The healing power of food has been well documented throughout history. Cultures throughout the world have used foods—fruits, vegetables, herbs, and animal products—to ward off disease and prevent ailments, aches, and pains. Now we live in a time when advances in technology allow us to take a closer look at food and discover why and how it heals. As a consumer, you have the ability to take this valuable knowledge and use it to guide your eating while reaping the benefits of improved health and wellness.
Food as Medicine:
Think back to a time when there were no medicines, no pharmaceutical companies, and very little of the hard science you are familiar with today.
Having difficulty? That’s not surprising, because you have likely not lived during such an era. However, there was a time in history when food was the only medicine.
The history of the healing power of food dates back more than 4,000 years. References regarding food and herbs for healing can be found in the Bible. Greek and Chinese cultures have a long history of utilizing food and its nutrients as cures and relief for ailments and disease. It was the people of these times who saw the effects that food can have on healing the body even if they didn’t know exactly why or how it happened.
While research findings validate the necessity to eat fresh and natural foods for health, sometimes they can lead to a new product that attempts to isolate the active nutrient in these foods. When consumers are led to believe that a pill or powder filled with a foodlike substance or isolated nutrient is better than the food itself, perhaps science has been taken a little too far.Many of the reputed benefits of food from the past are now strongly supported by scientific evidence. The well-known Nurses’ Health Studies are considered some of the largest and longest-running research studies evaluating factors that influence women’s health. Through these studies scientists have learned things such as eating cruciferous and green leafy vegetables can help maintain cognitive function as you age, and the consumption of nuts and whole grains reduces risk for coronary heart disease. Other scientific research has shown that strawberries may contain nutrients that damage or kill leukemia cells, antioxidants have the potential to inhibit enzymes that cause inflammation, and mushrooms have antimicrobial powers to fight off infection.
The Positive Side of Nutrition Research:
As time has passed and technology has advanced, nutritional researchers have not forgotten the powers of food. What has changed, however, is that now the tools exist to evaluate exactly what makes food such a healing force. Not only are new powers of foods being discovered, but now the active components of these foods are being identified, giving people the ability to eat well and reduce disease.
For example, growing and eating garlic for its medicinal properties dates back several thousand years. Today’s researchers have been able to determine that the sulfur-containing compounds of garlic, as well as its vitamin and mineral content, produce valuable health benefits. Research has linked garlic to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and some cancers, and it carries the potential to reduce the pain and inflammation of arthritis.
Similarly, fruits and vegetables have long been recommended as part of a healthy diet, and for good reason. Not only do they provide fiber linked to gastrointestinal health, but the skin and flesh of these fresh foods contain incredible substances called phytochemicals (plant chemicals) that can reduce disease. It is evident that the color of a fruit or vegetable and its species of plant origin influence exactly what ailment or condition the food will benefit.
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