“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”

[Matt2584]

Hi folks,

That quote is not referring to any old food like the man-made food you can buy in the shops. ‘fake food’ as I call it.

It is talking about REAL food. The food that comes from the earth. Food is grown from seed, no chemicals should be involved.

When I was little, I had a terrible junk food diet which consisted of a lot of sugary foods, many fizzy drinks (including diet drinks which contain aspertame) and I hardly ate any fruit or veg.

In 1996 I was diagnosed with a brain tumour.

I was only 11 at the time. I spent about 3 weeks in hospital before I went back home. A couple of weeks after that was my 12 birthday.

I went back to my poor diet once again and carryed on with my life as normal with the challenges of a brain injury.

My GP had told me that he thought the tumour must had been growing all of my life.

In 1998 I was then diagnosed with a cyst which doctors told me was the equivalent of a tumour.

In all, I have had many operations on my head but as I grew up, I started to come away from the sugar intake and I started to look and feel a lot better within myself.

Around 2015/16 is when I really started looking further into natural food/medicine and I now eat a lot more fruit and veg and try to consume less sugary foods/drinks.

I am feeling a lot better for it and have not set foot in a hospital for years.

I plan to never set foot in one again as they are all bad news.

I know some people will turn around and say that the NHS saved their life and yes, the NHS obviously saved my life on a number of occasions too but years ago me and my family did not have the knowledge we do now.

If we did have that knowlege, I believe I could have prevented the brain tumour and cyst.

REAL food is very important.

I eat out at a vegan bakery. I am not a vegan, more likely a rubbish vegan, but you can learn a thing or 2 about veganism.

[Activity2004 Administrator]

Welcome to the group. Please continue posting and commenting, asking questions, check out the Topics/Events/Polls/Pinned Posts for ideas and information and of course, meet the other members of the group. We are very helpful and friendly.

[andyswarbs]

Hippocrates, great shame that most doctors hospitals etc pay lip service to the most important quote in the world.

[Kaz747 Star in reply to andyswarbs]

Yeah, there was no Macca’s, KFC or highly processed food in Hippocrates’ day 😉 The more natural our foods, the better.

[TheAwfulToad in reply to andyswarbs]

There's also "first do no harm", which seems to have gone overboard as late.

[andyswarbs in reply to TheAwfulToad]

Yep, people are becoming afraid of picking a carrot in case it cries!

[Kai-- in reply to andyswarbs]

😂 😂 😂

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🥕 💦

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(But what about baby 👶 carrots 🥕🥕 🥕 ?

Surely ripping them from their mother’s bosom 🤱 is heartless 🚫 💔 ?! . . . 😱 )

.

🤷‍♂️ 🤦‍♀️ 🙃

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[Hidden in reply to andyswarbs]

You mean onions.

[Hidden in reply to TheAwfulToad]

Frist do no harm to pig cow and chicken. Defenceless women that's ok.

[Hidden in reply to andyswarbs]

Comes way down the line for them, as it does for me.

[Hidden]

Hi Matt, I see what you call fake food as Franken foods, (Frankenstein) so welcome to our forum and I hope that you enjoy being a member.

You're in good company for all things healthy eating on here.

Jerry 😊

[Kai-- in reply to Hidden]

Merely ‘Fun with Frankenfoods’ 🧟‍♂️ :

🍏 thelogicofscience.files.wor... 🌽 insidethegem.com/wp-content...

🌽 i1.wp.com/perfecthealthytip... 🍱 csfitlife.net/wp-content/up...

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Genetically modified 🧬 :

🌽 giphy.com/gifs/4GWgTUKw83bC... 🌾 🥔 giphy.com/gifs/wCaeRzZHCg0A...

🔪 🧬 🔬 giphy.com/gifs/30pdYnh6VSw5...

