Food as Medicine: Novel Concept or Ancient Wisdom?

I just returned from the most wonderful conference called Food As Medicine, by the Center for Mind Body Medicine in Baltimore, MD. It was a week long, jam-packed, seminar filled with lectures on holistic health by leaders and true pioneers in the medical community.

Before big pharmaceutical companies got very rich and before doctors had bad handwriting, ancient people used their intuition to discover healing remedies concocted from food and plants.

Around 400 BC, Hippocrates, the father of medicine, said, "Natural forces within us are the true healers of disease." This sentiment is exactly what we need to be moving towards to make significant changes in the health of our ever-deteriorating and ever-expanding American people.

One in every three women and about 50% of men in the U.S. will develop cancer in their lifetime. Diabetes and heart disease are also on the rise. In a country with so many technological advancements, how could this be?

Could it be that all of these pharmaceuticals that we are popping never really get to the cause of the disease but instead just cover up symptoms of disease? Could it be that practitioners no longer have enough time with each patient to educate him or her on prevention and self-care?

Could it be that as patients, we are demanding a quick fix to our problem instead of taking responsibility for our own health and doing what it takes to get well? Could it be all of these things and more? I do think it is time to start asking better questions.

When living in the city, it is easy to slip into an overstressed, on-the-go lifestyle. Sure enough, when the weather gets cold we get our first bout of the sniffles, maybe a cough, and some of us, the flu. The first thing we usually do is blame someone or something for it. We don't look at the months leading up to it and all the ways that we have broken down our immune system by poor food choices, too many late nights, an imbalanced workout routine, and the constant stress of city life.

What we can be doing instead is educating ourselves and those around us of ways to prevent the onset illness. I'm not talking about a flu shot. I'm talking about a shot of wheatgrass or vegetable juice daily to ensure you are getting enough antioxidants. We also need a consistent exercise program to boost the immune system. And how many of us actually get the recommended 8 hours of sleep so our bodies can have enough time to recharge, rest, and heal?

Food As Medicine is not just a new-age concept. It is ancient wisdom that has been forgotten about among the muck of fast food, junk food, and pharmaceutical advertising. I guess it's just not sexy to see television commercials for broccoli and kale.

However, because of organizations like the Center for Mind Body Medicine and all other holistic practitioners, there is hope that more people will be able to lead disease-free lives and those who are ill will be able to heal.


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