"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy
food." Famous words said by the late Hippocrates, a model physician
of ancient Greece. Hippocrates laid the foundation to natural medicine,
his principles being the core of medicine until 1805 when "alternative"
medicine took its place.
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| A prolific figure with a prolific beard - I'm 'mirin |
Hippocrates pushed the principle of medicine that it should respect natures healing forces that are housed in each living organism. Illness was a natural part of life, an indicator to imbalances in an individual's lifestyle that manifested in ailments of one's physical health.
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| Hippocrates in the 'Hippocratic Zone' |
Its interesting to note this perception of medicine
and such a quote. It calls forth illness, not as a nuisance that must
quickly be rid of as we move on with our life, but rather as an indicator of
where we are heading, and acts as a reminder when we stray from a path of
vitality and virility. Too often we perceive in today's world,
that medicine is simply a quick fix to use when we are
feeling less than 100%. We see medicine as a magic bullet that will solve
all our ailments and let us keep going down our own self-destructive
pathway. Its like numbing ourselves of our pains, our
indicators that something in our lifestyle is wrong
and needs changing. In an extreme sense, the modern
person's use of modern medicine can be seen as turning a deaf ear to the
plight of the physical body. When you don't listen for long enough, it
will come back to bite you.
Back to Hippocrates' statement about food and medicine. Such a statement tasks the individual to handle those ailments that have developed over time as a result of one's lifestyle in the same regard as the disease manifests: through changes in lifestyle, thinking long term results and long term benefits.
Changes in our diet do not manifest in their benefits or detriment over night. It is through a period of time that nutritional changes can be realized. So in one way, Hippocrates is calling forth a slow, gradual approach to change, stating that medicine needs to tackle ailments as such. This falls directly in line with the key principle of his, that medicine must respect nature's healing process. As better nutrition is indulged upon, the immune system of the body is provided better resources to tackle whatever is ailing the individual. It is not the essence of life systems to abruptly cause change and deal with that change in an equally abrupt manner. Change, at least quality change, occurs over time, it is up to impatient man, whether he chooses to adhere to the sway of the life forces around him.
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| Work with nature, not against it |