[If you get a kick 🦵 out of a ‘South Park’ ( giphy.com/gifs/l0HlHuInVDdA... , giphy.com/gifs/3o6ZsVaFoT2k... ) , this might bring a genuine

(non-engineered 🚫 🔪 🧬 🔬 ) guffaw 😆 : pixa.club/en/south-park-unc... 🐘🐖]

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[Zest]

Hi Matt2584

Wishing you a warm welcome to the Healthy eating forum, and hope you'll enjoy participating here.

Zest

[TheAwfulToad]

>> I am not a vegan, more likely a rubbish vegan

Completely agree with your stance on this. Although I frequently butt horns with the vegans here, my diet is based mostly on plants (it used to be based on low-fat junk) and I've never felt or looked better. Just to annoy the vegans, I think I'm going to start describing myself as a vegan who eats some meat

And you're quite right about the NHS. I'm sure there are many committed, skilled individuals working within it, but as an organisation it seems to have decided that its main purpose is to keep people as sick as possible without actually killing them. The doctors are thus reduced to pill-prescribing machines, holding back the floodgates behind which boils the inevitable consequences of the government/NHS ill-informed dietary advice.

[andyswarbs in reply to TheAwfulToad]

You're welcome to call yourself a meat eating vegan. I mean paleo dieters have been trying to argue that meat from a supermarket bears some resemblance to the meat from animals eaten in paleo times. So why not!

[Kaz747 Star in reply to TheAwfulToad]

Sounds like you’re a flexitarian 😉

[Matt2584 in reply to Kaz747]

"Flexitarian"... yes, I like that term :).

[Activity2004 Administrator in reply to Matt2584]

Please check your private messages on HU.😀

[Kai-- in reply to Kaz747]

Flexetarian 🤸‍♀️ : 4.bp.blogspot.com/-zc32Z2mX... , en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sem... , google.com/search?as_q=flex... , giphy.com/gifs/fBM4lu1cFjhG... 💪 🥦 😋

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[Cooper27 Administrator in reply to TheAwfulToad]

I heard a new term the other day - no idea if it'll catch on or not - it's called "nutritarian", and it's a person who eats a whole food, plant based diet that includes meat

[Kai-- in reply to Cooper27]

Think Dr. Joel Fuhrman ( en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe... ) coined the term ‘Nutritarian’, Cooper27: drfuhrman.com/library/eat-t...

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[Hidden in reply to Cooper27]

I don't think it will catch on. I like the one we have now. Normal.

[Matt2584 in reply to Cooper27]

See, I like nutritarian but I think I like flexitarian a bit better... there’s only one way to find out... FIIIGHT!

That last part was a bit of Harry Hill humour :).

[Cooper27 Administrator in reply to Matt2584]

Flexitarian IMO is someone who eats a vegetarian diet 90% of the time, and only eats meat once a month or so (e.g. in a restaurant), a nutritarian might eat meat several times a week, it's just that they also try to get a diversity of vegetables into their day.

[Matt2584 in reply to Cooper27]

Ah, I would be more of a Nutritarian then.... but I like the term Flexitarian better :).

[Cooper27 Administrator in reply to Matt2584]

I've learned another new term today: "plant focussed" which puts heavy emphasis on plants, but doesn't exclude meat

[andyswarbs in reply to Matt2584]

I follow fuhrman concept of nutritarian, which is a whole food plant based diet aimed at maximising positive nutrition whilst minimising negative nutrition. It does not include meat fish eggs or dairy.

I follow this concept because my body has been destroyed by RA and if I go below those standards I risk health deterioration. For me I either get healthier or more ill. There's very little middle ground.

[Cooper27 Administrator in reply to andyswarbs]

Hmm, this isn't the same definition I originally heard used against the term. The food pyramid does seem to include eggs and fish, and on some rare occasions, meat and dairy:

drfuhrman.com/library/eat-t...

[benwl in reply to Cooper27]

Its a good point. I think both Dr Fuhrman and Dr Ornish are willing to allow people a degree of tolerance in what they eat, with diet being a progression from most healthy (with no animal products) to progressively less healthy as they are added. (I recall at one point Ornish was calling his the spectrum diet).

