Could your next doctor’s prescription look like this?

It’s the American way. You get sick, go to the doctor’s office and leave with a prescription for medication to make you better. But what if your doctor handed you a prescription for healthy food instead? It’s really happening. At the University of Toronto doctors are writing prescriptions (like this one) for foods to help patients lose weight, lower their blood sugar and improve their cholesterol.

So, what kinds of grub are doctors prescribing? Plant-based foods like nuts, beans, whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Basically, foods we could all use more of anyway. Will this catch on soon in the US? I hope so! In the meantime, it’s just one more reminder that food really is the best medicine of all.

The information from this post came from an educational session I attended presented by John L. Sievenpiper, MD, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto. The session was sponsored by Bush Brothers & Company.