The field of food is medicine (FIM) is rapidly maturing, with a new report from the American Heart Association's Health Care by Food initiative documenting a 68% increase in published research and substantial growth in public investment. The annual report, Advances in the Food Is Medicine Field 2026, reviewed 57 studies published between July 2025 and June 2026. Notably, the number of randomized controlled trials—the gold standard in medical research—quadrupled in just one year, providing stronger evidence that healthcare-integrated nutrition interventions can improve health outcomes cost-effectively.
Government investment is following the science. According to the report, 16 states have approved or are considering Medicaid waivers to support FIM programs, and six states are using Medicaid managed care in lieu of services authority to provide FIM services. Federal policymakers increased food is medicine funding by $24 million in the FY2026 spending bill, a more than fourfold increase since FY2024. State Medicaid evaluations cited in the report found that FIM programs were associated with lower hospitalization and inpatient service use, lower emergency department use, and reductions in healthcare costs. Continued evaluation will help identify how program design, eligibility, duration, and delivery models affect outcomes.
"Food is medicine science has moved beyond the question of whether these interventions are feasible and effective to how they can be most beneficial for individual patients and communities," said Nancy Brown, Chief Executive Officer of the American Heart Association. "Today's evidence is helping answer which interventions work best, for whom, under what circumstances, and how healthcare systems can implement them effectively to meaningfully improve health cost effectively."
The report highlights medically tailored meals (MTMs) and medically tailored groceries (MTGs) as showing particularly promising results. Growing evidence suggests these interventions can improve blood pressure, hemoglobin A1c, and other cardiometabolic risk factors, especially when paired with nutrition counseling, community health worker support, or other complementary services. However, further research is needed to clarify the specific role these services play.
Personalization is emerging as a key success factor. The strongest outcomes were seen in programs that combined food support with services such as nutrition counseling, diabetes self-management education, motivational interviewing, and care navigation. Participant preferences, cultural relevance, convenience, and flexibility were found to play critical roles in engagement and effectiveness. "The next phase of research will focus on matching the type and design of a food is medicine intervention to a patient's needs, preferences and circumstances—an essential step in continuing to increase engagement and sustained impact," said Kevin Volpp, MD, PhD, scientific lead for the initiative.
The report concludes that the field is entering a more mature phase, shifting from questions of feasibility toward optimization, implementation, financing, and sustainability. The American Heart Association launched the Health Care by Food initiative in 2023 to integrate evidence-based nutrition interventions into healthcare systems. For more information on heart health, visit heart.org or stroke.org. The original release is available at www.newmediawire.com.
