Food as Medicine – Musings From a Foodie Physician

Over the years as a physician and a foodie, I have conducted my own scientific experiments on the effects of food on health. Of course, my primary subjects in this study have been my family and my pets!
I’m happy to say that all the experiments have been a glorious success, from healing my stepson’s asthma to curing sinus infections, colds, and ophthalmic migraines to healing my dog Jazmine’s Lyme arthritis to a level where she can go for walks, spar with her buddy Boosie (a 2-year-old Chiweiner who is full of energy). I am happy to say that I can see the ‘puppy look’ in her eyes again at age 13.

Having been raised by two scientists (my parents) who are also foodies and amazing cooks, I grew up in a home where the smell of roasting spices and bubbling lentils were a common Sunday afternoon sensation. If I scraped my knee, my mom would make a turmeric poultice to heal it, if I came down with a cold, fennel and ginger tea resolved it. A cup of over-boiling chai was ever-present as an afternoon elixir after a hard day at school – luxurious tea time during hot Indian afternoons that I cherished and a memory that will forever be held in my heart. This was my original imprint – Food is Medicine.

It still is and will be as long as we are on Earth.

One of the only places that this is not true is in the traditional medical system. Here we are in 2013 with hundreds of thousands of studies on the power of food to heal almost every ailment on Earth, but Corporate Medicine in its endless quest for pharmaceutical management has lost its common sense. For some reason, it is unable to wrap its brain around the concept of – Food is Medicine.

In this blog, I want to share what I love to do most (second to being a mom to my beautiful grown children and pets and spending glorious and cherished time with my family, friends, and patients) – cook, smell, create, grow, experiment and live on the wild side with food – all kinds of food – herbs, spices, soups, stews, curries and concoctions that will heal colds to high cholesterol and heart disease.

I will share what I’ve learned from my ancestral roots and all the travels where I have explored different tastes and sensory pleasures with unique foods. I have also witnessed my patients heal hundreds of ailments over two decades with foods that I will share as we explore the beautiful and medicinal qualities of food together.