From The November 2000 Issue of Nutrition Science News

Food As Medicine

Des Moines, Iowa—Hippocrates once said, "Let food be your medicine." Today, 54 percent of American shoppers agree that foods can be used to reduce their use of some drugs and other medical therapies. That's up 10 percentage points since 1992, according to HealthFocus Inc., a market research firm based here that tracks Americans' attitudes toward food, health and nutrition.

The nationwide survey of 2,074 respondents was conducted in late 1998, with results released this August. The report concludes that these opinions open "significant opportunities" for health and nutrition marketers to use knowledge-based marketing programs to shape health decisions and product choices among shoppers.