Harnessing the Power of Plant Foods During Cancer Treatment and Recovery

Introduction: Chronic disease may be prevented by incorporating medicinal plant foods into the diet.  Many clinicians are not knowledgeable about which plants contain helpful phytochemicals, nor how to prepare them.

Methods: Fifty health practitioners attended seminars presenting current research on medicinal plant foods and their effect on cancer and inflammation.  A cooking demonstration utilized the discussed foods.  Surveys measured knowledge before and after the seminars.

Results: Before the seminars 70% of attendees reported not believing sufficient scientific evidence existed to recommend patients eat specific foods.  After the program, 90% reported they felt better about evidence on diet and disease and 75% reported being more likely to recommend patients eat or not eat specific foods.

Conclusion: Health practitioners educated about the benefits of medicinal plant foods are more likely to recommend their patients eat them.  A practical demonstration of cooking methods helps them advise on including these foods in patient diets.