This is an interesting article in the NYT, "Teaching Doctors About Nutrition and Diet," about the role a physician can and should play in a discussion about nutrition and diet with patients. Of course, this discussion takes on a very different slant when your patient is homeless and eating wherever and whatever they can and can't necessarily control their diet. At St. Vincent de Paul we work in a unique environment in that the sheltered patients and many of our homeless and unsheltered patients are able to get their meals from our cafeteria (which provides over 1500 meals per day). When physicians can connect not just with the patient that chooses their food, but the source that provides the food in the first place (the built environment around the patient) then the power of the physicians role to reinforce healthy behaviors is maximized.
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