This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
To learn more about how food affects the body, what better way than to stick a doctor and a chef in the same room? Or better yet, the same kitchen? That’s exactly what happens in “Epicure with the Chef MDs,” so when I ran across this web series hosted by former Food Network host Marc Silverstein, I had to share.
The webisodes pair top chefs from the District of Columbia with physicians from George Washington Medical Faculty Associates, and the result is a series of healthy recipes and a better understanding of why they promote wellness. The series is currently in its second season with three episodes to go, so I took a look at the most recent installment, where Chef Vikram Sunderam of the Indian eatery Rasika prepares a fish moilee, and urologist Paul Rusilko talks about why this type of dinner could be beneficial to warding off prostate cancer, which Rusilko says will affect one in six men.
“When you look at prostate cancer itself, it’s really seen mostly in the Western culture, Western society,” Rusilko says in the segment. “When you look at our diets that we have, they’re high in fatty acids, they’re high in calories, they’re high in artificial substances.”
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Prostate cancer is less prevalent in Asian countries, according to Rusilko, where diets are high in vegetables and flavor comes from natural spices and herbs. These Asian meals also often include fish, like the grouper Sunderam adds to the fish moilee he’s been cooking throughout the show.
Watching a chef, such as Sunderam, cook up a healthy dish with a doctor right beside him provides for interesting discussion, but what I like about “Epicure with the Chef MDs” is that the action doesn’t have to stay in Sunderam’s kitchen. The series has an accompanying cookbook, so viewers can actually make the healthy recipes they’re learning about.
For a taste of the doctor-chef combo, check out Episode 7 below, courtesy of Epicure with the Chef MDS, or watch for Episode 8, which is scheduled to go live on the website in early October.