Startup companies capitalize on the old adage: You are what you eat
/A group of investors is betting that companies can create foods tailored to the medical needs of patients to fight disease and keep people healthy.
From childhood, we’re told to eat healthy: The right balance of proteins, fruits, and vegetables will give us strength and stamina.
The new Food, Nutrition and Health Investor Coalition, comprised of venture firms, private investors and others, is betting that science can turbocharge the power of food to fight disease and improve people’s health. The group has announced the creation of a $2.5 billion fund to improve health by making nutritious food more affordable and accessible.
The idea that food is medicine has been around for millennia. In 400 B.C., the Greek physician Hippocrates advised people to prevent and treat disease by eating nutrient-dense foods. The quote: “Let medicine be thy food and let food be thy medicine,” attributed to him, is one of the early missives about the medicinal value of food.
We know that calorie restriction can help to fight cancer and encourage longevity. There is plenty of evidence that eating healthy can promote good health.
The new coalition is betting that companies using scientific methods will find new ways to use food as medicine, including through the development of diets to combat specific illnesses and technology to identify compounds in nature that promote human health.
As an article behind the Wall Street Journal’s paywall explains, companies have been researching the medicinal value of food for years.
South San Francisco-based Brightseed uses artificial intelligence to search for compounds made by plants and other natural sources that benefit human health. It is working with the biotechnology company Kallyop to identify plant compounds that could be turned into therapeutics for weight loss and glucose control.
Faeth Therapeutics in San Francisco is looking for ways to treat cancer through diets that starve tumor cells of the nutrients they need, while delivering the nutrition that a patient must have. The company’s work is based on research that suggests cancers need certain amino acids to grow. For example, asparaginase, used to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia since the 1970s, breaks down asparagine, an amino acid the leukemic cells need to synthesize proteins.
We’re excited by the investment in food as medicine as one weapon in the arsenal to lengthen and improve the human lifespan. Methuselah Foundation understands that no single strategy will guarantee a longer life. That’s why we rely on seven strategies to guide our investments, planning, and policies.
It will take success on multiple fronts to achieve our mission of making 90 the new 50 by 2030. Join us in the mission.