Eat your medicine

t was Hippocrates who, around the year 400 BC, coined the famous quote, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” – which to this day influences the advancement of medicine and healing. Through his scientific study of the medicinal properties of foods, he advised people to prevent and treat diseases first and foremost by eating a nutrient-dense diet. And throughout history, many systems, including Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), have taught that food is medicine and a healthy diet is a powerful tool in protecting one’s health. Moving forward, modern-day science and specifically the evolving field of nutrigenomics – which studies how food influences gene expressions and contributes to either health or disease – suggests that a poor diet is a serious risk factor for