Why Food Matters to Christian Faith and Medicine
Victoria Yunez Behm, MS, MTS, CNS, LDN, Duke University, Durham, NC, Maryland University of Integrative Health, Laurel, MD
The phrase, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food,” is often attributed to Hippocrates, but these exact words have not been found anywhere in Hippocrates' writings. Still, the Hippocratic oath includes an analogous commitment: “I will apply dietetic and lifestyle measures to help the sick to my best ability and judgment; I will protect them from harm and injustice.” By no fault of their own, few physicians regularly include nutritional or lifestyle interventions. Only 29% of medical schools teach the recommended twenty-five hours of nutrition. Fewer than 14% of internal medicine interns feel physicians are adequately trained in nutrition, even though 94% think it is their obligation to discuss nutrition with patients.[1][2]
As Wendell Berry notes in the 2016 documentary “Look and See,” coherence occurs when “you take two things that belong together, and you put them back together.”[3] I suggest that food and medicine - two things once cohered - ought to be put back together. In this paper presentation, I will propose that food and eating are paradigmatic, central acts in the healing work of both medicine and theology. Additionally, I suggest that people of faith with vocations to health care have a moral obligation to their patients to talk about food for two reasons.
First, nutrition influences long-term health outcomes more than any other single factor, but it is not adequately addressed in most healthcare environments. Omitting nutrition does not “protect patients from harm and injustice.” Instead, this omission perpetuates harm and injustice, particularly for vulnerable communities who disproportionately bear the burden of nutrition-related chronic diseases and are most likely to struggle to afford expensive tests and medical treatments.[4]
Second, eating is one of the most intimate ways we interact with and participate in God’s creation. We take other created beings into our bodies, metabolize them, and incorporate the minute building blocks of creation into our own bodies. Our food becomes our bodies. What’s more, Jesus is particularly concerned with food, eating, and gathering over shared meals. Christ frequently enacts rescue and restoration to those on the margins of society at the proverbial dinner table.
The Lord’s Supper paradoxically establishes eating and drinking as central and paradigmatic acts of faith and our identity in Christ – we are incorporated into the body of Christ when we incorporate the body of Christ into our own bodies. Thus, eating is not a mundane or vulgar act. It holds significant theological and eschatological meaning for Christians. After all, the promise of the kingdom is a radical pronouncement and a generous invitation to a banquet. Christians in health care are called to participate in the healing work of the kingdom. Perhaps food is a good place to start.
[1] Adams KM, Kohlmeier M, Zeisel SH. Nutrition education in U.S. medical schools: latest update of a national survey. Acad Med. 2010 Sep;85(9):1537-42. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0b013e3181eab71b. PMID: 20736683; PMCID: PMC4042309.
[2] Vetter ML, Herring SJ, Sood M, Shah NR, Kalet AL. What do resident physicians know about nutrition? An evaluation of attitudes, self-perceived proficiency and knowledge. J Am Coll Nutr. 2008 Apr;27(2):287-98. doi:10.1080/07315724.2008.10719702. PMID: 18689561; PMCID: PMC2779722.
[3] Look and See: A Portrait of Wendell Berry. Documentary film. Directed by Laura Dunn and Jef Sewell. Two Birds Film, 2016.
[4] While nutrition education is outside the scope of this paper, I will provide concrete examples of how nutrition is being incorporated into health care in the US.
As Wendell Berry notes in the 2016 documentary “Look and See,” coherence occurs when “you take two things that belong together, and you put them back together.”[3] I suggest that food and medicine - two things once cohered - ought to be put back together. In this paper presentation, I will propose that food and eating are paradigmatic, central acts in the healing work of both medicine and theology. Additionally, I suggest that people of faith with vocations to health care have a moral obligation to their patients to talk about food for two reasons.
First, nutrition influences long-term health outcomes more than any other single factor, but it is not adequately addressed in most healthcare environments. Omitting nutrition does not “protect patients from harm and injustice.” Instead, this omission perpetuates harm and injustice, particularly for vulnerable communities who disproportionately bear the burden of nutrition-related chronic diseases and are most likely to struggle to afford expensive tests and medical treatments.[4]
Second, eating is one of the most intimate ways we interact with and participate in God’s creation. We take other created beings into our bodies, metabolize them, and incorporate the minute building blocks of creation into our own bodies. Our food becomes our bodies. What’s more, Jesus is particularly concerned with food, eating, and gathering over shared meals. Christ frequently enacts rescue and restoration to those on the margins of society at the proverbial dinner table.
The Lord’s Supper paradoxically establishes eating and drinking as central and paradigmatic acts of faith and our identity in Christ – we are incorporated into the body of Christ when we incorporate the body of Christ into our own bodies. Thus, eating is not a mundane or vulgar act. It holds significant theological and eschatological meaning for Christians. After all, the promise of the kingdom is a radical pronouncement and a generous invitation to a banquet. Christians in health care are called to participate in the healing work of the kingdom. Perhaps food is a good place to start.
[1] Adams KM, Kohlmeier M, Zeisel SH. Nutrition education in U.S. medical schools: latest update of a national survey. Acad Med. 2010 Sep;85(9):1537-42. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0b013e3181eab71b. PMID: 20736683; PMCID: PMC4042309.
[2] Vetter ML, Herring SJ, Sood M, Shah NR, Kalet AL. What do resident physicians know about nutrition? An evaluation of attitudes, self-perceived proficiency and knowledge. J Am Coll Nutr. 2008 Apr;27(2):287-98. doi:10.1080/07315724.2008.10719702. PMID: 18689561; PMCID: PMC2779722.
[3] Look and See: A Portrait of Wendell Berry. Documentary film. Directed by Laura Dunn and Jef Sewell. Two Birds Film, 2016.
[4] While nutrition education is outside the scope of this paper, I will provide concrete examples of how nutrition is being incorporated into health care in the US.