Is Food Medicine? JPS Health Network Thinks So.

Arlington TX

31 May, 2022

5:07 PM

Description

By Alexis Allison, Fort Worth Report May 30, 2022 Diabetes patients who've experienced the evolution of blood sugar care — from finger pricks to glucose monitors — may soon receive a different kind of prescription from John Peter Smith Hospital: a meal plan. Although a local program that allows for these kinds of food prescriptions is still seedling, conversations about food pharmacies have been quietly growing at the county hospital since Dr. Bryan Becker, a physician and president of Acclaim Physician Group, arrived last year. Food as pharmacy is not merely the pursuit of expanded food access, Becker said. Instead, it's access and nutritional support from health providers, customized for a patient's specific health needs. The concept is simpler than the execution. Becker, his colleagues and possible partners across the country, are contemplating how to connect culturally sensitive, easy-to-access, easy-t0-prepare, inexpensive meals with the people who need them, while measuring health outcomes along the way. To read the full article, click here. Fort Worth Report is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization that produces factual, in-depth journalism about city and county government, schools, healthcare, business, and arts and culture in Tarrant County. Always free to read; subscribe to newsletters, read coverage or support our newsroom at fortworthreport.org.