Many nutrients in food promote health and protect your body from disease. While certain foods may trigger chronic health issues, others offer strong protective and medicinal qualities. Diets abundant in plant-based foods and low in processed products strengthen your health. Other factors add up to good health, such as managing stress, exercise, and good sleep, but diet is the foundation upon which you can build and easily control.
Three Ways Food Serves as Medicine
1. It Helps with Detoxification
Sometimes our body needs that straight-up detox to get rid of harmful chemicals we accumulate in our system daily. It is actually possible to detox our bodies with the right food, such as Aronia berries and Mung bean sprouts that use their mighty antioxidant powers to help cleanse our system.
2. Improves Digestion
Gut health is critical to our overall bodily functions, and certain foods can do the trick. Nuts like chestnuts have a track record of improving digestion by reducing cholesterol levels and stabilizing blood sugar levels. Processed foods are hard for our bodies to process as they do not contain natural ingredients.
3. Lowers Health Risks
From high cholesterol to diabetes and inflammation, your body can take a hit from unhealthy diets. Real food with natural ingredients can help lower many health risks we face. Quinoa and flax seeds are fully packed with nutritional contents to help reduce the risk of heart disease and lower triglyceride levels.
How to Reap the Medical Benefits of Food
What you choose to eat has a profound effect on your overall health. Consuming nutritious diets, including fruits, vegetables, beans, mushrooms, fatty fish, berries, and grains, is the simplest and cheapest way to prevent diseases and boost immunity.
These foods contain numerous compounds, such as antioxidants, that are beneficial to overall health. For example, antioxidants protect cells from damage that may lead to disease. Manuka honey, an excellent alternative to sugar, is another good example of healthy food that can boost immunity and speed up healing. Food, indeed, is medicine.
Changing your food habits can have a great effect on your well-being and health. Using food as medicine starts by changing your approach to how and what you eat.Â
Below are some recommendations to help you leverage the uniqueness of food as medicine:
Seek Out Medicinal Foods
It is best to include ginger, turmeric, ghee, raw nuts, seeds, oils, manuka honey, and legumes in your diet as they are nutrient-packed. They can help reduce inflammation, enhance digestibility, and boost the immune system.
Cultivate Mindful Eating Habits
It is important to note that how you eat also affects the food’s medicinal effects. It takes a lot of energy for the body and mind to calm down, so it’s essential to be conscious of your environment and the steps to take to create a settled space during mealtime. Food does more than provide you with fuel; it also offers an opportunity to appreciate what you have and help you connect with loved ones.
Final thoughts
Food is nature’s medicine and arguably the only drug without any side effects. But no matter how essential and delicious food is, remember to take it easy and never go overboard.
Indeed, following a nutritious diet is one of the most important factors in achieving a healthy and long life. But keep in mind that you should not rely solely on food to replace conventional medicine. Use it alongside appropriate medical treatment when you fall sick.