Culinary medicine is a new and rising field in health care. The goal of this approach “is to help people make good personal medical decisions about accessing and eating high-quality meals that help prevents and treats disease and restore well-being.” 1 According to a recent Robert Wood Johnson report, Arkansas ranks 47th in overall health and has the third highest obesity rates in the nation. Several diseases are associated with obesity, including diabetes. A number of health issues arise when both factors are combined (e.g. hypertension, high cholesterol, blindness, heart disease, stroke, and kidney disease). With the expansion of culinary medicine, health care providers who are familiar with the impact of nutrition and chronic disease can impact the patient’s overall health and ultimately be cost-effective for both. 2
The Culinary Medicine program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) aims to provide patient-centered care around health and nutrition that is local and cost-effective. We recently had the opportunity to attend one of the program’s Virtual Teaching Kitchen sessions, where attendees learned to bake a low-fat sweet potato pie. The event was hosted by Culinary Medicine’s own registered dietitian Alyssa Frisby, M.S., LD, RD, who was assisted by a UAMS medical student and Arkansas Minority Health Commission intern.
From making the dough for the crust to preparing the filling, both hosts spoke in detail about each step of the pie-making process as well as the healthy benefits of the ingredients used. The result was a healthy and delicious pie!
The event was hosted live over Facebook and lasted just over half an hour.
The Culinary Medicine program has events open to the public and some that are only open to UAMS faculty and staff. You can view their calendar HERE.
Visit HERE to learn more about the program.
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