Tuesday, April 8, 2025, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM PT
with Robert Graham, MD, MPH, Chef
Bio: Dr. Graham is a Harvard-trained researcher and physician, board certified in both Internal and Integrative Medicine, trained in Holistic and Functional Medicine, a public health scientist, health service researcher, TED speaker, food activist and Chef. Together for over 20 years, Dr. Rob and his wife, Julie launched FRESH Medicine. FRESH is an acronym for the five ingredients in their recipe to health: Food, Relaxation, Exercise, Sleep and Happiness.
Dr. Graham received a Master’s of Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health while completing three additional fellowships in General Internal Medicine and Complementary and Integrative Medical Therapies at Harvard Medical School as well as Medical Education at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He obtained his culinary degree from the Natural Gourmet Institute a health supportive culinary school in New York.
Dr. Graham is a "food fighter" and a leader in the field of Integrative/Functional and Holistic Medicine has prescribed “food as medicine” for over 20 years. Dr. Graham prescribes the "FRESH 5" for health and healing and has witnessed many patients get off their medications and live happier, more fulfilling lives. He is an expert in gut health and testing (SIBO, IBS, GERD, Leaky Gut), chronic disease (high blood pressure, diabetes, depression/anxiety, obesity) prevention and autoimmune disease management. He believes in food as medicine, is trained in herbs and dietary supplements and when needed prescribes medications.
When not seeing patients in his private practice, Dr. Graham trades his white lab coat for chef’s whites as an advocate for a new model of integrative, “food-first” lifestyle-focused healthcare called Culinary Medicine. In 2019, he and Julie launched an online self-care "university," called FRESH MED U. FRESH MED U allows people to learn remotely, on their own time, using their intrinsic motivation in order to achieve their FRESH goals and live healthier and happier lives.
In addition to working at AMAN New York, Dr. Graham is the chief health officer for a medically tailored meal company called Performance Kitchen and serves as the Medical Director of Integrative and Functional Medicine at Catholic Health. He has been a food advisor to New York City Mayor Eric Adams and in 2022 participated at the White House Conference on hunger, nutrition and health.
Description:
We must change the delivery of medicine to introduce a holistic approach towards health and care. The food-as-medicine movement views nutrition as integral to well-being for ALL. In healthcare, personalized nutrition and/or medically tailored meals/Rx are used to prevent, reverse, manage, and treat illness.
Learning Objectives:
Participants will be able to:
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Discuss how our food system and food trends have misshapen the way we eat and how to use food as medicine in healthcare
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Explore the role of the interplay of culture, structure, and agency in creating space for cultural members to enact positive changes in their lives
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Introduce strategies and suggestions for a successful transition to a healthy hospital food program for both inpatient and outpatient care