Culinary Medicine: More Than Just a Cooking Class

Cooking is an essential evolutionary behavior that defines our humanity, yet the art of home cooking has declined over the past century. Sociocultural shifts, such as the prevalence of dual-income households, the rise of convenient processed foods, and the normalization of frequent restaurant dining, have relegated home cooking to the back burner, rendering culinary skills antiquated.

While the convenience of prepared foods has undoubtedly eased daily living and liberated individuals, particularly women, from the confines of domestic duties, this shift has also played a role in the global health crisis. Meals crafted by restaurants or factories often boast higher calorie counts and lower nutrient densities, consequently linked to elevated risks of chronic illnesses and overall mortality. Recognizing this, policymakers and public health experts have championed the promotion of home cooking as a pivotal strategy to foster healthier eating habits (Lichtenstein and Ludwig).

This emphasis on cooking as a cornerstone of health behaviors has given rise to the field of culinary medicine. But what sets culinary medicine apart from home economics, community nutrition, and culinary school? This blog post aims to explore these inquiries, highlighting the unique disposition of culinary medicine as the integration of nutrition science, culinary arts, and patient care. By doing so, the goal is to provide clarity and distinction to further establish culinary medicine as a recognized discipline in dietetics practice.

Culinary Arts and Home Economics

In contrast, home economics equips individuals with essential skills and knowledge for daily living. The formalization of home economics as an academic discipline occurred with the establishment of the American Home Economics Association in 1909. Covering a wide array of life skills, including culinary arts, home economics was initially geared towards women but gradually expanded to encompass both genders in public education during the 1970s. However, in recent decades, home economics programs have experienced decline due to shifts in gender roles, rising living costs, and the outsourcing of services and commercially made products.

Culinary Nutrition

Culinary nutrition has recently been defined as “the integration of culinary arts and nutrition that applies practical knowledge and skills to improve food and nutrition-related health.” This concept builds upon the foundation of culinary arts, incorporating the overarching goal of promoting health. Interestingly, the use of cooking to improve nutrition education is not a novel idea. As far back as the 19th century, culinary education was utilized to teach healthy cooking, considering factors such as time and budget constraints. For instance, in 1890, The New England Kitchen in Boston was established to instruct low-income families on preparing nutritious meals. Since then, cooking has remained a pivotal element in nutrition education, with widely embraced programs such as Cooking Matters. Today, you can find teaching kitchens in libraries, public gardens, YMCAs, and other community settings.

Culinary Medicine

So how is culinary nutrition different from culinary medicine? According to the same recent publication, culinary medicine is defined as “a health practitioner-led culinary nutrition intervention or activity.” This definition implies that culinary education is facilitated by healthcare professionals within the context of medical practice. Medical care is characterized as a treatment endorsed by medical experts for specific diseases and widely employed by healthcare providers. Therefore, culinary medicine serves as a treatment modality within the medical care process, addressing diagnoses or specific medical needs. Doctors, dietitians, nurses, social workers, and other healthcare providers are being trained in the culinary arts to deliver culinary medicine as part of their practice.

This concept mirrors that of medical nutrition therapy, a nutrition-based treatment provided by a registered dietitian nutritionist in response to medical needs that includes nutrition diagnosis, education, and counseling. Culinary medicine builds upon this service by providing opportunities for hands-on and experiential learning for patients and providing new and fun opportunities for interprofessional collaborations.

Future Direction

As culinary medicine continues to gain recognition as a vital component of healthcare, several promising avenues exist for its future development and integration into clinical practice. One potential direction is the expansion of culinary medicine programs beyond traditional healthcare settings. By incorporating culinary education into community centers, schools, workplaces, places of worship, and other non-traditional venues, individuals from diverse backgrounds can access practical skills and knowledge to improve their health outcomes within the context of their cultural and lived experiences. Additionally, leveraging technology, such as online cooking classes, virtual nutrition counseling, and mobile health apps, can broaden the reach of culinary medicine interventions and enhance patient engagement and adherence. Furthermore, research into the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of culinary medicine interventions is needed to strengthen the evidence base and inform best practices. Collaborative efforts among healthcare professionals, educators, policymakers, and community stakeholders will be essential to drive forward the integration of culinary medicine into mainstream healthcare delivery and promote a culture of culinary health and wellness.