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Doctors in training learn cooking skills to help patients amid America’s chronic disease crisis

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Future doctors at some medical schools are learning more than anatomy, pathology and pharmacology these days. They’re learning to cook healthy foods patients will actually want to eat.

The training is part of a growing field called culinary medicine, which blends cooking skills with nutrition education. It’s gaining momentum at medical schools nationwide, The New York Times recently reported, with schools like Tufts University launching courses in 2025.

In many programs, that means stepping into a kitchen and learning to prepare meals firsthand, not just studying nutrition from a distance. 

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“It’s combining the culinary arts with evidence-based medicine and educational techniques to teach nutrition in a way that young doctors and other health care professionals can use in counseling and talking to patients,” Dr. Ron Quinton, medical director of Tulane University’s Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine in New Orleans, told Fox News Digital. 

Rising rates of diet-related diseases, including diabetes, obesity and heart disease, are fueling demand for more nutrition-focused care, experts say.

“Most people are eating the standard American diet, which is high in saturated fat, high in sugar, high in salt,” Quinton added. “There are at least 13 obesity-related cancers that are directly diet-related,” he noted.

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At Tulane’s School of Medicine, students work through mock patient cases before heading into the Goldring Center’s teaching kitchen — one of the nation’s first, established in 2012 — to prepare healthy, flavorful and affordable meals.

“We don’t want to make bland food,” Quinton said.

They also don’t want patients thinking they must overhaul their diets overnight, he said.

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“Our first goal is to add things to their diet,” he said. “We’re not trying to take things away.”

One of the first cooking lessons Tulane students get, meanwhile, is about a familiar favorite: tacos. Quinton said the program adds more vegetables than traditional versions and uses homemade, low-sodium seasoning.

“A big part of our teaching is substituting things for what we consider bad for you — the sugar, the salt — and putting spices and other things in so the food tastes just as good,” Quinton said.

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Jordan Lo, a fourth-year Tulane medical student planning to pursue neurosurgery, said the teaching kitchen has given him tools he already uses when talking with patients during clinical rotations.

“Patients ask me, ‘How can I eat healthier? Where can I go to get better recipes?'” Lo said.

Understanding nutrition can benefit doctors in any specialty, particularly in preventing conditions such as stroke linked to diet, he said. “Knowing about food and culinary medicine and how it affects your patients just overall makes you a better doctor.”

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He said the hands-on classes show students how to make healthier meals feel doable at home. 

Students learn simple tips — like prepping ingredients and using small bowls to stay organized — that they can pass on to patients.

The kitchen lessons also challenge assumptions about what “healthy” food looks like. 

Lo said one surprising recipe was a dark chocolate mousse made mostly with avocado. Quinton pointed to black and white bean brownies as desserts that deliver more fiber with less fat than traditional versions, adding that they’re favorites of his grandkids.

More than 60 medical, nursing and residency programs now use versions of Tulane’s curriculum, with newer programs emerging at schools like Tufts University as part of a broader “food is medicine” movement.

Tuft’s launched a course in 2025 that brings together medical, dental and nutrition students to learn in partnership with Community Servings, a nonprofit that provides medically tailored meals to people with serious and chronic illnesses.

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Eliza Leone, a registered dietitian nutritionist and instructor in the program, said the training focuses on turning nutrition advice into practical guidance for patients.

“What’s more meaningful than telling your patient, ‘You should eat more calcium,’ is saying, ‘Here are a few recipes that incorporate calcium,'” she told Fox News Digital.

Research shows doctors are more likely to encourage healthy eating habits when they practice those behaviors themselves, Leone noted. 

“You can’t have nutrition without food, so you have to know how to make food that tastes good and also meets your nutritional needs,” she said.

Interest in culinary medicine is growing, Leone said, as more students seek hands-on nutrition training and schools respond by expanding programs.

Quinton agreed the trend is here to stay, as more doctors shift toward preventing disease rather than reacting to it.

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Biden claims constitutional safeguards are being ‘trampled on’ ahead of America’s 250th

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Former President Joe Biden said during an interview published Tuesday that the Constitution was being “trampled on,” without expressly naming his successor, Donald Trump.

“I’m not sure we’re as divided as we are portrayed,” he told NBC’s Jenna Bush Hager. “I’m sure there’s anywhere from 15-30% of the people who are on the one end here, but I think the vast majority of people are coming around to conclude that, you know, those things they don’t even think about it directly, but the safeguards in the Constitution … I think people are beginning to realize they are sort of being trampled on right now.”

The NBC segment contained an edit between Biden’s remarks about the safeguards in the Constitution and that they were being “trampled on,” but it appeared to be a continuous thought. Hager spoke to all the living former presidents — Biden, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and her father, George W. Bush, about America’s 250th anniversary.

“So, I’m hopeful that people are going to begin to say, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. We got to slow this thing up,’” Biden said. “We’re coming to the 250th anniversary of the country, and, for me, I think it reminds people that democracy is dependent on certain basic rules.”

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Obama told Hager the country was going through “uncertain times,” but he still remained hopeful.

“When you look at the sweep of American history, we’ve gone through rough patches. And we tend to come out on the other side of them stronger,” he said.

Clinton also shared a message about democracy.

