CRC A-Z GUD FOOD AS MEDS PDF

Preface

Traditional use of foods as medicine has been practiced worldwide since ancient times. In the third century BC, Hippocrates said, “Let food be thy medicine.” In the centuries that followed, records show that foods and plant materials were the basis of early medicines in practically every country. In contrast to folkloric use of foods as medicine, when an apple a day was recommended to keep the doctor away but for unknown reasons, modern science has isolated immune-enhancing constituents in apples and recommends the number of servings (a bioactive dose) of fruits one needs daily for health to prevent certain diseases1 and makes practical recommendations to eat not only white-Žeshed fruits but also to consume as many different colors of fruits as possible to ingest as wide an array as possible of nutrients and phytochemicals associated with health and disease prevention. 

Phytochemicals, literally “plant chemicals,” are produced by the plant for survivability, that is, as protection against pathogens and pests,2 and they also provide health benets when consumed.

For example, glucosinolates in brassica family vegetables are both plant-protective3 and have been shown to exert anticancer properties when consumed.4 Phytochemicals are also responsible for the characteristic colors, Žavors, aromas, and textures of plant foods.

The benecial pharmacological properties of foods, nutrients, and phytochemicals are highlighted in this guide.

Whole food, with few exceptions, is preferable as a source of nutrients and phytochemicals. Phytochemicals, similar to nutrients, are best utilized by the body when provided as part of the whole food matrix, rather than as individual entities. This is due to the numerous symbiotic elements contained within foods that work in concert with one another, both enhancing the benecial elements and diluting the less desirable elements.3