Food As Medicine

“Food is Medicine” is a term originally coined by Hippocrates. Almost 2 500 years ago, he believed that eating wholesome food was the basis for good health. He said: “Leave your drugs in the chemist's pot if you can heal the patient with food." Hippocrates believed that illness was a result of inadequate nutrition and bad eating habits. Tribal elders would seek out healing herbs and plants for their community. Centuries ago, doctors and health practitioners across the world imparted Hippocrates’ knowledge.

Research is clearly indicating that food plays a major role in health. “Seeing your food as medicine helps you make better decisions about what, how and how much to eat,” says Dr Daniel Nadeau, St. Joseph Hoag Health. If food can prevent many chronic illnesses, then it makes sense to alter what and how we eat in order to use food only to heal and restore the body, but also to prevent illness. "It's a different paradigm of how to treat disease," says Dr Brenda Rea, Loma Linda University School of Medicine.