Can Food Act as Medicine? All You Need to Know
Your entire health is significantly influenced by the foods you choose to eat. Research shows dietary choices affect disease risk (Healthline, 2019). While some foods can worsen chronic health conditions, others have potent healing and safeguarding properties. Therefore, a lot of individuals assert that food is medication.
However, a strict diet cannot and shouldn’t always take the place of medication. Changing one’s food and way of life can often help prevent, treat, or even cure numerous diseases, although this is not always the case.
This blog highlights the healing properties of food along with which foods should and shouldn’t be consumed.
How your body is nourished and protected by diet
Numerous nutrients found in food support good health and shield your body from illness. Eating full and healthy foods is crucial because their special components work together to produce effects that cannot be achieved by taking supplements.
Minerals and Vitamins
Although vitamins and minerals are only required in very little amounts by your body, they are essential to your health. For instance, inadequate vitamin C, vitamin D, and folate intakes may hurt your heart, impair your immune system, and raise your chance of developing certain malignancies, respectively.
A balanced diet can reduce the risk of disease
Vegetables, fruits, beans, and grains are all nutritious foods that also include a variety of useful substances including antioxidants.
- Fibre: Fibre is a crucial component of a balanced diet. It aids in healthy digestion and elimination while also feeding the good bacteria in your stomach. As a result, high-fibre meals including fruits, vegetables, grains, and beans help you stay healthy, reduce inflammation, and strengthen your immune system.
- Protein and Healthy Fats: Whole, nutritious foods with protein and fat play a variety of vital purposes in your body. Protein building blocks, amino acids, support immune system health, muscle synthesis, metabolism, and growth, whereas fats offer energy and aid in nutrition absorption. Omega-3 fatty acids, which are present in foods like fatty fish, are related to better heart and immunological health and help manage inflammation.
Notably, nutrient-dense meals may reduce your risk of disease, but highly processed foods have the reverse effect.
Disease risk can be increased by eating poorly
Heart disease, diabetes, and obesity are primarily brought on by unhealthily high-sugar diets, fast food, and processed grains. These processed foods damage your gut flora, increase your risk of diabetes, chronic inflammation, and other illnesses. According to a study involving over 100,000 participants, the risk of developing cancer rose by 12% for every 10% rise in the use of ultra-processed foods. A balanced diet can reduce the risk of disease.
Can food cure illness?
Not all diseases can be prevented or treated through diet alone, despite the fact that specific dietary choices can lower or raise your disease risk. Your health and disease risk are affected by a variety of other factors. Disease risk is a complicated topic. Genetics, stress, pollution, age, illnesses, workplace dangers, and lifestyle decisions like smoking, drinking, and not exercising also have an impact. Food cannot make up for unhealthy lifestyle habits, a predisposition to certain diseases due to genetics or other causes, etc.
Food should not be substituted for medicine
Though changing to a better diet can help prevent disease, it’s important to realise that food cannot and shouldn’t take the place of prescription medications. Medicine was created to treat illnesses and save lives. Even if it could be overprescribed or utilised as a quick fix for food and lifestyle issues, it’s frequently priceless. The decision to forgo potentially life-saving medical therapy in favour of concentrating entirely on diet might be risky or even fatal because recovery does not depend solely on diet or lifestyle.
Foods with powerful medicinal value
Making the switch to a whole-foods-based diet will greatly enhance your health. Foods with particularly potent advantages include:
- Berries: Numerous research have revealed that berries’ nutrients and plant-based components fight disease. In fact, berries may help prevent chronic diseases like cancer with a diet high in berries.
- Cruciferous vegetables: An extensive variety of antioxidants are present in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and kale. Increased consumption of these vegetables may lower your risk of heart disease and lengthen your life.
- Spices: Many spices, including cinnamon, ginger, and turmeric, contain healthy plant chemicals. For instance, research shows that turmeric can treat metabolic syndrome and arthritis.
- Herbs: In addition to naturally flavouring food, herbs like parsley, oregano, rosemary, and sage also contain a variety of health-improving elements.
- Green Tea: The outstanding health benefits of green tea have been widely studied; these advantages may include lowered illness risk and decreased inflammation.
Numerous other foods have been studied for their therapeutic potential, including nuts, seeds, avocados, olive oil, honey, seaweed, and fermented foods.
The simplest way to take advantage of food’s healing properties is to simply switch to a diet high in whole foods like fruits and vegetables.
The conclusion
Food does much more than just provide you energy. Depending on what you eat, it could improve or deteriorate your health. Whole foods with high nutrient content have been demonstrated to help treat some disorders including type 2 diabetes and to avoid numerous chronic diseases. Although it is obvious that eating a balanced diet is one of the most crucial aspects of living a long, healthy life, keep in mind that food should not be used as a substitute for traditional medicine.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for information purposes only and should not be used to diagnose or treat medical conditions. Consult a doctor or other health care professional for medical diagnosis and treatment.
