Healing Power of Foods (Nature's Prescriptions for Common Diseases)

Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, recognised that medical therapy must be consistent with the nature and design of the human body. He believed that effective health care could not be separated from nutrition. He stressed prevention of diseases by strongly recommending a balanced diet with a moderate and sensible lifestyle. Hippocrates wrote, "Natural forces within us are the true healers of disease... Everything in excess is opposed to nature... To do nothing is sometimes a good remedy." His philosophy was very much akin to the holistic health perspective of today.

Various foods not only provide nutrition to our body, but can prove to be medicinal too. Healing Power of Foods introduces all the main food groups to the reader, giving details about the medicinal uses of the commonly used foods. The tips given are simple, practical and effective. Healthy recipes at the end of the book highlight the role that various foods play in providing nutritional and medicinal benefits.

SUNITA PANT BANSAL did graduation with honours in Food and Nutrition and post- graduation in Dietetics and Public Health Nutrition. She subsequently worked as an honorary dietician at Sir Ganga Ram and G.B. Pant hospitals, and began writing on health and nutrition, with articles and columns appearing in major news- papers and magazines (over 600 articles). She has also aired programmes on health in the All India Radio and Doordarshan. She joined The Times of India for some time as an Editor, Health, Saturday Times. She has the honour of being the only Indian dietician with Indian qualifications to become a member of the British Dietetic Association, UK. Among her other books, Diet in Diseases and Cholesterol Busters have been widely acclaimed.

A significant percentage of people have preventable disorders, many of which are caused by routine violations of good health and nutritional habits. Even borderline deficiencies can lead to different types of illnesses.

Insufficient or inaccurate knowledge, inability to obtain nutritious foodstuffs and supplements, and/or indifferent attitude towards self-care are the most common underlying reasons behind poor eating habits and resulting sickness. For example, all substances consumed in excess are toxic to the body. Consuming the same foods day after day, saturate the body and intoxicate it. Ultimately, rather than nourishing these foods repeatedly cause the body to react negatively. Even today most people believe that diet is only important in relation to weight loss and bodybuilding. Whereas, the diet is an important factor in overall health and well-being.

The right foods do have the power to heal just as the wrong foods can cause ill health. In India, Ayurveda has been around for many centuries. People not knowing Ayurveda have also been using indigenous herbs/ plants as household remedies since times immemorial, especially in villages and small towns, where access to medical facilities is not easy. Not only in India, herbs and plant food therapy has been successful through the ages all over the world. Why? Because the plants have certain properties that cure the disease and restore the natural balance in the body.

The drug industry has isolated the key components from the plants to use in the various therapies. For example, the most powerful drug used in cancer chemotherapy was isolated from the plant Madagascar Periwinkle. It is effective against breast cancer, but its side effects may be debilitating. Nature intended all the parts of the plant to work together, as buffers and regulators, minimizing side effects and aiding assimilation.

This book is an attempt to make available nature's pharmacopoeia to the readers, as it is essential to know which plant/herb has therapeutic applications in which disorder/disease.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages