Easter Weekend is here and, aside from spiritual observances, it is a time for many of us to overindulge in special foods such as honey-glazed ham, mashed potatoes, and candy. However, while it satisfies our taste buds, a growing number of researchers see food as medicine.
One of the reasons Easter is associated with food is that it comes after Lent. A 40-day period of fasting and meditation, Lent is sandwiched between Mardi Gras and Easter. Both are characterized by consuming too much of the wrong things. After all, Mardi Gras in French means Fat Tuesday. While Easter is celebrated in part by hunting for and eating as many chocolate rabbits and eggs as possible.
The National Retail Federation (NRF) has projected that consumers will spend $28 billion this Easter. That is over $2 billion more than 2020’s record high of $21.7 billion. In addition, it is up from the $20.8 billion spent last year.
Candy ($3.3 billion) and food ($7.3 billion) are the largest categories of spending, according to the NRF. In addition, 56 percent of those surveyed listed cooking a holiday meal as the most popular Easter activity.
Food as Medicine
It is not a revelation that eating the right foods produces health benefits. From diabetes to heart disease to obesity, physicians and nutritionists offer dietary recommendations to help patients combat a wide range of health problems and diseases.
However, the idea of food as medicine is picking up momentum with studies providing evidence that the practice could save taxpayer money by reducing healthcare costs by billions of dollars annually.
Though there is no hard and fast definition of food as medicine, the concept generally covers three practices:
Medically tailored meals are created by dietitians to treat specific conditions.
Medically tailored groceries furnish foods for meal plans patients can implement.
Produce prescriptions consisting of vouchers for the purchase of fruits and vegetables.
Food as Medicine Cutting Healthcare Costs
Much of the emphasis on using diet to combat illness is as preventive medicine.
“Nearly 40 percent of all deaths in the United States are due to behavioral causes,” according to the National Institute of Health.
You might gather from that NIH statement that people are simply making bad food choices. However, in many cases, they may not have healthy options.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) found that 1 in 10 American households dealt with “food insecurity” in 2020. That amounts to 34 million people, including nine million children, according to Feeding America.
Food insecurity is not having enough food or food of adequate quality to meet basic nutritional needs.
Further, the CDC calls food insecurity, “a major public health problem in the US that contributes substantially to the burden of chronic disease and poor mental health. Food insecurity results in an estimated $77 billion each year in excess health care spending.”
Similarly, a Tufts University study published in October estimated that medically tailored meals could save the healthcare industry $13.6 billion a year. A large portion of those savings would come from a projected decrease in hospital stays by 1.6 million annually, according to researchers.
The study based its determinations on an examination of medically tailored meal programs over the last two decades. That research found that adults with diet-related diseases saw a drop of 19.7 percent in healthcare costs. In addition, hospitalizations declined by 47 percent.
Government / Private Action
The Biden Administration announced plans to expand the medically tailored meal program in September with the issuance of its National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health.
Subsequently, the government began allowing states to use Medicaid funds to purchase groceries and nutritional counseling in February.
In addition to government action, more private organizations are getting involved. Kroger, The Rockefeller Foundation, and The American Heart Association have pooled $250 million to fund a food as medicine research program.
In all, more than 100 companies have responded to President Biden’s call to action. As a result, over $8 billion in public and private commitments to address food insecurity and the use of food as medicine.
“At least $2.5 billion will be invested in start-up companies that are pioneering solutions to hunger and food insecurity,” according to a White House announcement. “Over $4 billion will be dedicated toward philanthropy that improves access to nutritious food, promotes healthy choices, and increases physical activity.”
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