For thousands of years, healers in Iran, have looked beyond symptoms to the root causes of illness. Their secret weapon? Food! Iranian Traditional Medicine uses food therapy to create a personalized approach to health and well-being.
Traditional Medicine for Mind and Body Health
The human body and mind are significantly influenced by dietary choices. Therefore, it is crucial for individuals not to only adhere to spiritual principles when preparing food but also to meticulously select their intake. This careful consideration helps maintain physical and mental equilibrium, which is essential for pursuing a path of truth and righteousness.
Nutrition plays a critical role in maintaining health and treating illnesses through the consumption of healthy foods and beverages. Even herbal medicines can have side effects. While many essential life factors, such as seasonal changes, air pollution, living conditions, and psychological environments, are beyond our control, dietary choices are fully manageable.
In traditional medicine, it is believed that every action has consequences that create a condition in the body leading to either health or illness. These causes are known as the six essentials, which include:
A traditional medicine physician must know all these 6 factors to fully understand the scientific aspects of medicine.
My Food, My Medicine
Food therapy holds exceptional importance in Iranian traditional medicine, with the major success of this discipline attributed to the proper application of this therapeutic method.
The renowned Iranian scholar Razi also prioritized dietary therapy. He advised, "As much as you can, treat with food instead of medicine; and if you must use medicine, prefer simple drugs over compound ones."
How to Thrive: A Step-by-Step Guide to Optimal Health
To cultivate optimal health, consider incorporating these traditional practices into your lifestyle:
- Prioritize Healthy Oils: Swap processed vegetable oils for healthier alternatives like organic sesame or olive oil. If these are not available, use tallow and suet. A meal cooked with tallow is as nourishing as three regular meals, does not cause weight gain, and interestingly, helps reduce cholesterol. This is because its high heat production creates a gentle bile that dissolves cholesterol.
- Embrace Whole Grains: Opt for whole-wheat or barley bread with complete bran that has been naturally fermented for enhanced nutritional value.
- Mindful Meat Choices: Reduce consumption of processed meats like sausages, salami, and lunch meat, as they can negatively impact health.
- Harness the Power of Dried Fruit: Incorporate raisins and zante currants into your daily diet for their potential health benefits. Enjoy a daily dose of one to three raisins and twenty-one zante currants
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Incorporate Grapes for Your Health: Consider a grape-based cleanse during grape season for a potential detoxifying effect.
For a month or 40 days:
Week 1: Begin by replacing breakfast with grapes.
Week 2: Expand grape consumption to include both breakfast and lunch.
Week 3: Consume grapes for all three meals.
Week 4: Maintain a grape-based diet for all meals.
Week 5: Gradually reintroduce other foods by replacing grape meals with regular meals, starting with dinner.
Week 6: Finish with grapes as breakfast. - Cooking and Eating Habits: Avoid excessive fried foods and portion control to maintain a healthy weight. Savor each meal by eating slowly and chewing thoroughly. Listen to your body's hunger cues and avoid grazing between meals.
- Stay Active: Regular walking is an excellent way to improve overall health.
- Hydration Matters: But avoid consuming ice water between meals to support optimal digestion.
Boost Your Brainpower: Natural Ways to Enhance Memory
Traditional wisdom offers a treasure trove of natural remedies for improving cognitive function. From the crunch of almonds to the zing of ginger, certain foods and practices have been long revered for their memory-enhancing properties.
- Nutrient-rich foods: Almonds, black seeds, and myrobalan are believed to nourish the brain and support cognitive function.
- Oral hygiene and taste: Brushing teeth and tasting sea salt before and after meals can stimulate the senses and potentially enhance memory.
- Morning ritual: Consuming 21 zante currants on an empty stomach is said to provide a daily boost to brainpower.
External Sources
- Health Benefits of Dietary Whole Grains
- The Importance of Chewing Well
- How eating more fruit and vegetables – now prescribed as medicine by doctors
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