Physician Alessio Fasano, raised on a farm on the Amalfi Coast of Italy, specializes in digestive disorders as an endocrinologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Yet on a busy doctor’s schedule, he still finds time to cook regularly for his family. In this episode, Dr. Fasano explores the significant benefits of home-cooked meals, including improved family dynamics as loved ones have an opportunity actually to talk with each other. But home cooking also means a greater likelihood of healthy ingredients, as we’re actually selecting what we eat—rather than leave that to corporations, such as fast food restaurants and vendors of processed foods. And Dr. Fasano likes to do weekly shopping at the famous Quincy Market, where he selects foods found in the heart-healthy Mediterranean Diet, commonly followed in his native land. Plus, eating at home is usually cheaper!

There are some people that if they don’t do something during the day, it’s like the day is not complete. Some people, they need to listen to music, or other people need to exercise, to make the day complete. I don’t feel the day is completed unless I cook. It’s relaxing, unleashes the creativity. It makes me in a good mood. Again, while I cook I can talk with the rest of my family about how the day went.”

—Alessio Fasano, MD