I think this reflects the idea that it may be easier to get some people to reduce animal intake rather than cut it out totally (and as both these Drs are selling their diet plans increase the available market).

It may also be the case that someone who follows a largely plant based diet with occasional meat is healthier than a vegan who eats lots of refined sugars and fat.

[Kai-- in reply to benwl]

Dr. Dean Ornish ( en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dea... ) ‘The Spectrum’ Diet 🌈 :

📄 ornish.com/wp-content/uploa...

📄 webmd.com/diet/a-z/ornish-d...

📹 google.com/search?as_q=%22T...

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[Matt2584 in reply to benwl]

“Someone who follows a largely plant based diet with occasional meat (this sounds a bit like me) is healthier than a vegan who eats lots of refined sugars and fat”.

I have a couple of vegan friends and they don’t touch refined sugar, as far as I know.

Lots of refined sugar is what makes you fat anyway.

And it depends what fat you are talking anout. Saturated fat is good fat and is what the body needs.

Trans fats, what you would find in margerine is dangerous.

[Matt2584 in reply to andyswarbs]

I was thinking that Nutritarian sounds to me, like you eat foods with positive nutrients like fruit or veg only.

[Matt2584 in reply to andyswarbs]

So basically Fuhrman’s concept of Nutritarian is another name for being a vegan?

[bexx87]

Health food is also good for overall good mental health combined with some form of fitness and even though you said the nhs want to keep in hospitals they do run this thing called change for life (nhs.uk/change4life) to try and encourage people to make small swaps to thier diet and how you should try and eat a combo of 5 fruit and veg a day ect as the nhs doesnt like people overweight or people getting diabetes ect ect as its a strain on their services and the tax payer (channel 5 have some good docs on how people get weight lost surgery in both the uk and the usa) and there are loads of documentaries and tv programmes promoting mainly weight loss and healthy eating like super skinny vs superfat (where a super fat person swaps diets with a super skinny person) and its why there are clubs like weight watchers and slimming world and why there are catering companies that have started to spring up where they deliver you a pre cooked health meal if you pay a subscription fee eg goustu and why supermarkets are promoting thier own health range like tescos and sainsbury's ect

weightlossresources.co.uk/d...

bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b53xqs

And then not only do you have the catering companies you have the celebrity chef like Jamie Oliver and Gorden Ramsayand Lloyd Grossman and other sunday morning tv programmes that my nan and mum are/where obsessed with watching that bring out thier own brands and start up restaurants and do cook books (dont even start me on the various competion for the literature spot light or the price of these healthy food you need to have a large disposal income to follow food trends that forever change like exercise trends my cousin follower the baby food diet trend while i thought was insane that he was eating mushed up food rather than adult solid food for the protein as it apparent help his gym routine and i could make a post on the shake fads for weigh lose that ive seen friends try) ect

Jamie has just started a new tv programme on channel 4 called Jamie's Quick & Easy Food that the advert ive seen so many time im sick of it

Sorry ive gone off on one now

(im a ranty long post forever editing post to add more content as i think of it type of person)

[Matt2584 in reply to bexx87]

The 'Change 4 life' thing sounds very good and everything but when I see these SUPER hospitals with CRAPDonald's, Costa (lot of money), KFC and the like a floor or 2 below the wards it makes me think, there is something very wrong here. And then I think of THE AGENDA.

If there are cafés/restaurants within a hospital, shouldn't they be more plant based?

it makes a lot more sense to me.

I don't really trust doctors and dentists and so on no more and even when I hear about clubs/organisations like Slimming world, I don't fully trust that.

I've got a friend who goes to Slimming world and almost every week she makes a post on Facebook about her wait loss or gain. One minute it is "I have lost 2lbs" the next it might be "I have gained 1lb" and every time I see her, which is roughly fortnightly she always looks the same. You're not going to see much of a difference in a few pounds anyway.

