Robert C. Dumont • Youngran Chung
Editors

2014

“The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease.”—Thomas Edison
Food as medicine is an old concept. In many traditional cultures, food goes beyond basic sustenance or pleasure as certain foods may be selected for specific medicinal effect or used for general health benefit. Both Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurvedic medicine utilize diets as part of a comprehensive approach to medical therapy. In contrast, Western medicine in the modern era has moved away from an emphasis on nutrition as a foundational component to treating illness and diseases. This is reflected in the fact that nutrition education is still inadequate in many medical schools and postgraduate medical training in the United States.