Food Is Medicine: More Evidence

A large study found that prenatal diets are linked to obesity in childhood. Action Alert!

A study of more than 16,000 mother-child pairs in seven European countries found that prenatal diets high in fruits and vegetables and low in refined carbohydrates and processed meat through pregnancy may help prevent childhood obesity. This study once again supports the notion that food is medicine. Federal rules undermine our ability to take advantage of the healing power of food and supplements. Help us reform this broken system.

The findings of the study are hardly earth-shattering: eat lots of fruits and vegetables, avoid pro-inflammatory foods like white bread, white rice, desserts, soft drinks, etc. But it speaks to the common-sense notion that that foods can help us be healthy and prevent disease. Yet in many instances we are blocked from learning about these benefits from our federal government.

We’ve written before about the federal government clamping down on cherry and walnut growers. Peer-reviewed research tells us that ingesting walnuts improves vascular health and may lower the risk of heart attack; research also tells us that cherries reduce inflammation and pain. Yet when cherry and walnut companies cite these benefits using university studies, the FDA sent warning letters threatening legal penalties and jail time if this truthful dissemination of scientific research did not stop immediately. Why? Because only FDA-approved drugs can claim to treat or prevent disease.

It’s no secret that our country is in the midst of an epidemic of chronic disease. In the last two decades, the prevalence of chronic disease has grown by seven to eight million people every five years; today chronic disease affects 50% of the US population and accounts for more than 85% of healthcare costs. Communities of color suffer the most, being twice as likely to suffer from a chronic disease than non-Hispanic whites.

One way to address this epidemic is to arm Americans with the information to take care of their own health using the healing power of food and supplements. Legislation ANH is proposing would tackle this head-on by allowing food and supplement companies to cite reputable studies about the benefits of these products. This will allow us to take control of our own health to prevent disease and reduce the need for a lifetime of disease management and expensive pharmaceutical drugs. We’ve already sent 1.2 million messages to lawmakers in support of this fix; we need your help to sustain this momentum.

Action Alert! Write to Congress, telling them to support our legislative proposal allowing the free flow of information about food and supplement benefits. Please send your message immediately.