Food is Medicine: ACLM Updates Dietary Position Statement for Chronic Disease Management
The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) has released updated recommendations for its dietary position statement, aiming to equip clinicians with guidance on utilizing food and nutrition to address chronic diseases.1 These updates arrive during a period of heightened national focus on nutrition, coinciding with the release of the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs).1
What is “Food is Medicine”?
According to ACLM, “food is medicine” – also referred to as “food as medicine” – encompasses the leverage of food and nutrition interventions, guided by trained healthcare professionals, to improve health outcomes and nutrition security throughout a person’s life.1 Effective implementation is best achieved through person-centered, culturally tailored, and collaborative decision-making.1
Key Components of Food as Medicine
ACLM identifies several components of a successful “food is medicine” approach, including:
- Counseling
- Nutrition education
- Behavioral support
- Culinary medicine education
- Provision of healthy food and related resources, particularly for underserved populations.1
Optimal Dietary Patterns for Chronic Disease
The ACLM panel agreed that optimal dietary patterns for preventing, treating, and reversing chronic diseases should:
- Focus on a variety of whole and minimally processed plant foods, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, and mushrooms, while meeting but not exceeding energy requirements.1
- Minimize red and processed meats, foods high in saturated fat, ultraprocessed foods containing added sugars, refined carbohydrates, unhealthy fats and oils, sweeteners, and excess sodium.1
Alignment with the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans
The updated ACLM statement demonstrates strong alignment with the new DGAs, particularly regarding the connection between diet and chronic disease, the emphasis on whole and unprocessed foods, and the limitation of highly processed foods, added sugars, and ultraprocessed foods.1 However, ACLM recommends limiting red meat more strongly than the DGAs and does not consider butter or beef tallow to be healthy fats.1
The Importance of an Interprofessional Healthcare Team
Effective implementation of food is medicine in clinical practice requires an interprofessional healthcare team working within their scope of practice and trained in nutrition-related lifestyle medicine competencies.1 This team should include registered dietitians certified in lifestyle medicine.1 Tailoring nutrition prescriptions to individual needs and goals is critical for supporting patients in adopting healthier eating habits.1
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