Latest from Penn Medicine

Applying Community-Engaged Pedagogy to Culinary Medicine: Why and How Community Nutrition Enriches Culinary Medicine Curricula

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/15598276251371573

Thursday, February 25, 2026

Nutrition education and culinary training are often regarded as the core pillars of CM, but we believe that a third pillar, community engagement, merits equal recognition. We outlined this concept in a recent perspectives piece in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine where we propose that embedding community engagement into CM training provides opportunities to strengthen practical applications of student learning, benefit community partners, and address important areas of focus in the teaching of social medicine.  The full article by Zebede et al. can be found HERE.

 

Highlights from this Spring's Community Nutrition Culinary Medicine (CNCM) course

https://www.instagram.com/p/DOFIVEmDPGs/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MWppZHpvMDc3dWFtbg==

Monday, September 1, 2025

Students from the Community Nutrition Culinary Medicine (CNCM) course enjoy a meal together after a long day of cooking and learning about vegetable preparation techniques. An example of what students learned on their first day: how to grill, puree, rice, and roast cauliflower for a wide range of applications. Yinlu Zhu, M'28, holds a bowl a fresh tzatziki for the first CNCM cooking class in Quaker Kitchen. Eamon Toye, M'28, holds a farro and Asian pear grain bowl for the second CNCM cooking class in Quaker Kitchen. Their shared meals not only celebrate the skills they've gained but also mark the beginning of a deeper understanding of how food and medicine come together in the kitchen!


4 Healthy Cooking Oils and 4 to Avoid

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/best-cooking-oils

Tuesday, October 24, 2023

Are you aware that some oils are healthier to cook with than others? Most people only consider health benefits when picking an oil off the shelf, but health benefits can be different after oils have been cooked. Read this article to find out more about oils that can withstand the high temperatures of cooking and some to stay away from.

 

Food: A Vital Ingredient in Transforming Obesity Care

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/food-vital-ingredient-transforming-obesity-care__;!!IBzWLUs!ShG76hGwxVxm32hW04AlQNm2GIPZ17IlKirHB_lAfYT274f0-qNH-YttYBb_0EzwtvD2mFFNVRIvIZAvhh84ZfbPJLQ7Djwk0Nzg$

Obesity continues to be a growing problem that requires a multifaceted approach to treatment. When looking at methods of treatment, it is important to realize that environmental factors are linked with high rates of obesity and related conditions. That is why this article focuses on Food Is Medicine as an intervention for obesity. Integrating nutrition education and therapy into obesity care can close gaps that exist in pharmacological or surgical treatments.