Integrative Health and Culinary Medicine Program
CHOC is leading the way in pediatric integrative health — including the innovative approach of culinary medicine — to advance healing, wellness, and nutrition-based therapies through clinical excellence, research, and education. Unlike many hospitals, we don’t treat holistic care as an add-on; it’s part of our standard of care for children with gastrointestinal conditions.
As the only hospital in the region to provide pediatric-focused integrative medicine since 2002, CHOC offers a full range of evidence-based therapies for GI conditions, including acupuncture, hypnotherapy, massage, and mind-body practices. These services are delivered by licensed experts in traditional Chinese medicine, pediatric psychologists, child life specialists, and other pediatric-trained providers who work together to manage symptoms, reduce stress, and support each child’s overall well-being.
A key part of our Integrative Health Program is Culinary Medicine, which combines evidence-based dietary strategies and medical knowledge with hands-on culinary skills and nutrition education. This helps families understand how to use “food as medicine” to manage and prevent digestive disorders. Our goal is to empower children and their families to make informed food choices that support gut health, reduce symptoms, and improve quality of life. This collaborative program brings together pediatric gastroenterologists, registered dietitians, and chefs to develop practical, nutritious, and enjoyable meal plans that accommodate each child’s medical and dietary needs.
By blending pediatric integrative health and culinary medicine into one coordinated program, we create an optimal environment for children to heal, grow, and thrive.
Services and treatments are individually tailored to the specific needs of your child and are updated to best respond to changes in a patient’s gastrointestinal condition. Ask your doctor if it would be appropriate for integrative health treatments to be added to your child’s care.
Support Our Mission
Integrative health services at CHOC are entirely supported by philanthropy. For more information about supporting our program so that patients may continue to receive these important services, please contact the CHOC Foundation at 714-509-8690 or make a donation today.
CHOC is proud to be selected as a partner with the Orange County Integrative Health Initiative, which is committed to making integrative health services available to Orange County residents, including kids. As the only pediatric-dedicated partner, the CHOC Primary Care Clinic will be able to offer mind-body therapies, nutrition, and preventatuve health services and more to our patients, in addition to these services currently available in the hospital. The Orange County Integrative Health Initiative is a partnership between the Health Funders Partnership of Orange County, the UC Irvine School of Medicine, the Samueli Foundation, the Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine (SSCIM) and the Coalition of Orange County Community Health Centers. Learn more about the Orange County Integrative Health Initiative.
Children aren’t afraid of the “cat’s whiskers.” That’s what Dr. Ruth McCarty calls the sterile, very fine pediatric needles she uses for acupuncture. Dr. McCarty is a trained traditional Chinese medicine practitioner and led the way in bringing these treatments to CHOC more than a decade ago. Traditional Chinese medicine is offered to patients in every unit of the hospital. “Chinese medicine addresses the whole mind, body and spirit of the patient,” Dr. McCarty says. “My goal is to improve their quality of life at that moment, wherever they are in treatment.”
With more than 15 years of experience, Dr. McCarty is an important member of a child’s care team at CHOC. She provides therapies such as acupuncture, aromatherapy and massage, which are good at relieving symptoms such as anxiety, pain and insomnia. For example, a 10-year-old girl recovering from extensive stomach surgery was prescribed integrative medicine by her CHOC doctor to help manage her pain. Dr. McCarty used acupuncture to stimulate points in the girl’s legs and ears. “All of the body’s organs have a corresponding point in the ear,” Dr. McCarty explains. “By stimulating a specific spot on her ear, I was able to help alleviate the girl’s abdominal pain.”
Dr. McCarty received a doctorate degree in acupuncture and Chinese medicine at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine (PCOM) in San Diego. She completed an internship at PCOM, followed by an internship and certificate of advanced study in pediatrics and internal medicine at Shandong Traditional Chinese Medicine University Hospital in the Shandong Province, Peoples Republic of China. She is a licensed professional acupuncturist with the state of California.
In addition to her role on the medical team, Dr. McCarty oversees the CHOC integrative health internship training program for Master of Science students at Southern California University of Health Sciences.
If your child is in the hospital and would benefit from traditional Chinese medicine treatment, talk to your doctor about integrating it into your child’s care. For outpatient appointments, contact Ruth McCarty here.
Feelings of stress or discomfort can arise unpredictably, and our hope is that patients and families can manage their symptoms in the moment if needed. Through education, recommendations and instructions from discharge, we teach parents and patients how to continue using integrative health techniques on their own.
For more helpful instructions on coping skills such as belly breathing, acupressure, self-talk and more, we offer a Coping Skills Kit to guide you.