And then there is me who isn't a member of any of these dieting clubs, I lost lots of weight last year cos I was eating loads more vegetables and I was shunning a lot of sugar (refined sugar) from my diet. I had a lot of people come up to me asking me if I had lost weight and

I used to be a right chunky monkey.

These dietary or low fat foods are all cons. Even the slim fast plan which I think had been proven was a load of rubbish. Slim Fast has sugar in it. You are not going to lose a lot of weight if it has sugar in it... especially refined sugar.

I don't actually watch a lot of TV no more. Not only is there a lot of rubbish on TV but TV can rot your brain... literally.

But when you mention Jamie Oliver and the like it reminds me of when you go to Homebase or something and you could buy a tomato plant for £1 or £2 and right next to it could be another tomato plant with Jamie Oliver's picture on it and it costs £6!... How do you justify that?

It's a tomato plant at the end of the day. One is not better than the other.

Again, it's all about money. Seeing is not believing at all.

I watched the film Avatar yesterday. Brilliant film and speaks truth as well. The human race are horrible.

[alchemilla12 in reply to bexx87]

pheww bexx87 -I feel exhausted! A bit of punctuation would be nice

[Matt2584]

Thank you to everyone who has welcomed me into this group, you've been very kind :).

I think I shall fit right in here.

[Activity2004 Administrator in reply to Matt2584]

You’re very welcome!😀👍

How’s your day going today?

[Matt2584 in reply to Activity2004]

Very well, thank you :).

How is your day?

[Activity2004 Administrator in reply to Matt2584]

Been okay, but a little stressful. Glad your day is going very well!

[Franklin123]

Hi - OH! if it was that easy?? Food is plentiful and good quality in our house - organic as far as possible and diverse. My thoughts are that I must be `paying` for some misdomena from my past!!! Seriously, I do feel better when I know food is of quality, but the pain is persistent and restlessness unrelenting. Whoever it works for I am so happy for you - keep taking the pills those for who it doesn`t.

Take care all.

[Hidden]

Brain tumors are not coursed through what you eat. Nor are cysts.

The NHS is to me the number one wonder on planet earth.

[Matt2584 in reply to Hidden]

The NHS are great because if there was no NHS then I would not be here today.

BUT... they are not the best thing out there.

Well, due to the NHS I could have died as well.

But as I have grown up I have learnt a lot more about our corrupt little world and the evil people in it.

Have you heard of a chemical company called Monsanto?

They have now partnered up with another chemical company called Bayer.

So when you say tumours or cysts are not caused by what you eat... well, I disagree with you there.

Yes, it’s not exactly what you eat that can cause health problems but more likely what is in those foods.

I used to guzzle fizzy drinks like water when I was little including the diet fizzy drinks like Pepsi, diet coke and Lilt. All of these have a chemical/sweetener called aspartame in them and aspartame is known to cause a multitude of health problems including tumours.

I’m not saying that aspartame affects you right away but a build up of aspartame does. A little go’s a long way.

But hey, it’s not just me that thinks aspartame is vial stuff.

I was once told by my GP to chew chewing gum, that relates to some other problem I had. The doctor told me to chew on Airwaves chewing gum as they are great for clearing the airways.

Only thing is, Airwaves chewing gum contains aspartame.

I now chew a chewing gum called Peppersmith that is aspartame free.

If aspartame is not a problem then why do the folks at Peppersmith not like aspartame either?.... because Peppersmith have obviously done their homework.

[Kai-- in reply to Matt2584]

☠️ sott.net/image/s23/460914/f... ☠️ corporateeurope.org/sites/d...

☠️ giphy.com/gifs/6ALZS9aijXV0... ⚠️ fueledbyvegetables.files.wo...

⚠️ healthonics.healthcare/wp-c... ⚠️ giphy.com/gifs/eOnS2n5fI8qC...

