Rohit Singh
Imagine this: you visit your local health centre with rising blood sugar. Instead of another pill, your doctor hands you a prescription slip that says — “One bowl of sprouted moong chaat daily, switch to millets thrice a week and add two cups of vegetables.”
Sounds unusual? This is the new conversation around food as medicine, the idea that diet itself can be a frontline treatment.
Around the world, doctors are starting to use food like a prescription. In the US, pilot programmes where patients received free fruits and vegetables showed not just healthier diets but also drop in blood pressure, weight and hospital visits. Experts there estimate that such medically tailored meals could save billions in health costs.
India too is slowly stepping into this space. Under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, more than 1.7 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs are already active across the country. These centres could easily become hubs where nutrition advice is as routine as checking blood pressure. Imagine if anganwadi workers, local markets and self-help groups all worked together to ensure that a doctor’s advice “eat more dalia, cut down on sugar” is supported by real access to affordable, local food.
The science is clear. India’s 2024 Dietary Guidelines recommend 400 grams of vegetables and 100 grams of fruit daily, less added sugar and salt, and more pulses, millets and nuts. For conditions like diabetes, hypertension and obesity, these small but consistent changes can be as powerful as medicines.
Of course, no one is saying that papaya will replace pills overnight. But food can move from being just a “side note” in treatment to becoming a real, measurable prescription. A simple food slip backed by community kitchens, cooking demonstrations or produce vouchers can bridge the gap between doctor’s advice and what actually lands on a family’s plate.
The idea is simple but powerful: the healthiest pharmacy may not be the chemist down the road, but the local mandi. If doctors start prescribing dal, drumsticks and fresh greens with the same seriousness as medicines, we may finally see a future where health begins at the dinner table.
Rohit Singh
PhD scholar in food and nutrition at CSKHPKV, Palampur
