Have you ever heard the term “food as medicine” and felt a little confused by the concept? Keep reading for some food for thought on what this concept actually means and also how you can get the most out of it.
What does it mean?
Food as medicine refers to the therapeutic health benefits that different foods can provide our body. Rather than leaning straight into medications, many minor health complaints can be treated with the therapeutic benefits provided from intentionally adding certain foods into our diet.
Where did this term come from?
This concept is as old as time itself, with the first mention from the 2nd millennium B.C. in the ancient Egyptian text, the Ebers Papyrus. Throughout history this concept is mentioned through many different cultures and traditional medicines such as “The yellow emperor’s book of medicine” from traditional Chinese medicine and in ancient Greek through Hippocrates, who was considered the father of Western medicine (Koenig, 2022).
How accurate is it?
Research has proven time and time again that certain foods contain therapeutic properties to be used as natural medicines. Although pharmaceutical medicines definitely have their place and are necessary for certain health conditions, there are a lot of added benefits to using therapeutic foods over drugs.
Why choose food as medicine?
Some of the main reasons to boost your therapeutic foods over more medication includes:
- More cost effective
- Comes with added health benefits
- Safe for all ages/life phases
- Less metabolic load on the liver
- Can be extremely effective in conjunction with certain medications and help to counteract medication side effects
Medicinal foods worth giving a try
There are so many beneficial foods to try for enhancing your health and wellbeing, these are commonly referred to as “super foods” or “functional foods”. Some of the ones worth giving a try include:
- Ginseng – helps to reduce inflammation, boost energy, antioxidant
- Sauerkraut – natural probiotic
- Fruit and vegetables – high in antioxidants, immune boosting
- Coconut water – natural electrolytes
- Mushrooms – immune boosting, anti-inflammatory
- Flaxseed – natural fibre, regulates bowel function, reduces inflammation
- Lentils – great source of energy and protein
(UCSF Health, 2022)
You are what you eat
As the saying goes, you are what you eat.. So filling your body with nutritious and health promoting foods will keep you healthy and happy and hopefully reduce your need for several medications. When it comes to health and wellness prevention is the best approach, so why not try some new nutritious foods and actively prevent the onset of many chronic health conditions today!
References
Downer, S., Berkowitz, S. A., Harlan, T. S., Olstad, D. L., & Mozaffarian, D. (2020). Food is medicine: actions to integrate food and nutrition into healthcare. BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 369, m2482. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m2482
Koenig, D. (2022). Ancient concepts made new: a timeline of food as medicine, WebMD, accessed on 09/01/23, <https://www.webmd.com/special-reports/future-of-food/20220602/a-timeline-of-food-as-medicine>
UCSF Health (2022). Top 10 foods for health, accessed on 09/01/23, <https://www.ucsfhealth.org/education/top-ten-foods-for-health>