"Applying an innovative educational internship , i.e., Education in culinary medicine that includes food skills is a very powerful tool for children and their families to opt for healthy nutrition." Dr. Miguel Ruiz-Canela, Full Professor and director of the department of Preventive Medicine at the University of Navarra, is the researcher lead in Spain for Dr. PED-Chef, a project European Erasmus+ in which the University of Navarra participates along with centers from 5 other countries. "Our goal is to develop tools that train primary care professionals, mainly pediatricians, on nutrition-related topics through the combination of Education internship in nutritional sciences with Education in Culinary Medicine." 

To this end, the researchers have designed a course that will be available at available for two years on the project website, is 100% online, free of charge and can be taken in 6 languages (Spanish, Greek, English, Italian, Norwegian and Turkish). Dr. Nerea Martín-Calvo, pediatrician and professor at department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health of the University of Navarra, highlights the "great interest of this course, as it is the first to offer an in-depth training on Culinary Medicine for specialists in Pediatrics, something necessary and fundamental for today's society".

To this end, the 14 specialists involved have developed an interactive curriculum that addresses the needs of pediatric care professionals to provide effective guidance on healthy nutrition to pediatric patients. In addition, this will increase their knowledge and skills to provide better advice on nutrition-dependent issues.

workshop on Culinary Medicine and Pediatrics

A purpose of the presentation of the course, the Madrid headquarters of the Clínica Universidad de Navarra hosted last November 21 a workshop on Culinary Medicine and Pediatrics in which more than 30 specialists participated. After the introduction to position by Dr. Ruiz Canela, Dr. Rosaura Leis, coordinator of the nutrition area of the committee of Nutrition and Breastfeeding of the association Española de Pediatría, gave a lecture focused on the importance of nutrition in pediatrics. "We must transmit our culinary tradition to children in order to recover adherence to healthy diets such as the Mediterranean and Atlantic per diem expenses , from which society is increasingly moving away, especially among the youngest," she stressed.

The workshop ended with a showcooking given by the chef and nutritionist Xandra Luque in the kitchen of the Clínica Universidad de Navarra. This activity allowed to show the attendees the possibilities that gastronomy can offer to promote healthy eating for the little ones, as well as being fun and delicious.