About the Event

On July 29, 2026, the Food is Medicine Institute and Food Tank co-hosted a Capitol Hill Luncheon titled, “The Power and Peril of Food: The Latest Science on Your Mood, Memory, Metabolism, and Longevity.” The event was held in the Dirksen Senate Office Building and was also livestreamed. Special thanks to the office of Senator Bill Cassidy for providing the room for the luncheon.

The luncheon brought together leading experts to discuss the latest cutting-edge science around nutrition and topics of popular interest across the lifespan, including mood, memory, metabolism, and longevity. The event featured congressional remarks and emphasized the importance of nutrition research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other agencies to inform understanding and possible policy actions. The event attracted more than 300 in-person and several hundred virtual attendees.

Examples of Key Points Raised at the Event

• Poor nutrition is a leading driver of diet-related diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and certain cancers, and contributes to many other conditions including poor gut health, declining brain and kidney function, subpar immunity, and allergies. This poses multiple societal challenges, including negative health outcomes, preventable healthcare spending, and adverse effects on the economy, military readiness, and national security.
• Despite rising rates of diet-related chronic diseases and their multi-faceted human, economic, and societal impacts, NIH funding for nutrition research and training has been flat or even declining for nearly 50 years. By the most optimistic estimates, total funding for nutrition research represents only 4% of annual NIH spending, even with diet-related illnesses causing the majority of death and disability in the nation. During the event, speakers emphasized that the proportion of annual NIH spending (~$50 billion annually) on nutrition should increase to be better aligned with the key role of diet in health and disease prevention and treatment. 
• Robust nutrition research is essential to inform the daily decisions that people make about food, shape the nutrition guidance that health professionals offer patients, form the foundation of federal food assistance programs and policies, and guide food industry decisions about product innovation that shape the broader food supply. Although nutrition science has advanced considerably during the past several decades, helping the nation define the broad contours of a healthful diet, many critical questions remain. Speakers discussed topics that could be further explored with robust research funding, such as the role of diet in mental health and treatment of psychiatric illnesses; in the aging process, including signaling pathways that influence the rate of cellular aging; and in the development and treatment of chronic diseases.
• Speakers emphasized that there is no “silver bullet” solution to improving Americans’ health, rather, the cumulative effect of multiple policies is necessary for advancing nutrition science and improving the healthfulness of the U.S. food supply and food environments. Along with investing in nutrition science, this includes policies that support intake of minimally processed, nutrient-rich foods while reducing intake of unhealthy foods, including those that are ultra-processed (e.g., advancing food is medicine in healthcare and ensuring that federal food programs jointly support food and nutrition security).

Speakers

Congressional Remarks were provided by:

• U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy
• U.S. Senator Roger Marshall

Additional speakers included:

Panel Part 1: The Latest Science on Your Mood, Memory, Metabolism, and Longevity

• Ashley Gearhardt, PhD, Professor of Psychology, University of Michigan
• Eric Verdin, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer, Buck Institute for Research on Aging
• Moderated by Danielle Nierenberg, President, Food Tank

Panel Part 2: The Latest Science on Your Mood, Memory, Metabolism, and Longevity

• Jan Ellison Baszucki, President, Baszucki Group
• Uma Naidoo, MD, Director of Nutritional & Lifestyle Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital
• Moderated by Danielle Nierenberg, President, Food Tank

Fireside Chat

• Calley Means, Senior Advisor, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• Moderated by Dariush Mozaffarian, MD, DrPH, Director, Food is Medicine Institute

Links

Gallery