[Food as Medicine] History of food as medicine

in a centries, we learnt from older generation people how to use food as medicine. which I believe it is not really scientific solution but also it is really using as medicine. 

most important information from this section what I believe is a divercity. -culture and countries etc.

I always wonder what if I was born another country and it would be same as what I have been tought how to use food as medicine ? and when I travel, I always find out how people use same way to treat illness as different food and vegetables.  it just makes me surprised.

(it has Janeane Dart - lecturer's videoes from this course, more information then this article.    )

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How and where have foods have been used as medicine in the past?

Many special foods were known and treasured due to their use in treating or preventing disease and the knowledge of these special foods was carefully passed down the generations. Cultural practices relating to food as medicine across the globe are steeped in history, complex belief and value systems.

The modern era of evidence based practice and the globalised world we live and operate within, presents an interesting time as we begin to investigate and research some of these long held beliefs and practices in an attempt to gather evidence and strengthen our understanding of the role of food as medicine.

The four ‘humors’

In ancient Greece and Rome, nearly 2,000 years ago, it was believed that optimal body function relied on a balance between four main fluids(유동성의 액체) or humors. These fluids were thought to have independent properties but were also closely linked to each other and overall body function. The four humoral fluids were: blood, yellow bile (choler), black bile and phlegm(가래) – each had a different role and they all needed to remain in balance in the body- too much or too little of one humor would result in illness.

Many things were believed to influence the balance of humors within a person – things such as their age, the time of the year, their gender and occupation and the place where they lived. Through food and drink as well as by the process of ‘blood letting’ the humors were corrected and rebalanced.

People were advised to eat different foods not only when they were ill but also when they were “weak of character” for example if they were particularly depressed or angry because mood and disposition was also thought to be affected by humoral balance. These practices were highly individualised, and generally limited to people of affluence(풍부한). This Graeco-Roman way of thinking about health, as modified(변경하다,조절하다) by Arab doctors, was imported into Europe in the Middle Ages. Here it lasted until the early Renaissance when people started to gain more knowledge of how bodies functioned and the causes of disease.

https://blog.naver.com/hanjun105300/221512402309

과학[Science] 4체액설 - 피, 점액, 황담즙, 흑담즙

Plant foods as medicines

Across history, many fruits and vegetables and other plant foods have been used, recommended and/or avoided for their supposed medicinal properties. As one example, when the Tudor boy king Edward VI was dying of tuberculosis(결핵증), he was given: spearmint syrup, red fennel, liverwort, turnip, dates, raisins, mace, and celery mixed with raw meat from a 9-day old female piglet.

Often particular fruits and vegetables were considered to have particular special properties. For example, people were encouraged to avoid eating too many cucumbers and melons as these are very watery foods and so it was thought that they would encourage fluid retention.

Fruits such as figs, pomegranates and quinces were often considered be very beneficial to health but if you did not live around the Mediterranean region, these were accessible only to the wealthy. Okra, a green, finger shaped vegetable common in Indian cooking, was believed to be effective for assisting with managing diabetes as was bitter melon among Chinese people.

In Europe

In old traditional European diets in countries like Greece, wild greens played an important role. Young leafy shoots and leaves were collected from a great variety of plants including thistle, dandelion, amaranth, stinging nettle, mallow and purslane found growing wild in the countryside. These were eaten raw or boiled and served with lemon juice and olive oil. They were believed to be very important for good health and for recovering from illnesses. Dandelion and sow thistle were used to treat fluid retention.

Stinging nettles(쐐기풀) which are high in vitamin C were used to treat scurvy(괴혈병) and anaemia(빈혈). Spiny chicory (Stamnagathi), a leafy green common in Crete, was boiled and used to treat stomach ache. It is now known that most of these edible wild greens provide a rich source of vitamins and micronutrients. In southern Herzegovina, 18 different wild vegetables were still found to be used in this way today.

In Asia

Another example and an interesting case study to consider when thinking of food being used as medicine is that of the Okinawan people who are one of the longest living people in the world. The Okinawans have strong beliefs and practices about food and diet. They believe certain foods to have many medicinal qualities linked to longevity(장수). As they live on the Ryukyu Islands between Japan and China, the Okinawans have been strongly influenced by China and Chinese ideas of longevity achieved through diet.

Historically the highest ranking doctor in Chinese medicine, was the diet doctor. Okinawans believe that ‘food maketh the man’ and that the food they eat is ‘nuchi gusui’*, or ‘medicine for life’. You can research more about the Okinawan diet and how it is changing.

Comfort foods

We should also think about specific foods or combinations of food that comfort us when we are unwell. Like foods used as medicines, this also will vary across families and across cultures. Chicken soup and its various different permutations and combinations is one example of a food that has been used as part of the medicinal health in times of feeling unwell.

From ancient Chinese history and across many Asian countries and further afield into Europe, congee or a slow cooked rice porridge has been used for invalids, because it is believed to be easily digestible.

The importance of evidence for food as medicine

What we know

Foods have been used as medicines for thousands and thousands of years and there are a myriad of(무수한) examples in recorded histories. You will have your own thoughts around this and particular beliefs and practices within your own family, your cultural background and from your own experiences and other influences.

The need for evidence

We exist within a period of evidence based medicine. Whilst the philosophical origins of evidence based medicine date back hundreds of years, evidence based medicine has really emerged(보이지않던것이 떠오르다) and strengthened over the last few decades. It has been particularly important in highlighting some food practices and food medicines that can do harm.

Evidence based medicine is the “conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients” and/or more broadly applied to populations.

Recommendations change over time

Importantly, evidence evolves all the time and recommendations do change. Whilst this can be confusing as we are often looking for concrete or definitive answers to questions about food, it is a fascinating area as we learn more about food and nutrition, health and disease all the time and the area of Food as Medicine will continue to develop as further research unfolds.

 

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Reference

1.9 Australian guide to healthy eating.pdf

0.30MB

1.9 Healthy eating for adults.pdf

2.41MB

1.9 ship stores.pdf

0.78MB

nuchi gusui * 누치 구수이 뭐...약식동원 이라는 말인듯 = food as medisine ? / 생명의 약http://www.sisajournal.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=192547

장수하는 사람들이 꼭 먹는 음식 7가지 - 시사저널

 

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