Food Isn’t Medicine

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If you have ever considered intermittent fasting, avoided artificial sweeteners, dairy or carbs for 'health' reasons, or struggled through diet after diet wondering why nothing seems to work, this book will be a powerful wake-up call.

No, no and absolutely not - NHS doctor and nutritionist Joshua Wolrich is on a mission to set the record straight. The development of chronic diseases continues to be complex and may be attributed to non-diet-related causes, including genetic risk, exposure to environmental toxins, or autoimmune conditions. It is worth noting that conventional, Western medicine does prescribe dietary and lifestyle changes as a first-line treatment for some conditions, notably polycystic ovary syndrome ( PCOS).Food as medicine,” however, is not an approach without flaws. Here are some of its limitations. It is not a cure-all

Social and economic factors aren’t the only health determinants that are somewhat out of an individual’s control. We all have unique genetic predispositions—some people are simply born more at risk for certain conditions, like heart disease, than others. Environmental factors also play a role. Sunlight, dust, chemicals, metal, plants, animals, and other things we’re exposed to daily can contribute to the onset of pretty much every illness, from kidney disease to infertility to skin cancer. And of course, disease can be random. A 2017 report in Science found that about two-thirds of cell mutations that lead to cancer are caused by random DNA replication errors, while only a third are caused by inherited genes, environmental factors, or behavior. (Although yes, some cancers are more directly linked to behavior; for example, smoking is the primary cause of lung cancer.) Even diseases that are more strongly linked to lifestyle, like type 2 diabetes and heart disease, can occur in people with no known lifestyle risk factors. Medical nutrition therapy is a part of evidence-based health practice that uses diet and food to support the treatment of diseases, and it is a clear demonstration of the role that diet and food play in managing chronic disease. It is also important to consider how foods interact with medications. This is referred to as drug-nutrient interaction, which may enhance or interrupt the effect of a medication in the body. As an NHS doctor with personal experience of how damaging diets can be, he believes every one of us deserves to have a happy, healthy relationship with food and with our bodies. His message is clear: we need to fight weight stigma, call out the lies of diet culture and give ourselves permission to eat all foods.

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Wu wants to see food as medicine become an intrinsic part of healthcare, in prevention and treatment of disease. It is not to suggest one can eat themselves out of terminal illness but food can have a powerful effect on health and some disease. All of this disproves the notion that eating a certain way, or a certain food, can eliminate the need for health care and medicine. The fact that disease can (and almost certainly will) occur no matter what you do might be a tough pill to swallow. But Johnson explains that it can also bring relief in that you can stop blaming yourself for your health problems or micromanaging your eating habits in the name of disease prevention. Nutrition Is Just One Tool