For anyone trying to change his or her eating habits, going to the doctor can be discouraging. Often, efforts to reverse chronic disease using nutrition is met with skepticism, condescension and a prescription when discussed with physicians.

However, there’s good news in Cincinnati!

UC’s Institute for Integrative Health and Wellness has strengthened its partnership with our areas largest organic farm.

Medical students and other health professionals will now make regular trips to Turner Hill Farm, in Indian Hill, to a new teaching kitchen, to learn how food can be used to prevent disease. This comes on the heels of a growing movement in medicine that aims to educate patients on the importance and value of nutrition.

Dr. David Eisenberg, associate professor at the Harvard University School of Public Health, recently spoke at UC to announce the partnership and highlight the contradictions that are inherent in our health care system. Hospitals still serve notoriously unhealthy foods. Physicians are more likely to write prescriptions than discuss specific healthy eating protocols for patients.

Dr. Eisenberg encouraged students to think of the kitchen at Turner Hill as a laboratory where medical students could reflect on their own eating habits while considering and developing programs for patients.

As a clinical psychologist who works very closely with patients looking to make behavioral changes in order to reach their health goals, the news of this partnership between an organic farm and the next generation of doctors, is incredibly inspiring.  To have a major medical school both acknowledge and commit to training physicians to use organic food as the first line of defense is long overdue.

Welcome to medicine’s newest lab- the kitchen.

-Dr. Norton

#GetSunEatCleanBeWell

Dr. J. Renae Norton is a clinical psychologist, specializing in the outpatient treatment of eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia, bulimarexia, and binge eating disorder (BED), as well as obesity. She is also the author of The Sun Plus Diet, due out in 2016. 

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Medical Advice Disclaimer: The information included on this site is for educational purposes only. It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. The reader should always consult his or her healthcare provider to determine the appropriateness of the information for their own situation or if they have any questions regarding a medical condition or treatment plan. Reading the information on this website does not create a physician-patient relationship. This information is not necessarily the position of Dr. J. Renae Norton or The Norton Center for Eating Disorders and Obesity.

©2016, Dr. J. Renae Norton. This information is intellectual property of Dr. J. Renae Norton. Reproduction and distribution for educational purposes is permissible. Please credit ‘© 2016, Dr. J. Renae Norton. http://www.eatingdisorderpro.com/