A medical school in the US has made education about plant-based nutrition mandatory on its curriculum.
To Wayne State University School of Medicine’s knowledge, it’s the first college in the country to do so.
Now, first-year medical students at the Detroit institute will spend a segment of their training learning about the benefits of plant-based diets.
Medical school backs plant-based
In a statement, the school noted that there have been advances in whole-food plant-based diets and their disease-busting capabilities.
Additionally, it highlighted the importance of recommending nutritional advice in the workplace further down the line.
Thus, an understanding of the diet is vital during training. ‘Nutrition education and plant-based nutrition is seldom included in medical curriculum’, the schools adds.
This is why it decided to launch the Rooting for Wellness course, which includes a cooking demonstration and guest speaker events.
Nutrition education
And Wayne State hopes the move can serve as a model for similar operations in other institutions.
The lack of education in medical schools is what led Dr. Michael Greger to call for all medical schools to provide better education on nutrition.
The best-selling vegan author says that in most schools, less than 20 hours is given to general nutrition training. Many students actually get ‘de-educated’, he claims.