Culinary Medicine and Nature: Foods That Work Together

Abstract

Culinary medicine is a new evidence-based field in medicine that blends the art of food and cooking with the science of medicine. Intended to be of constructive use to clinicians, patients, and families, this column covers 10 practical ways for eaters to enjoy preparing and choosing foods, meals, and beverages that work to prevent and treat disease and to enhance one’s own natural ability to stay and get well. The column also identifies mechanisms by which food and beverages work in the body as culinary medicine. The column identifies what-to-look-for “chef’s secrets” for choosing fruits and vegetables at the peak of flavor in your own garden, in supermarkets, and in farmer’s markets. Edible flowers, herbs, and spices with special culinary medical value are also described, as are essential ways to choose and also, when necessary, avoid them. Finally, the corporate and professional office is described as an ideal site for nature-based stress reduction and burnout reversal, in which both culinary medicine and the power of nature can be used to reduce the symptoms associated with chronic stress.