Nutrition therapy as part of lifestyle care is recommended for people with type 2 diabetes. However, most people with diabetes do not follow this guideline. Changing eating habits involves obtaining knowledge and building practical skills such as shopping, meal preparation, and food storage. Just as fitness coaches use their specific knowledge base in fitness to enhance the effectiveness of their coaching, credentialed chefs trained as health coaches might combine their culinary expertise with coaching in order to improve clients’ food choices and lifestyles. This report documents the case of a 55-year-old white male physician, single and living alone, who was recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and reported chronic stress, sedentary behavior, and unhealthy eating habits. He participated in a chef coaching program of 8 weekly one-on-one 30-minute coaching sessions via Skype delivered by a chef trained as a health coach. During the first five meetings, the patient's goals were primarily culinary; however, with his success in accomplishing these goals, the patient progressed and expanded his goals to include other lifestyle domains, specifically exercise and work-life balance. At the end of the program, the patient had improved both his nutritional and exercise habits, his confidence in further self-care improvement, and his health parameters such as HgA1c (8.8% to 6.7%; normal <6.5%). We conclude that chef coaching has the potential to help people with diabetes improve their practical culinary skills and implement them so that they eat better and, further, has the potential to help them improve their overall self-care. We intend to further develop chef coaching and assess its potential as we learn from its implementation.

Most premature adult deaths and chronic diseases, with their associated costs, are directly related to unhealthy behaviors, particularly poor nutrition. The 2022 White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health emphasized the importance of nutrition equity and security as a key to preventing chronic diseases. What and how we eat also have important environmental impacts, with 26% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions attributed to the total food supply chain, primarily ultra-processed food (UPF) production. A new paradigm is needed to better educate patients and the public to adopt healthier eating behaviors. Culinary education, emphasizing skills such as shopping, food storage, and meal preparation is a burgeoning field, aimed at reducing UPF consumption and improving nutrition while addressing cultural and socioeconomic factors. The term Culinary Medicine (CM) is becoming popular in describing these interventions; however, a consensus on its definition has not yet been reached. There are no consensual curricular outlines and/or competencies, and the potential for addressing food security and equity has not yet been fully developed. We believe that consensual competencies will formalize CM and ensure appropriate outcomes followed by improved assessments of learners, thus promoting CM research and further implementation of this novel nutrition education approach.

Background: Meaning, purpose, and spirituality (MPS) are central to human experience and closely linked to health behaviors, well-being, and clinical outcomes. Despite strong evidence and growing policy support, MPS remains underutilized in routine care. It is vital to the practice of whole-person lifestyle medicine (WPLM), where sustained behavior change depends on deeply held motivations. Objective: To synthesize current evidence and expert consensus from a national MPS summit and translate it into practical guidance for integrating MPS into WPLM clinical practice. Approach: We summarize evidence for MPS as a driver of health, review definitions, and propose clinically feasible workflows, interprofessional team roles, and implementation tools (e.g., HOPE Note/PHI, FICA, HOPE, CLEAR). We outline community partnerships, documentation practices, and referral pathways, and address policy and payment environments that enable scalable, equitable adoption. Findings: MPS-informed care strengthens therapeutic alliance, resilience, adherence, and patient satisfaction; aligns lifestyle goals with “what matters” to the patient; and fits naturally within team-based, whole-person models. Brief structured or conversational assessments can be embedded in intake, follow-up, and transitions, while documentation and huddles propagate insights across teams. Group medical visits and links to community programs extend continuity and belonging. Payment alignment (e.g., group visits, coaching, value-based models) and fit-for-purpose metrics are pivotal for scale. The six-pillar framework of lifestyle medicine (LM) has not previously included spirituality, but recent revisions now allow for initial integration of MPS and progress toward a more complete WPLM. Conclusions: Integrating MPS is not an optional add-on but a foundational component of quality WPLM practice. Clinicians can begin with small, repeatable steps—brief inquiry, purposeful documentation, warm referrals—while systems pursue policy, payment, and measurement alignment. Implications for Practice and Research: Priorities include establishing standardized, functionally accurate definitions; incorporating MPS components into clinical LM frameworks; conducting implementation studies across settings and populations; developing acceptable accountability metrics; and evaluating effects on clinician well-being.