Episode 7: Cooking for the Health of It
Cooking for the Health of It
Rani Polak, MD, a physician and classically trained chef, shares the idea of culinary medicine — how our food choices impact our health in a profound way. And, he says, the healthiest, most nourishing food is the food you cook yourself. (Science says so!) In this episode, Dr. Polak also shares some ideas on getting kids to eat their vegetables and a fun, easy vegetable spring roll recipe you can do with your kiddos at home.
MEET OUR GUEST
Dr. Rani Polak is the founding director of both the Culinary Healthcare Education Fundamentals (CHEF) Coaching program at the Institute of Lifestyle Medicine, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, and the Center of Lifestyle Medicine at Sheba Medical Center, as well as a part-time assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. He is focused on culinary coaching, which aims to improve nutrition through culinary training combined with health coaching principles.
Episode highlights
1:00 – Who is Dr. Rani Polak?
3:00 – What is culinary medicine?
4:00 – What research says about cooking at home
8:00 – The benefits of home cooking
10:03 – What science says about cooking with our kids
11:30 – Kids and veggies
13:25 – Dr. Polak tells us to chillax about the veggies
14:21 – Dr. Polak’s recipe for vegetable spring rolls with a vinaigrette sauce
16:26 – Kitchen Questions
22:30 – Where to find Dr. Polak
23:04– Closing Thoughts
Our favorite quotes from the episode
“During my culinary training I understood the stronger relationship between food and health. And then I realized that I can bring all that to medicine. And then I went back to medical school.” — Dr. Rani Polak
“The impact of food on health is huge. If you look on what physicians and other healthcare professionals think about the impact of food, most of us believe that food is mostly related to prevention. Most of us know that food might prevent disease.” — Dr. Rani Polak
“As people cook at home, they consume less calories.” — Dr. Rani Polak
“We know that when kids are involved in the cooking process, they are much more likely to try the food.” — Dr. Rani Polak
“What I'm trying to say is that kids absorb the behavior of their family even if you don't see it right away. All the healthy behaviors are implemented in the kids, and hopefully they will show up sometime in the future.” — Dr. Rani Polak
Show notes and LINKS FROM THE EPISODE
Follow Dr. Polak:
www.instituteoflifestylemedicine.org
Twitter: @ranipolakmd
Facebook: CHEF Coaching