Culinary Medicine

Food as Medicine

Intentional and healthy eating practices are oft-neglected tools for the prevention and treatment of common diseases, including but not limited to diabetes, obesity, and auto-immune disease. At East Bay Health we instruct our patients to see foods as tools which are as powerful as (and tastier than!) many drugs provided by modern medicine.

The same evidence-based approach which medical science uses to determine the efficacy of modern drugs, we use also towards food, to address the same diseases. We advocate a farm-to-table approach to nutrition and work to make this approach easy and accessible.

Our Approach

Healthy eating is not as straightforward as making the right food choices. Healthy eating is a habit.  Developing your palette towards real food, your discretion for nutritious groceries, and your in-kitchen know-how takes time and rehearsal.  Healthy eating—as a practice—takes practice.

At East Bay Health we can introduce you to and walk you through this practice.  Our in-house chef Cindy Gershen works hand-in-hand with our doctors to offer one-time and recurring cooking classes open to everyone in the community.  East Bay Health patients have access to individually-tailored, weekly meal-prep with Chef Cindy, which in conjunction with point-of-care testing for lipids, liver function, and A1C provide accountability and real-time monitoring towards the realization of your nutritional goals.

Dishes from Our Kitchen