Why ‘Food is Medicine’?
Food is Medicine. The idea is not new, as generations of chicken soup and other home cooked remedies can attest. Yet, a doctor giving a prescription for fruits and vegetables as a part of routine health care is basically unheard of - until now.
“Nutrition is a core component of health, therefore we must acknowledge it is a core component of health care,” said Massachusetts State Representative Denise Garlick at the launch of Massachusetts’ first ever Food is Medicine State Plan this summer.
This new program is the result of a two-year initiative among state legislators, the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation at Harvard Law School, and the non-profit Community Servings. Delta Dental of Massachusetts, along with DentaQuest and other health organizations supported the research and development of the plan.
So what does this have to do with oral health and your dental practice? It’s an important question.
What is ‘Food is Medicine’?
Food is Medicine refers to a spectrum of services and health interventions that recognize and respond to the critical link between nutrition and chronic diseases. Food is Medicine interventions consist of healthy foods that are tailored to meet the specific needs of individuals living with or at risk for serious health conditions affected by diet. Those treatments and interventions include everything from produce prescriptions and vouchers that make healthy food more accessible and affordable, to medically tailored food and meal programs like those offered at Community Servings.
What is this program hoping to achieve?
Ultimately, the goal is to improve health outcomes and decrease health costs.
Nutrition plays a critical role in a person’s overall health, with an undeniable link between food and chronic diseases. The prevalence of these chronic diseases, like diabetes, heart disease, even certain cancers, has a direct impact on health costs. In fact, the Commonwealth estimates that this contributes to $1.9 billion in avoidable costs to our health care system.
What’s more, direct nutrition interventions can make a measurable impact on those figures.
The proof is in the (low-sugar) pudding: In a 2019 study, the receipt of medically tailored meals was associated with 49% fewer inpatient admissions, 72% fewer admissions to skilled nursing facilities, and a 16% reduction in health care costs.
Right now, the majority of Food is Medicine programs in Massachusetts are still small and operate on grants and charitable donations. But with the expansion of this program statewide, Massachusetts can be at the forefront of a health care innovation that will address the root-causes of nutrition-related diseases and offer a pathway to better health outcomes and well-being for all individuals and families in the Commonwealth.
So what does this have to do with oral health?
We all know that there is a direct link between oral health and a number of chronic diseases. Nutrition and diet also play a key role. Sugar and junk food in particular can wreak havoc on oral health, and that food also happens to be the cheapest, easiest, and most accessible food for many families - especially those suffering from food insecurity.
So to improve oral health outcomes, we also have to improve overall health. It’s all connected. That’s why increasing access to oral health care and working closely with oral health providers is one of the 15 specific recommendations laid out in the Food is Medicine plan. (You can read the full plan here.)
How can I use this in my dental practice?
Awareness is always a good start. The fact is, one in 10 households struggles with food insecurity. And that cuts across all communities, from the North Shore to the Berkshires, and Cape Cod. Even if patients in your private family practice do not appear to be struggling, that doesn’t mean that their finances and health situations are not impacting their ability to put healthy food on the table and sustain their oral health.
Dentists can also use basic intervention and screening processes to help support patients. There are two simple screening questions you can ask to determine if someone may be food insecure:
- “We worried whether our food would run out before we got money to buy more.” Was that often true, sometimes true, or never true for your household in the last 12 months?
- “The food we bought just didn’t last, and we didn’t have money to get more.” Was that often true, sometimes true, or never true for your household in the last 12 months?
If they answer that either of these statements are often or sometimes true, you can refer them to a local organization like Project Bread or a local food pantry for help and resources. We know these can be difficult conversations to have, but they can make a world of difference for patients who need it.
To learn more about how to talk to patients about food insecurity and how medically-tailored meals have already been working to improve health outcomes, watch our latest Pearls of Wisdom video chat with Jean Terranova of Community Servings, a non-profit food and nutrition program providing services throughout Massachusetts to individuals and families living with critical and chronic illnesses. Community Servings helped create the Food is Medicine State Plan based on its extensive expertise in this area.