“The country will survive as much by the process, by the freedom to speak, by the freedom to vote, by the freedom to be active in politics as by any particular issue,” Clinton said. “And because it’s like it is, compromise is essential.”

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Bush said people should consider themselves fortunate to be “part of a great nation.”

He added, “Study our history so you have a better sense for what the future will be like. And be a citizen, not a spectator. And by that, I mean participate in the process but also love a neighbor like you’d like to be loved yourself.”

America is celebrating its 250th anniversary July 4.

Organizers for the America 250 celebration touted a slew of plans to commemorate the country’s historic anniversary on July 4, detailing the programs in the works and hinting that more information would become publicly available in the coming weeks.

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Rosie Rios, former U.S. treasurer and chairwoman of America 250, said the festivities would begin July 3 and extend into July 4.

“We are doing the first-ever ball drop in the history of Times Square outside of New Year’s Eve. This will happen on July 3,” Rios said in March.

In addition, Rios said organizers would compile “America’s soundtrack,” a combination of the country’s most iconic music put together by Emilio Estefan, a 19-time Grammy Award winner. 

It will include a time capsule that will be opened in another 250 years. And it would attempt to foster a sense of generosity around July 4 that would extend to future years.

Fox News’ Leo Briceno contributed to this report.

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Two injured after explosion rips through chemical plant, sparking hazmat response, shelter-in-place order

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Two employees were injured Tuesday morning after an explosion at an Illinois chemical plant triggered a large hazmat response and prompted a temporary shelter-in-place order for nearby workers.

Authorities said the industrial blast occurred shortly before 8 a.m. at the Coogee Chemical facility in Ottawa, a small city southwest of Chicago.

The incident reportedly involved a magnesium fire — an intense and highly dangerous blaze that cannot be extinguished with water — that stemmed from an apparent malfunction in oxygen sensor equipment, allowing oxygen levels to rise.

“Early findings suggest the explosion may have been the result of equipment failure during a process involving the transfer of magnesium into a storage container,” the Ottawa fire department (OFD) said. 

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“A malfunction in this system is believed to have allowed oxygen levels to increase, resulting in a reaction with the magnesium and causing the explosion.” 

Authorities said the two employees injured in the incident were quickly transported to a local hospital for treatment.

One worker was rescued from inside the facility by an initial response team, while the second was able to self-evacuate to a nearby building, the fire department said.

“An initial entry team from the first-due truck company located the first injured employee inside the structure and rapidly removed the individual to awaiting EMS personnel,” OFD said. 

The extent of the workers’ injuries remains unclear.

A secondary search later confirmed that all facility personnel had been accounted for.

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Crews also had to use specialized on-site industrial dry chemical agents to safely suppress the magnesium fire, as water can further intensify the reaction.

The fire department said the blaze was brought under control at approximately 8:14 a.m., roughly 15 minutes after it broke out.

As a safety precaution, the Ottawa Police Department and the Illinois Department of Transportation temporarily closed a nearby road, and individuals in the area were advised to shelter in place.

All responding personnel underwent standard decontamination procedures on scene, while hazmat teams assisted with patient decontamination at the hospital.

The fire reportedly caused minimal damage to the facility, and plant operations have been suspended pending an investigation.

The Illinois Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Illinois OSHA) is assisting with the investigation. 

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Bear Grylls reveals why A-list stars willingly eat snakes, brave glaciers on ‘Running Wild’

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One of the world’s most recognizable survivalists, Bear Grylls, swapped the rugged cliffs of Norway for the bright lights of the “Fox & Friends” studio this week — at least for a short time.

Joining host Brian Kilmeade, Grylls discussed the ninth season of his hit show, “Running Wild,” which makes its debut on FOX.

While most talk shows involve celebrities sitting on a sofa to promote their latest project, the approach by Grylls is a bit more visceral.

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The new season of his show features a heavy-hitting lineup, including Matthew McConaughey, whom Grylls took to a glacier in Norway.

Kilmeade joked about Grylls’ casual appearance. But the survivalist was quick to note that his mother often called him the scruffiest person in the room.

For Grylls, however, the attire is a uniform for a job that bridges the gap between A-list glamour and rugged human experience.

“The wild never judges,” Grylls said on “Fox & Friends.”

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“I’ve done this all my life. … My dad was a former Marine, taught me a lot of this stuff. … This became my world,” Grylls said.

When asked why some of the most successful people on Earth would willingly subject themselves to the harsh conditions seen in the show’s promos — such as eating snakes or boiling water to avoid illness — Grylls said, for these stars, the appeal is about authenticity.

“It’s different [from] a chat show, where you sit on the sofa, and there’s a performance for three minutes to tell a funny story,” Grylls said. 

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“Nature does my job for me. Like I said, it opens people up. I think a lot of these stars — they want the experience of what the wild can give you.”

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The duo reviewed a clip of McConaughey learning the hard way that even “pristine” Norwegian water needs to be boiled to avoid a mid-journey disaster.

Reflecting on nine seasons of taking world leaders and icons into the brush, Grylls shared his biggest takeaway.

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“Everyone’s just a regular person underneath it all,” he said. “I admire the fact that they’re out of their comfort zone. And that becomes a discipline. Successful people do the difficult.”

“Running Wild” airs tonight on FOX, with episodes available for streaming the following day on Hulu.

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