Food as Medicine: Designed by God or Science?

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As a biomedical scientist, I’ve spent 15 years working in the field of clinical science. For years, I trusted in conventional medicine completely, quietly sneered at ‘alternative practices’ and never thought to question official guidance on health.

Then I became chronically ill, with severe migraines and despite the best efforts of my doctors, neither the prescribed medicines nor the advice of the medical practitioners could help me. In the end, I cured myself, by changing my diet and lifestyle to remove the chemicals and preservatives that I eventually discovered were making me sick.

My experiences brought me to where I am today, a passionate campaigner for ‘clean-eating’ in its very simplest form – to eat whole, unprocessed food for improved health.

Food as medicine

I believe completely that almost every chronic condition can be either cured or improved by eating the right food. After all, we quite literally are what we eat. To help people better understand how to use food as medicine, I write extensively about the relationships between diet and health. I use cutting-edge clinical science research to shape the advice that I give on the use of different foods for different ailments.

Someone commented on one of my previous posts ‘The Anti-Cancer Juice Designed by Science.’ The comment read ‘Designed by science my foot!!! The foods that prevent and cure cancer were designed by the living God.’

Now I agree with this comment in part. The foods that prevent and cure cancer might well have been designed by God; they are certainly all around us in nature. But in order to benefit from nature’s medicine to the full, we have to know what to eat; because eating the wrong food makes us less healthy, and eating the right food makes us more healthy.

But what is the right food? How do we know which foods make us more healthy? How do we know how to most effectively use food as medicine?

We know because science tells us.

Scientific research tells us that green tea contains epigallocatechin gallate which stops cancer cells from dividing and initiates cancer cell suicide1; scientific research indicates that migraines may be caused by oxidative stress3,4 and therefore that food containing antioxidants can help to prevent them; scientific research shows us that onions and broccoli contain natural anti-histamines4 that can be used to lessen the severity of hay fever symptoms.

Yes, food may be a gift from God, but it is science that tells us how to use it.
About the author:

Sonia Nicholas is a Biomedical Scientist and Freelance Clinical Science Writer. She has two degrees in Biomedical Science and been working in the field of clinical science for over 15 years. Sonia has a specialist interest in the use of food as medicine, particularly in the field of cancer. Sonia is the Founder of The Green Apple Club, an online community for people who want to improve their health by improving their diet.

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Article references:

  1. Du, GJ, et al. Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) Is the Most Effective Cancer Chemopreventive Polyphenol in Green Tea. Nutrients [Online] 2012; 4(11): 1679–1691. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3509513/ [Accessed 20th April 2016].
  2. Bernecker, C, et al. Oxidative stress is associated with migraine and migraine-related metabolic risk in females. Eur J Neurol [Online] 2011; 18(10): 1233-9. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21518147 [Accessed 22nd May 2016].
  3. Borkum, JM. Migraine Triggers and Oxidative Stress: A Narrative Review and Synthesis. Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain [Online] 2016; 56: 12–35. Available from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/head.12725/full [Accessed 22nd May 2016].
  4. Mlcek, J, Jurikova, T, Skrovankova, S  and Sochor, J. Quercetin and Its Anti-Allergic Immune Response. Molecules [Online] 2016; 21(5): 623. Available from: 10.3390/molecules21050623 [Accessed 12th June 2016].
Sonia Nicholas
Sonia Nicholas is Biomedical Scientist and a Freelance Clinical Science Writer. Sonia is the Founder of The Green Apple Club, an online community for people who want to improve their health by improving their diet. The Green Apple Club community believes that everyone can improve their health by eating a diet free from processed food, artificial sweeteners and chemical additives. Sonia believes that food as medicine is the most effective way of naturally managing chronic disease.