Food as Medicine

I thought I’d share this infographic that I saw today on NewHope360 even though it isn’t overly informative. It gives enough information to get one thinking about food as nutrition instead of just mindless pleasure, but not enough information to really astound anyone unless they happened to have never had an ounce of nutritional information seep through their brain ever. I would like to see one that shows herbs in there too. I guess that just means I need to learn how to make infographics…hm, better get my 10-year-old on that because I’m sure he’ll figure it out much sooner than I ever could. If you think of food and medicine on a spectrum where the more nutritious foods are closer to medicine while the less nutritious foods are further away, then herbs, (depending on what they are and how much because the dose makes the medicine with food including herbs,) would bridge the gap between food and medicine. Herbs are meant to be used like food in that you take them to help balance imbalances, strengthen weaknesses, and yes, fight bacteria/viruses/disease, but herbs are generally not something you can take and see an immediate result, just like you can’t eat a head of broccoli and be cancer-free. If you have a tendency towards inflammation, for example, as so many of us do, then taking anti-inflammatory herbs, such as turmeric, might be something that could help your body long-term. That means taking the herb at a medicinal dose for at least two months to see if you notice a difference, but better to take it longer before deciding to stick with it long-term or not, unless you have a bad reaction to it of course. Incidentally, if your ‘bad reaction’ involves diarrhea, you might consider the fact that herbs generally contain fiber and therefore you may need to work up to the recommended dose. As always, talking to a doctor, especially a naturopath who has actually studied this stuff, is the best way to get started. Well that was a long intro to this infographic: