaves, her concentration is like that of a surgeon in the operating theater. Lauren’s dream is to one day deliver babies safely, but right now the priority is something else… making the best ‘chhole’. Lauren is not alone. Along with this, 14 more students – who are future doctors, dentists and dieticians, are sweating in the kitchen these days. This is not a typical cooking class, but a ‘Culinary Medicine’ course from Tufts University. This curriculum is being adopted in more than 60 medical institutions of America, where doctors are being taught not only bookish nutrition but also kitchen literacy. Its main idea is to promote the ‘Food is Medicine’ campaign, so that doctors not only advise to change the diet, but also explain to them how to prepare healthy food. That means it is not enough to just tell that food is good for health. They will have to learn which vegetable can work as a medicine for diabetes, kidney and heart diseases. Retired police officer Chuck Self is a great witness to this change. Four years ago, he was so affected by diabetes and heart disease that he even had to get his leg amputated. Insulin injections had become a part of life. The doctor prescribed medicines as well as ‘medically tailored diet’. Chuck explains, ‘The doctors fed me what our ancestors used to eat – beans, pulses, coarse grains.’ The results were miraculous. Chuck lost weight, sugar levels improved and medications were reduced. He says, food taught me to live again. This change is also changing doctors. Chef Michelle Nishan says, ‘Many doctors have become crazy about cooking shows like ‘Top Chef’.’ When a doctor holds the ladle, he writes a new definition of treatment, where the foundation of health is not laid in the hospital bed, but in the kitchen. This initiative is the beginning of a medical system where doctors will not just ‘treat disease’ but ‘create complete health’. For example, these days, for Lauren’s project, she is creating something new for a pregnant Haitian woman by mixing okra and lentils, which is close to her cultural preferences and is also rich in essential elements for the development of the fetus. Research also shows that if doctors themselves know how to cook, they are more confident in using food as an effective tool in treatment. Advice is not enough, it is important to have complete information. Nadine Tasabeji, director of the Culinary Medicine course, says, ‘It is not enough to advise the patient to eat protein. The doctor should know the price of that item, the time taken to cook it and whether it is according to the patient’s taste and tradition or not.