For low-income Californians learning healthier eating habits, smoothies can be a way to start. That’s what doctors, researchers, and patients found in Alameda County.
There, as I wrote in a column earlier this month, doctors are prescribing healthy foods to people with chronic diseases. Through a pilot program called Recipe4Health, one of the lessons for patients was that blending leafy greens into a drink helps manage blood sugar.
Blending smoothies got them to appreciate the taste of vegetables, in a form that was easy to prepare. Those who had not been making salads or cooking vegetables became more interested in plant-based eating, and the program provided online cooking lessons and recipes.
Most of the attention on programs like Recipe4Health has been on making fresh produce available to low-income residents with chronic conditions. But just as important as providing the fresh foods is teaching patients how to prepare them. Exercise instruction is also key. As Sacramento legislators consider the future of the state’s food-as-medicine pilot program, it is vital to recognize that losing the program’s classes will take away the chance to give people life-changing knowledge and skills.
“Behavior change is underdiscussed,” said Wei-ting Chen, a Stanford researcher who studied the impact of Recipe4Health over a span of one year. Chen’s colleagues presented those findings at a spring conference of the American Heart Association.