Food, Medicine or a Drug? Which is it?

[herb ox]

So, how do we make these distinctions?

If we define a drug as something that has an effect upon our physiology, then we have to include food, herbs, medicine, sugar, coffee, holding our breath

Are herbs food or drug? Can they be both?

Why should any human be prohibited from planting a seed and letting Nature do the rest?

I invite you to present your thoughts on the matter...

peace

herb ox

[uki]

some other questions to ponder...

is food only for the body or is there also food for the mind and spirit aswell? what if this is also true for medicines? why have illegal natural "drugs" and substances only been classified in the last 200 years or so? what makes pharmecuticals and other man-made pills(drugs) supposedly touted as being more effective than the same compounds that can be derived naturally?

[Lucas]

what makes pharmecuticals and other man-made pills(drugs) supposedly touted as being more effective than the same compounds that can be derived naturally?

da cizzash mang

but then u knew that

[Lee Chiang Po]

You really don't have to make the distinction as to whether or not it is a drug or a food. Big brother does that for us. If it is illegal, it is a drug. If it is legal, then it is a food.

[herb ox]

Wow, just like that, eh? Gonna let some dudes in suits do all the deciding? What ever happened to "free will"?

Given the financial interests in the FDA (a disproportionate number of FDA employees go on to work for major pharmaceutical companies), I cannot trust that our best interests are really in their minds...

food for thought...

ox

[Xiao3 Meng4]

In TCM, there's a concept known as "Gu Qi." Gu Qi is commonly translated as "Food Qi," but a more correct translation would be "Valley Qi." Basically, anything in the valley that you can derive nourishment from has Valley Qi, or Food Qi.

Chinese Medicine values the term "food is the best medicine." Eat locally, seasonally, and organically, and we greatly reduce our need for condition specific medicines. Even if a particular syndrome crops up, often times a simple modification in our staple diet is all that is needed to rebalance the system.

"Food for thought" and "Soul food" are ideas to consider as well. Our senses receive stimuli in the form of sounds, tastes, shapes and colours, smells, and touch... sensory food. Sensory experiences which cause us to relax could be soul food. Ones which cause us to calculate, problem solve and plan could be food for thought. Again, "eating" locally, seasonally and organically* greatly reduces our chances of illness and accident. Memes are an interesting example of abstract "food."

In the West, I think if it's a poison, it's a drug. If it acutely alters your psychological or physiological state, it's a drug. If it helps but hinders at the same time, it's a drug.

If it's needed for your survival, it's food. If it helps and does not hinder, it's food.


* "Organically" is obviously a metaphor in this case. I'm trying to think of a better word... realistically? Experientally? In any case, I hope you know what I mean.

[Xiao3 Meng4]

food for thought...

ox

...by 2 minutes!

[GeneChing]

This press release just begged to be posted here.

**** of the Walk? Traditional Chinese Medicine Recommends Highly Unusual Weight Loss Food

Traditional Chinese Medicine is widely known to recommend unusual foods to correct health problems. According to the practice, testosterone-rich rooster may hold the keys to effective and longlasting weight loss.
WEBWIRE – Friday, January 25, 2013

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is widely known to introduce some healing techniques that many Westerners find rather unsavory. Now, research into TCM suggests that the Chinese may have an unusual weight loss food, which some people may find hard to swallow. According to the Chinese approach to medicine, naturally lean and muscular ****s, also known as roosters, embody the attributes that traditional Chinese doctors feel are lacking in many overweight people.

Compared to Western medicine, which many consider to take a very aggressive approach to healthcare, this Chinese system of healthcare sees health disorders in terms of imbalances within the body’s energy system and seeks to bring it back into balance. Examples of this are the Yin and Yang, which defines conditions by feminine and masculine attributes; the system of Five Elements, which views the body in terms of five elemental qualities such as wood, fire, metal, water, and earth; and the Law of Signatures, which focuses on the physical attributes of foods to heal physically similar-looking parts of the body such as kidney beans to heal disorders of the kidneys.

“People who are overweight are in a very yin, damp or cool state. ****s are naturally yang and hot. It is the heat in the **** that helps dry the dampness and warm the coolness of an overweight body.” says Adrienne Hew, Certified Nutritionist and author of the cookbook, 50 Ways to Eat ****, “****s have been used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine as a cure for male infertility, reduce excess estrogen in women, and treat any disorder that could benefit by increasing testosterone levels. Other than having a testicle surgically attached to the body, eating **** has several implications as an efficient way of dealing with weight issues as well.”

Traditional Chinese Medicine, which has been revered for over 2000 years in China, has become increasingly popular in the West over the past several decades. The methodology includes practices such as acupuncture, acupressure and Chinese dietetics, which focuses on using both food and herbs for medicinal purposes.

Adrienne Hew, often referred to as the “Nutrition Heretic”, can be found online at http://nourishingjourneys.com, where she offers visitors free access to her 30-Day Reset Your Body Health Challenge, a guided health and wellness program that helps participants lose weight and heal longstanding health problems such as migraines and infertility.

[Lee Chiang Po]

Most of the more common ailments of mankind today are self inflicted. They tend to be auto immune diseases. Heart disease, diabetes, 1 & 2, obesity, arthritis. This is just to name a small number. The human being evolved over several millions of years, and they evolved to eat a particular way. Only in the past 10 thousand or so years they have developed aggriculture and the manufacture of many foods that could not be eaten without high technology. If you find a small animal or reptile and take it home as a pet, you would immediately learn just exactly what it's natural diet consists of so that you could make sure it recieved the proper nutrition to remain healthy. Humans have pretty much forgotten what their natural diet consists of. type 2 diabetes used to be called "Adult Onset Diabetes". It is no longer called that because children as young as 5 are falling to it. It is due to the excess use of processed sugars. Plain and simple. I suspect that something as simple as corn could be the benefactor of arthritis. Plant proteins go into repairing our joints and tissues and our immune system sees it as an alien protein and attacks the joints. I have discussed this with several doctors and this is what they have been telling me. I agree and it does make sense. And today, most candy and sweets are made with corn syrup. We can easily see the connections, but it seems no one wants to except that because it tastes so darn good.