This year, state legislators unanimously declared Kentucky as a food is medicine state.

Food is medicine is a growing movement that highlights nutrition, exercise, and other lifestyle factors to get patients healthier.

State Senator Shelley Funk Fro Meyer, the sponsor of Kentucky's food, is Medicine Resolution.

Traveled the hazard to tour Appalachian Regional Health Care's Lifestyle Medicine clinic, the first of its kind in the Commonwealth.

Our Clayton Dalton was there and brings you this report.

State Senator Shelley Funky Fro Meyer, a Republican from northern Kentucky, said when she got elected to public office, she realized the state was too unhealthy.

When I became a state senator in January of 2023, I really got a taste of our state budget and saw how much money we spend to medicate, how much money we spend to incarcerate, and how much money we spend educate.

Yet we have such an unwell state.

Why is that?

I felt like we need a wellness revolution and what can I do about that?

How can I help?

With hospital executives and clinicians funky fro Meyer toward Appalachian Regional Health Care's Lifestyle medicine clinic in Hazzard.

We are just very passionate about changing the model of health care and having the true focus be on health, which is keeping people out of our hospitals and getting them here in our clinic early on in their health care journey so they can learn about lifestyle moderation and how to be active and eat healthy and just be there to live a very fulfilling life.

We really take into account your past medical history, and then we review the six pillars of lifestyle medicine.

So what those entail are nutrition, physical activity, stress management, sleep avoidance of risky substances, and positive social connection.

And I like to see those on a will because I always say have one of those fall off.

Everything else is going to start to fall off with your day to day life as well.

So and how can we incorporate small sustainable habit change to help you reach your goal?

Those goals might be weight loss, overcoming fatigue, or lowering one's blood pressure through dieting.

For older adults, it might be strengthening their bones and muscles to improve their independence.

Appalachian Regional Health Care is also taking steps to improve the food they serve to patients and employees.

So we signed the health and human Services pledge to really what I call clean up our cafeterias to make them healthier, to give not only our patients better choices, but all of our employees that work in our operations as well, so they feel good and productive, fueling their bodies on leafy greens and healthy fruits and vegetables and healthy protein sources, and not ultra processed food.

The concept of food is medicine is closely tied to the Trump administration's Make America Healthy Again initiative, which also has medical schools across the country incorporating more nutrition education into their curriculum.

All of our medical schools have now signed a commitment that they will offer 40 hours, not just offer.

It's an expectation for your medical degree to get 40 hours of nutrition.

That's a big move.

For Kentucky Edition.

I'm Clayton Dalton.

A lifestyle clinic has been open for just over six months.