The Farm-acy is Open
“Food really is medicine,” Dr. Steven Chen proclaimed at Dig Deep Farm’s Food Hub on Fairmont Drive in San Leandro last Thursday. There are immediately measurable health improvements when people are “prescribed” a healthier diet, he said.
Some of those gains, such as lowering dangerously high blood pressure or improved blood sugar levels for people with diabetes, can save their lives, he said. Studies show that simply adding one extra serving of fruit and vegetables to each American’s diet could save about 30,000 lives a year, he added.
Chen spoke at the ribbon-cutting for a new mural welcoming people to the Farm-acy there, which proclaims “We Grow Medicine.”
The mural was by local artist Bobby Arte and his partners. Arte was a professional football player who moved into community art after an injury ended his athletic career. He has painted a number of public murals around the Bay Area, including one he just finished at the Hayward Adult School.
The new mural was funded by a $15,000 grant from Blue Shield of California and is part of public art efforts by the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office.
Chen is the chief medical director of All In Alameda, a county agency whose anti-poverty efforts include health and nutrition improvements. They work with five local health clinics to improve people’s health by improving the diet with foods known to help with specific medical conditions.
In addition to advice for specific medical conditions, some 2,200 patients have been given about 28,000 bags of food, which works out to some 438,000 servings, Chen said.
After two years of that partnership, Chen said clinical improvements are becoming clear. Patients with diabetes have seen their blood sugar measurements drop by a half-point, in a measure where normal is a bit under six. Some of those people were able to discontinue using insulin as a result, he said.
Other patients who needed medications to reduce their blood pressure have been able to lower dosages or even discontinue the medications altogether as their blood pressure has dropped. Cholesterol levels have been lowered by about 20% through a healthier diet, the equivalent of a low-intensity prescription drug.
There have been mental-health gains, too, Chen said. Medical staff have seen patients’ anxiety and depression levels drop by 25 to 30 percent, precisely during times many have suffered from increases in both.
“We’ve seen people go from high levels down to moderate levels of both anxiety and depression,” Chen said. “And we’ve seen people who were at moderate levels get down to mild levels.”
He called out the leaders, both top ones and local ones, of the five participating health clinics to thank them for their work. Those clinics were Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center in Hayward; Hayward Wellness Center, part of the Alameda Health System; the Native American Health Center in Oakland; Bay Area Community Health in Fremont and Union City, and the Ashby Health Center, part of LifeLong Medical Care, in Berkeley.