Food First: Nutrition as the Foundation for Health

The principles of integrative nursing advocate that food be considered as a primary intervention for health promotion, risk reduction, and generally improved well-being. Food provides information to the body, signaling basic biological functions and normalizing physiological processes. Health care professionals should query patients about their nutritional intake, recognizing that adjustments in the types of foods consumed can often address long-standing symptoms that create distress, including pain, fatigue, anxiety, and gastrointestinal dysfunction. A Food First approach to care offers a novel approach that champions whole person/whole systems emergent health and well-being.