Homemade tacos, shrimp pasta and honey mustard tenderloin were on the syllabus for PCOM South Georgia’s first Culinary Medicine course.

The second-year Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) students joined PCOM faculty members Joanne Kakaty-Monzo, DO ‘97, clinical associate professor and chair, obstetrics and gynecology, and Dennis Peffley, PhD, JD, assistant professor, physiology and pharmacology, to learn firsthand about special diets, nutritional value, the makeup of food and how to advise future patients on healthy lifestyles.

“It’s tremendously important that physicians teach their patients about lifestyle modifications,” Dr. Kakaty-Monzo said. “What we eat is important to our overall health because nutrition and eating habits help prevent chronic diseases throughout our lifetime.”

Because the course was hosted virtually, McKay Morrow (DO ‘23) enjoyed cooking at home alongside his family and learning how to apply this knowledge to his future as a physician.

“One of the biggest benefits was establishing a basic knowledge of nutrition,” he said. “It’s not a huge part of the medical school curriculum, but it is a big part of medicine, so it was nice to start to build that foundation.”

As a vegetarian, Allison Tresner (DO ‘23) said the course gave her new ideas and a better understanding of how to adhere to a specific diet.

“I have always been interested in nutrition since I need to be more vigilant in maintaining proper amounts of protein and balancing my diet,” she said. “I was so eager to take this course to learn for myself and also to be able to relay nutritional information to my patients in a way that is applicable and relatable. I feel far more confident in my ability to educate my future patients and encourage them to take charge of their own health through the ultimate form of medicine—food!”

The course was inspired by the “Health Meets Food” course offered by The Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine at Tulane University. The primary goal is to teach future physicians about how diet and nutrition play a part in the prevention and treatment of diseases and how to discuss this important topic with their patients.