NUTRITIONAL THERAPY

The importance of what we eat has been underrated by conventional Western medical practitioners. This is gradually changing, since advances in our knowledge of biochemistry are affirming Hippocrates' frequently quoted dictum, 'Let your food be your medicine and let your medicine be your food'. Many complementary therapists include dietary advice as an essential part of their treatment, but in some cases the scientific evidence to support their advice is inadequate, especially in the treatment of food intolerance (see previous post). Some of the current recommendations about what is thought to constitute a healthy diet in various circumstances in the first part of this post.


Nutrition As Therapy
Nutritional medicine is the use of nutritional means to treat illness, rather than just to prevent it or to maintain health. As a science, nutritional medicine is in its infancy, but trained therapists are already able to treat certain diseases and an increasing number of doctors are studying nutritional medicine.

In addition to fasting (see later post) and dietary changes. many therapists suggest taking mineral and vitamin supplements. Doses in excess of those listed as the recommended daily intake are sometimes used, although this approach remains controversial, except in certain defined diseases. In any case, the use of dietary supplements is never an alternative to eating a nutritious diet, such as the Optimum Diet (see previous post).

The recommended daily intakes have been calculated to meet the needs of 'virtually all healthy people', but it is known that needs change during illness. In addition, some scientists challenge the basis on which the recommended daily intakes have been drawn up.

Fresh fruit, cereals, vegetables and pulses are important for a well-balanced diet.

They have been calculated to prevent disease rather than to promote optimum health. It is possible that further research will result in different recommendations, especially for older people whose digestive systems may be less efficient than those of younger people.

Conditions that can be treated with the help of a professional nutritional therapist include:

• Stress and stress-related disorders.
• Joint and bone problems, including arthritis and osteoporosis.
• Circulatory disorders.
• Menopausal symptoms and prostate problems.
• Infections.

This list is not intended to be comprehensive. It is best to make a preliminary enquiry about your own condition, or ask your doctor's advice.

The Macrobiotic Diet
The macrobiotic diet, which aims to provide a balance of those food that will restore the optimum balance between yin and yang (see later post), and therefore avoid illness, has become every popular in the West. So, for example, a person who needs to be more alert, but lacks energy might be advised to eat more warming food, such as fish or bean stews or root vegetables. These are considered to be yang food. A person in need of greater calm in stressful situations might be advised to eat more yin or cooling food, such as salads.

Most macrobiotic food are available in food shops and supermarkets, but some special oriental food are also used. Around half of the macrobiotic diet consists of cereal grains. These are eaten whole rather than as flours, breads or pastas. About a third of the diet consists of vegetables, but excludes sweet potatoes, avocados, spinach,yams, potatoes and other members of the nightshade family such as tomatoes, peppers and aubergines. Some seeds, nuts and vegetable oils are included and pickled food such as umeboshi plums and daikon radish are generally eaten at the end of a meal in order to aid digestion.

The macrobiotic diet has been widely advocated as a healing diet for many conditions, including cancer. It is generally a well-balanced diet, although vitamin B12 and calcium may be inadequate, and there are limited amounts of fat. In particular, the macrobiotic diet is low in one of the fats most commonly occurring in meat and animal products, arachidonic acid. As this is needed for cancer cells to thrive, adopting a macrobiotic diet appears to be reasonable for people with cancer, but the diet is low in fresh raw vegetables and fruit, which are also thought to help the body to combat cancer. As yet, there is insufficient scientific support for adopting a macrobiotic diet if you have cancer.