Food As Medicine

Another great book is “Food As Medicine,” which teaches about how particular foods can help us if we're having specific problems. Certain foods are anti-inflammatory or high in zinc or B vitamins or whatever, and it's a useful resource to have around so that when you're experiencing a particular problem, you can adapt your diet to include more of the foods that will work with you rather than against you.

A friend of mine was going through depression, and her psychiatrist recommended eating lots of foods high in omega-3 fatty acids, like flax, walnut, herring, salmon, etc.

Or, for another example, women need more iron, folate, and calcium; so, for folate, women should get enough broccoli, spinach, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, cantaloupe, strawberries, asparagus, peas, bran cereal, lentils, peanuts, and/or sunflower seeds; for iron, meat, fish, poultry, and/or lentils; for calcium, dairy products like milk, yogurt, and/or cheese.

Broccoli is a powerhouse and contains calcium and folate and powerful anti-cancer phytonutrients. “Food As Medicine” tells a story of a man who went into remission from cancer solely by eating broccoli sprouts, which have concentrated levels of sulforaphane GS, a natural antioxidant found in all cruciferous plants like broccoli (sprouts can have 50 times more than a head of broccoli).

Raspberry leaf tea calms the uterus, so it's good when you've got menstrual cramps. Etc., etc.