Can Food and Medicine Make It Work This Time?

Sometimes it seems that food and medicine are one of those star-crossed couples straight out of a Hollywood dramedy. One keeps looking for love. The other might be in it for the wrong reasons. Still, they can’t seem to stay away from each other. It’s been a messy relationship for more than a century, full of misaligned expectations and a fair bit of denial.

For everyone’s sake, maybe this time the relationship between food and medicine can end differently.

Throughout much of human history, food has played a central role in preventing disease. Growing up, I was told to “eat an apple a day to keep the doctor away”—advice that landed especially well in a household where my father worked in the wholesale produce business.

In that era, the connection between food and health seemed clear and inherently positive. But things have gotten more complicated.

Part of the problem lies in the distinction between health and health care. In many countries, particularly the United States, the health-care industry is not primarily about preventing disease. It’s about treating it.

Health care now accounts for about 18% of the U.S. economy—roughly $5 trillion annually—more than triple the size of the food industry. It’s no surprise then that food is often blamed for causing the very conditions the health-care system profits from treating.

Diet-related diseases like diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease affect about half of all American adults, and account for more than a fifth of all health-care spending. More than 40% of adults in the United States are living with obesity. Meanwhile, foodborne illnesses continue to be a concern, but at a much lower cost and mortality rate.

Still, even as food is blamed for rising rates of chronic illness, life expectancy has increased by about a decade since the 1950s. But that longer lifespan doesn’t always translate to more years of good health, which is good news for the pharmaceutical industry, but bad news for other would-be health influencers, including food.

As often happens in strained relationships, we’re pointing fingers. Right now, it’s seed oils, non-sugar sweeteners, and food colorings taking the heat. But it’s not clear that changing the oil we use to fry our potatoes or the color of our cereal will fix what’s broken. Blaming one side while ignoring the other rarely leads to reconciliation. It’s time for a new conversation.

The better approach—for public health and for food policy—is to acknowledge that both parties can do better. That’s part of what this issue of Food Technology explores: how the newest version of the “food as medicine” movement is reshaping product development, public policy, and consumer expectations.

It’s a debate that touches on everything from high-tech functional foods to simple, whole ingredients. Very few experts argue that fruits, vegetables, beans, or nuts are bad for you (unless you’re allergic). But it gets more complicated when we talk about grains, roots, meats, or seafood. Is the best path to health something we pick from the garden? Or something developed in the lab?

There’s a middle ground where a balanced diet—made up of familiar, nutrient-rich foods—can coexist with occasional indulgences (or indiscretions) and functional products designed to help manage health conditions. Ideally, these products are available at the grocery store or online long before a trip to the pharmacy becomes necessary.

Getting there won’t be easy. Cultural values, regulatory frameworks, and consumer trust all play a role. But a healthier, more collaborative relationship between food and medicine is possible. And maybe even overdue.

Just one piece of advice: if and when food and medicine do move in together, don’t talk politics at dinner.ft

The opinions expressed in Dialogue are those of the author.