Food as Medicine Roundup
From turmeric to ginger and rosemary, I revisit some of my top posts of 2023 exploring food as medicine.
While Hippocrates is often credited with the quote, 'Let Food Be Thy Medicine and Medicine Be Thy Food,' there is no actual evidence attributing this to the great thinker. However, the sentiment is very much in line with the general school of Hippocratic thought, which spanned centuries, resulting in the Hippocratic Corpus—the body of work of Hippocrates and those who followed him.
Perhaps the bigger question should be: Can food be poison? I would argue that ultra-processed foods clearly fall into this category due to their contribution to poor health outcomes and the exacerbation of chronic diseases. Indeed, many scientific studies have been conducted to explore this topic. A rigorous meta-analysis of 43 observational studies found that eating ultra-processed food (common in the American diet) is associated with increased risk of:
obesity
all-cause mortality
metabolic syndrome
depression in adults
Consumption of ultraprocessed food was associated with cardiometabolic diseases, frailty, irritable bowel syndrome, functional dyspepsia and cancer (breast and overall) in adults while also being associated with metabolic syndrome in adolescents and dyslipidaemia in children. —Lane et al., 2020 (source)
Ultra-processed foods are killing us. Reducing consumption of these in your diet is a step towards health.
Food as Medicine
When I think of food as medicine, there is a lot of nuance to consider. For example, if one is vitamin deficient, such as with scurvy (Vitamin C deficiency), then consuming foods rich in Vitamin C, such as rose hip tea or citrus, would be medicinal in restoring an essential vitamin and alleviating the disease.
Let Food Be Thy Medicine and Medicine Be Thy Food.
Less clear-cut, perhaps, are those foods that contribute to a reduction in the general oxidative stress state that many of us live in due to chronic exposures to environmental stressors (e.g., UV radiation, alcohol, air pollution, sugars, and food additives). As explained in an earlier post on antioxidants, living in a state of high oxidative stress and the consequent systemic inflammation puts us at greater risk of developing various of chronic diseases. Foods rich in antioxidants can help alleviate this risk to a point, but their impact is limited depending on whether or not the exposures to pro-inflammatory agents in the environment and the diet continue.
Which Foods Promote Health?
If one works to reduce exposures to stressors resulting in the generation of free radicals and the exacerbation of inflammation and oxidative stress, what foods might one consume to promote health? Which foods can also serve as medicine and promote well-being? There are many whole foods that can achieve this, with some offering specific benefits to certain body systems. Here are a few of my favorites posts on medicinal foods that I encourage you to read or revisit. I’ve removed the paywalls on these posts, so all can access them. Enjoy!
1. Turmeric
2. Ginger
3. Rosemary
Yours in health, Dr. Quave
Cassandra L. Quave, Ph.D. is a scientist, author, speaker, podcast host, wife, mother, explorer, and professor at Emory University School of Medicine. She teaches college courses and leads a group of research scientists studying medicinal plants to find new life-saving drugs from nature. She hosts the Foodie Pharmacology podcast and writes the Nature’s Pharmacy newsletter to share the science behind natural medicines. To support her effort, consider a paid or founding subscription, with founding members receiving an autographed 1st edition hardcover copy of her book, The Plant Hunter.
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