The Healing Power of Nutrition

Because they grow in hot countries or in summer, they regulate the temperature downward. This is counterproductive in winter or with colds, unless you need a fever reducer.

The rules of Ayurvedic nutrition

Also in the naturopathy system Ayurveda nutrition (Ahara) plays a central role. An Ayurvedic principle is that those who eat properly do not need medicine; and those who eat improperly cannot be helped even with medicine.

The teaching follows the basic assumption that everything, from stone to human, is determined in its "being" by the regulating structural forces of the three Doshas Vata (principle of movement), Pitta (principle of metabolism), and Kapha (principle of structure).

“Thus, each food carries a specific Dosha information within it, which can positively or negatively affect the body's own Doshas by being reduced or increased,” explains Maria Hebel, Ayurveda doctor of the 5-star Health & Detox Resort Ayurveda Parkschlösschen .

In addition to a diet appropriate for the doshas, digestive power, known as "Agni," also plays a role in maintaining health. "If Agni is too weak and the metabolism is disturbed, it leads to the slagging and acidification of the organism. Toxins and metabolic residues (Ama) are deposited in the body and can trigger a variety of diseases," says Hebel.

The goal is also to strengthen Agni. This is achieved on the one hand through dosha-appropriate dishes, but also through the targeted use of spices such as ginger, coriander, and cumin to eliminate metabolic residues. If digestion needs more push, it helps to drink a lot of hot water throughout the day and to grate about two centimeters of fresh ginger into two to three cups.

Eating like in grandma's times

The healing power of food is also known in European culture. You don't even have to go back to antiquity with its humoral theory or to the medieval monastery kitchens. Childhood memories are often enough.

Who doesn't know the rule to eat like an emperor in the morning, like a king at noon, and like a beggar in the evening? This way, you can prevent feelings of fullness and sleep problems. Or: Well chewed is half digested. Choosing food seasonally, regionally, or based on its thermal effect was something our grandmothers also did: In winter, there were warming braised dishes or hearty stews, in summer, light and cooling things like curd, fruit, or salad.

"Avoid foods that claim to be healthy!"

"Don't eat anything your grandmother wouldn't recognize as food," urged food activist Michael Pollan in his book "Food Rules. An Eater’s Manual" . He recommends evaluating products in the supermarket with the "grandma look": Do the ingredients belong more in a chemistry lab than in a kitchen? According to Pollack, many products wouldn't even make it into the shopping cart that way.

And he goes even further: "Avoid foods that claim to be healthy! The healthiest foods in the supermarket, the fresh products, don't boast about being healthy. Therefore, don't conclude from the silence of sweet potatoes that they have nothing important to contribute to our health."

New publications from the globally conducted PURE study by cardiologists Salim Yusuf and Andrew Mente provide interesting aspects. PURE (Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiological Study) started in 2006, aiming to find out which dietary patterns and foods have a positive impact on overall mortality and particularly on mortality from cardiovascular diseases have.

Here, vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, fish, and unprocessed dairy products were clearly identified as protective foods. A further analysis also showed that mortality and the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases do not change when unprocessed red meat or whole grains are added or omitted. This means, conversely, that avoiding meat does not lead to a better preventive effect.

How emotions influence eating

Food keeps body and soul together – also a grandma's wisdom. And it is also true that eating significantly contributes to mental health contributes. "Even in infancy, the foundation is laid that associates food with emotions," confirms Prof. Dr. Ulrike Gisch from the Institute of Nutritional Science at Justus Liebig University Giessen. "Food also has an emotion-regulating function. High-calorie foods stimulate the production of substances like dopamine, similar to drugs – that's the neurotransmitter that makes you happy."

No wonder you can become addicted to it. "The chocolate gives a short-term dopamine high, but in the long term, I need more of it to feel satisfied," says the nutritional psychologist. Thus, the positive feeling that food creates can quickly turn: you eat too much and just feel full and uncomfortable.

"Emotional eating should not be dismissed as 'when I feel bad, I eat.' Because we also eat when we feel good," explains Prof. Gisch. It has a lot to do with pampering. Which brings us back to the proverbial grandma. Her ham noodles or vanilla pudding were not just dishes, but soul food – nourishment for the soul. This comes with the feeling of being cared for and protected. In this way, food can also have a healing effect on a mental level.

Soul food: Nutrition that makes you happy

The term "soul food" originally comes from the American South and is characterized by the traditional cuisine of African Americans, developed during slavery, out of a lack of food. Back then, people had to make do with simple foods due to oppression and poverty – with beans, rice, and corn.

For this, meat was prepared that was spurned by the wealthier: chicken wings, ribs, offal, pig's feet. These dishes are still an important part of Southern cuisine today, but in more modern language, the term soul food is more equated with comfort food: dishes that are good for the soul, that evoke fond memories of special moments when one felt happy, and that thus make the heart feel warm.

Why certain foods make you full and happy is explained by Sascha Stemberg. The star chef relies on soul food with a Rhineland heart in his restaurant "Haus Stemberg" in Velbert, North Rhine-Westphalia. "For me, soul food is food that everyone understands and that kisses the soul."

The decisive factor, he says, is the good feelings associated with the food. It's not just about satisfying physical needs, but also emotional ones. Stemberg regularly takes his guests on a culinary journey back to childhood. "Familiar tastes, memories of home, special moments from the past contribute to a dish lifting the mood or providing comfort," Stemberg explains. "It tastes just like it used to," he often hears from his happy regular customers.

Unfortunately, it is precisely these dishes, often combinations of fatty, salty, or sugary foods, that are high in calories and unhealthy. "It's like everything in life, the dosage is important," says Stemberg. "If I eat fries with mayo once a week and it reminds me of my favorite vacation in Holland, that's perfectly fine."

Nutrition: New Approaches

British genetics professor Tim Spector presents in his new book "Food for Life" Inspiration for the menu of the future and addresses nutritional myths and trends. Examples: Anything claimed to be "superfood" is probably a scam.

And: The idea that coffee is unhealthy can be safely dismissed – a recent UK Biobank study found a reduced mortality rate among coffee drinkers, plus two cups of coffee provide more fiber than a banana.

On the topic of gluten-free diets: These often negatively affect the intestinal flora therefore, they should be avoided if one does not have celiac disease . Especially important to the professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London is the topic of gut health.

Greatest enemies of a healthy gut? Highly processed, refined foods. What Spector also found: The ideal diet is different for each person. There is no diet that works equally well for everyone. And miracle cures for 'detoxifying' the body belong to the realm of fairy tales for him.