HEALTHY LIVING


Doctor Should Learn How to Cook


Why Your


BY VERA TWEED D


oes your doctor know how to cook a healthy, nutritious meal? Few do, but that’s


starting to change as medical schools begin introducing culinary medicine — hands-on cooking classes that teach doctors how to prepare meals that are both healthy and delicious. The underlying premise is that


simply telling patients to eat a healthy diet is not enough. It requires knowledge of cooking, combined with the science of healthy eating, to bring about better health for patients. A recent study at the Yale


School of Medicine compared the effects of showing medical trainees cooking videos and giving them cooking classes where they prepared healthy dishes. Compared to trainees who only


watched videos, those who took cooking classes felt much more confident in helping their patients eat a healthy diet. It’s no secret that nutritional


94 NEWSMAX MAXLIFE | DECEMBER 2025


As culinary medicine gains importance, new study finds most MDs lack nutrition training. ::


education of doctors falls short. Among participants in the Yale study, 94% felt they needed more training in nutrition. Patients, too, need culinary


education. Simply being told that they should


eat a healthier diet, even if the reason why is clearly explained, is not enough to bring about change. “The missing piece


has always been how to make that advice real,” says Wesley McWhorter, a registered dietitian, professional chef, and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “Culinary medicine fills that gap,” he tells Newsmax.


McWhorter was part of a team that


tested a five-lesson virtual culinary medicine program for a group of people with Type 2 diabetes in Texas. Patients assembled the ingredients


and tools to prepare a healthy recipe in their own kitchen, and then followed live video instructions to prepare the dish for their family, learning knife skills and flavoring techniques in the process. The live videoconferencing format allowed for questions and some tailored instructions. Participants experienced a decline


in average A1C — blood-sugar levels during the previous two to three months — to a meaningful degree. In one case, it


MCWHORTER


dropped by nearly three points. However, says McWhorter, “The impact was more than better blood sugars or lower blood pressure; it was the confidence and joy of realizing that healthy food could and should be both delicious and doable.”


VEGETABLES/HINTERHAUS PRODUCTIONS/GETTY IMAGES


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