This spring, eight first-year medical students participated in Eat to Treat, a seminar aimed at increasing their knowledge about nutrition and how it relates to a person’s health. Along the way, they also honed their cooking skills!

The 6-week seminar focuses on integrating nutrition and diet education through cooking and counseling techniques. “It provides future physicians with a deeper understanding of how nutrition and diet impact chronic conditions and the challenges many patients face in attempting to maintain a healthy lifestyle,” said Oliva Weinstein, RD/MS candidate and seminar contributor.

Now in its second semester, Eat to Treat takes place at the BMC Teaching Kitchen and offers interactive, hands-on sessions covering nutrition education, meal preparation based on nutrition education, and practice counseling with a focus on cultural competency. It culminates with a cook-off competition between students based on the skills and knowledge acquired during the course. Resources for the seminar are supplied by the BMC’s Nutrition Resource Center, which includes the Preventive Food Pantry, Teaching Kitchen, and Rooftop Farm.

First-year medical student Ann Sheng said, “This class has provided me with many life skills … I learned how to prevent food waste by making my own stock from a rotisserie chicken! I think these skills will help relate to the challenges families face accessing food.” First-year medical student Ann-Dao Chen said, “The class does a good job addressing cultural differences …and different perceptions of food. This is important when counseling [patients].”