Sumber : foodandwine.com, Stacey Leasca. 15 April 2025

As the saying goes, "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food," and now there's scientific data to back it up. On April 7, researchers from the Food is Medicine Institute at the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University published a new analysis in the peer-reviewed health care journal Health Affairs, investigating what would happen if all 50 states provided medically tailored meals to individuals with diet-sensitive health conditions

The study defines medically tailored meals as "prepared, home-delivered meals, typically provided to people with complex health conditions and high acuity of care based on a referral from a medical professional or health plan," and explains that these are designed by registered dietitian nutritionists based on a patient's diagnosis and needs. The ultimate goal of these meal plans is to "improve diet-related health outcomes, reduce financial strain and improve associated well-being, address disparities, and reduce health care spending."

According to the research team's findings, if every U.S. state adopted the model, the nation could save approximately $32.1 billion in net health care costs in the first year alone and prevent 3.5 million hospitalizations per year due to complications from chronic illnesses like heart disease and diabetes.

Efforts to accommodate medically tailored diets don't just include medical professionals, with the study from March noting: "The broad public interest in Food Is Medicine interventions suggests that there would be demand for efforts by grocery stores, pharmacies, farmers markets, and food delivery programs to partner with health systems, insurance providers, and technology vendors to incorporate Food Is Medicine approaches in their retail offerings."