Food as Medicine

In the West, Hippocrates (Hippokrates of Kos), founder of the Hippocratic School of medicine, said,"Let food be your medicine and let medicine be your food." In the East, a popular Chinese proverb goes like this,"Illness comes in through the mouth; misfortune starts from the mouth." I also remember another saying which has a similar meaning: "People dig their graves with the teeth." As we usually celebrate a new year with foods and beverages, why not talk about our diets?

I know some people who are obsessed with eating healthy food. Good for them, as long as they don't go to extremes, for even "healthy foods" can become harmful if eaten excessively. When I was little, I happened to learn about a neighbor whose skin turned "orange," because he had eaten too much carrot. Why? He naively believed that carrots were good for his eyes and skin. Recently, I learned about a woman in her late middle age, who ate a lot of yogurt in order to have strong bones. She said she ate yogurt as her main meals! Unfortunately, it turned out that after a while she developed osteoporosis. She should have read T. Colin Campbell and Thomas M. Campbell II's The China Study.

For me I follow the Middle Way, and try to keep a balanced diet. I listen to, but don't trust any advice until I have tested and experienced it on myself. My body changes every second, and I know that I need to watch it closely. It gives me hints that I must recognize, and correct if I made any mistakes about my daily diet. Basically I don't like meat and animal protein. I prefer vegetables and plant protein, just because whenever I eat veggie foods, I feel much better.

This is an exciting topic, and I'll come back and discuss it next time. TTFN