Food Is Medicine

In today’s world, diet has become the leading cause of preventable chronic diseases and premature death, yet our food and healthcare systems largely overlook the power of nutrition. In Food as Medicine, Dr. Shad explores how redesigning medical education and reforming our food systems can transform health. Learn how diet impacts chronic illnesses like heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and dementia, and why empowering healthcare professionals with nutrition knowledge is essential. See how policy changes—like supporting "Farmacies" and shifting subsidies toward real food—can make healthy food more accessible and affordable, ultimately saving lives and reducing healthcare costs.

Dr. Shad Marvasti is the Founding Director of The Culinary Medicine Program and Associate Professor at the UofA College of Medicine Phoenix. He obtained both his MD and MPH from the University of Arizona and completed his medical residency at the Stanford University School of Medicine where he subsequently served as a postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Stanford Prevention Research Center. Dr. Shad has served as faculty at Stanford and now at the UofA where he has worked to redesign the 4 year medical school curriculum to include the use of food as medicine and lifestyle changes to train future physicians to prevent, treat, and reverse the chronic diseases of our time. As the director of Integrative Medicine at HonorHealth in Arizona, Dr. Shad is developing innovative clinical care models that take a whole person approach to empower patients with the tools they need to live healthier for longer.  His work in advocating for this new approach has been featured on national media outlets and published in academic journals including the New England Journal of Medicine.