Healing Foods

Last November 2009, I attended the annual conference organized by the Phil. College for the Advancement of Medicine (PCAM) where I learned tons of information on natural healing.

I would like to share some of them in this blog. I will do it in parts and start with the talk of  of Dr. Jaime Galvez Tan, former Secretary of Health.

Kamote Leaves and Tubers

Food, diet and nutrition constitute important components in the maintenance of a person's total well-being and in the promotion of human health and the prevention of diseases.  However, not yet fully appreciated is the concept of food as medicine and that certain foods or their combination have healing properties.  Healing foods have always been an Asian tradition.  And more recently, Europeans and North Americans have become more aware of this concept.

Turmeric/Luyang Dilaw and Malunggay (moringa)

Nutrition scientists have now given the name "functional foods" to foods that heal.  The European Union Food Supplement Directive 2002/46/CE has officially defined a functional food as food "consumed as part of a susual diet that is similar in appearance to, or may be, a conventional food, and is demonstrated to have physiological benefits and/or reduce the risk of chronic disease beyond basic nutritional functions."

Below are samples of foods, which aside from providing the macronutrients and micronutrients needed by our body, also provide phytochemicals and anti-oxidants that give relief to ailments and illnesses:

Kulitis and Saluyot

Food that Heal the Kidneys - Leaf shoots of the kamote (Ipomea), Kulitis (Amaranth), malunggay (Moringa), Sili (Capsicum) and Saluyot (Corchorus) taken as a salad of pickled or mixed into a soup or porridge after its cooking.

Radish and Gotu Kila/Takip-Kohol

Foods that Heal the Liver - Radish (labanos), Turmeric/Luyang Dilaw (Curcuma)), and gotu kola/takip-kohol (Centella) eaten as salad or pickled.

Duhat

Foods that Heal the Pancreas - Ampalaya (Momordica) leaves and fruits, Kamote (Ipomea) leaves and tubers, Duhat (Zygium) fruits and leaves.

Tanglad/Lemongrass

Foods that Heal the Heart  and Vascular System - Bawang/Garlic (Allium), Luyang dilaw/Turmeric (Curcuma) and coconut oil (Cocos), Tanglad/Lemon Grass (Andropogon), Pandan (Pandanus), Kamote leaves (Ipomea).