At Natural Products Expo West, 2022 in Anaheim, INM President and CEO Michelle Simon, PhD, ND was interviewed about a community health project and partnership between the Institute for Natural Medicine and Standard Process. The two organizations are partnering in a food-as-medicine project in rural North Carolina, an area where chronic diseases are a serious health issue.
This 12-week intervention trial will show participants how to improve their health by transitioning from a traditional American diet to one that is plant-based and abundant in organic fruits and vegetables. Their diet will also include protein powders, vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids from Standard Process. Standard Process innovation in nutrition is unmatched, as they grow a majority of their ingredients for their products and supplements on a certified organic farm and they are home to the Standard Process Nutrition Innovation Campus. This innovation center develops and tests new products and solutions for health care practitioners and patients.
The Institute for Natural Medicine and Standard Process Partnership Trial
The partner trial for INM and Standard Process includes participants who live in a rural North Carolina community. They will be guided through the program by a local naturopathic doctor. The trial also includes a smart-phone game, provided by 1Huddle, to help educate the participants about health and nutrition and improve learning retention. This study is significant as the participants are not familiar with many of the foods, supplements and nutrition information they will be introduced to through the trial, the 1Huddle phone app and the community naturopathic doctor.
Participants will be screened to measure their current health status and how their health, metabolism and biometrics change as they move through the 12-week program. The outcomes and data of the trial will be collected and published in a peer-review journal to show how a shift in diet and dietary supplement intake may make improvements to their health. The trial will also be recorded in a documentary film format.