[alchemilla12 in reply to Hidden]

90% of cancers are caused by diet or environment

[Hidden in reply to alchemilla12]

Brain tumors are not necessarily cancerous nor are cysts.

Hey am only going by what's the internet.

[alchemilla12 in reply to Hidden]

in natural medicine tumours of any kind as well as cysts are thought to be caused by the body attempting to " wall off " toxins which are usually from our diet or the environment

[Hidden in reply to alchemilla12]

Thank you, but if they are only just thoughts, then that's no prove at all.

[alchemilla12 in reply to Hidden]

well that was a figure of speech -they are treated that way and it's a bit better approach than not having a clue as to what they are ....

[Hidden in reply to alchemilla12]

I did read that bit myself, probably from the same article you read.

For me it's best to have an open mind. So I don't have an opinion on what is thought.

Without looking up that article again, I think it said it's not known what coursed the cells to go wrong, or words to that effect.

I look it up again when I have the time.

But your right its best to have thoughts then none at all.

[alchemilla12 in reply to Hidden]

its not an article.I was a medical herbalist for over 20 years so treating people through natural medicine is second nature -pardon the pun

[Hidden in reply to alchemilla12]

That's great, it sounds like a very interesting job. I don't know much about nature medicine but now you have mentioned it I will read up on it a bit. Thanks for the idea

[Hidden]

Thanks for the info. Just read it and I believe it to be the best diet for me.

[Matt2584]

According to some folk, they don’t believe in evolution.

I have a christian friend from Americaa who doesn’t believe in evolution and some other people (christian or not, I don’t know) they will say “If humans evolved from monkeys, why do monkeys still exist?”

Good question and personally I don’t think all these questions have a concrete answer to them.

It’s like the chicken or egg theory.

By the way, this American christian fellow, he claims he is a TRUE christian. To me that doesn’t say a lot but he has said about how many of the churches spread across the world teach you a load of rubbish.

That’s what he says anyway.

As for me, well I’m not religious... never was, never will be either cos I think religion causes a lot of problems.

[andyswarbs]

You do know that the PREDIMED study was retracted after being challenged about fundamental design flaws.

[alchemilla12]

not forgetting Hippocrates other famous quote : " disease begins in the gut "

diet is vital to good health. and interestingly sugar " feeds " cancer cells

[Matt2584 in reply to alchemilla12]

So why would Hippocrates apparently say “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” as well as “Disease begins in the gut”?

He is more or less saying food causes disease but food can also treat disease.

Or was Hippocrates referring to the fake, man-made food brings on disease and REAL food is medicine?

According to benwl Hippocrates didn’t say “Let food be...” but to be honest I don’t know what was said, I don’t even know if Hippocrates existed. Hippocrates is just a name to me at the end of the day.

[alchemilla12 in reply to Matt2584]

no he 's saying that all disease stems from faulty digestion and / or poor diet so by getting the digestion back on track with proper nutrition disease can be treated.

Not sure why someone would say Hippocrates didnt say " Let food be ...etc " its universally acknowledged.

Hippocrates is considered to be " the father of medicine " -he was a greek physician who treated patients using food / fresh air /exercise etc .Doctors take the Hippocratic oath to first do no harm and uphold ethical standards. Ha!

[Matt2584 in reply to alchemilla12]

Ah, all disease stems from faulty digestion, that makes a lot of sense to me.

I have practically had to live that; eat horribly, disease appears, had surgery then carried on eating the way I did, disease appears again, more surgery and so on. Later on in life is where I changed my diet for the better and I have had no problems with disease.

Isn’t that little story enough to tell you that natural, REAL food is powerful?

It is to me.

Some people prefer to go by “facts” that are baked up by loads of other papers but just because it is down in writing does not mean that it is correct.

Like I have said before to these people, we live in a life of corruption and deception where things you thought were correct are false narratives.

[Hidden in reply to Matt2584]

Your right, just because it's written don't necessarily mean its correct.

But we do tend to believe things if we find they fit in with our thoughts.

Hippocrates did say, let food be thy medicine. You see it fits in with all his quotes. It fits in with who he was.

People will find a way to prove they are right. Even when they’re wrong.

[Matt2584 in reply to Hidden]

The thing is, I had a terrible diet, something terrible happened, I later changed my diet for the better and am feeling a lot better for it.

That, alone, tells me a lot.

As I said before, I am a pretty simple person.

And as I have read good things about natural foods and it fits into my lifestyle then I believe most of the positive things I read to be true.

Obviously, Hippocrates was not talking about processed food being medicine because processed ‘fake food’ was not created back then.

Now I have a question for benwl ,

You have mentioned before how you follow a low fat vegan diet but you say Hippocrates never said “Let food be thy medicine...” based on something you read.

You have also said before how vegans consume a lot of refined sugar. If that was true, how come the vegans I know of aren’t as fat as a house?

Refined sugar is the biggest cause of obesity.

[benwl in reply to Matt2584]

I didn't say that vegans consume a lot of refined sugar. I said that a vegan *could* consume a lot of refined sugar and still be a vegan.

Since veganism is defined by the avoidance of animal products and sugar is not an animal product, a vegan could consume as much or as little as they like. From a health point of view however they should of course limit them.

As for Hippocrates, I give my reasons for believing as I do. It doesn't make my beliefs correct but it gives a starting point for someone who wishes to disagree or research further.

Suppose I said that Shakespeare wrote "to be or not to be...". What evidence do I have? Well I could tell you which of his plays and in which scene and which act it occurs. (I appreciate this doesn't disprove that Marlowe wrote it)

If you think Hippocrates said something, surely you should at least to be able to say in which of his books it can be found.

[Matt2584 in reply to benwl]

You’re right, you didn’t say they eat a lot of refined sugar. You said “It may also be the case that someone who follows a largely plant based diet with occasional meat is healthier than a vegan who eats lots of refined sugars and fat.”

I read this wrong at first. I read it as if you were saying that ALL vegans eat refined sugar.

Upon reading the comment again I realise you don’t mean ALL vegans...

I have a clearer head today :). Sorry for the confusion.

But I do stand my ground when I say that eating more REAL, healthy food does a lot of good because it has done for me.

As I put it, I don’t always rely on writing/facts, I go by experience.

It is a fact that a common symptom for a person with a brain injury is that they suffer with fatigue.

I used to get fatigued quite a bit and I have mentioned before that I am an artist, not a well known one.

After a couple of hours of drawing I used to get really fatigued and it would feel like my head had been filled with concrete.

After I read about frankincense essential oils Idecided to get some and it has helped me a lot with my fatigue as I don’t get so tired now :).

[benwl in reply to Matt2584]

I agree that real foods are grear, and it's very inspirational to hear from people like yourself with such positive experiences of their healing power.

Sounds like frankincense is worth trying. I will give it a go, thanks.

[benwl in reply to alchemilla12]

An English translation of the works of Hippocrates is available on-line here:

perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/co... and you can search it here: perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/se...

Try searching for "food" (or for both food and medicine) and see what is there; you won't find "let food food be..."

It's a shame, because its a great phrase, but it doesn't look like Hippocrates actually said it. For that matter I doubt that he said "disease begins in the gut" either.

[alchemilla12 in reply to benwl]

so why such apocryphal stories so widely held -how odd that so many people believe he was the author of these 2 sound bites .... the idea must have a root somewhere

Hippocrates did indeed believe in food as medicine amongst other naturopathic techniques as illustrated by the Aesclepion at Kos built according to his beliefs

[Avenger]

My husband and I are eating to live longer. He’s listened to books from doctors which guides us a lot. Smart fat is good. We eat whole grains green smoothies with added good fat oils, fish oil, flaxseed oil. Good to listen yourself on audible app. Download from Apple store-iTunes.