Food is perceived in many ways- as an element of fun, a comforter in times of distress, a tool to transform the body contours and, at a more basic level, something that actually makes the body function! Most people think calories when they think food. Or they think energy, but very few people know the many constituents of foods. Thanks to the new information about foods, today doctors and health professionals use food products as a healing disease correction tool!

Foods have energy: How this energy is transformed to human energy entirely depends on how we process the food before we eat it. For example, nuts are very high in plant energy. If we eat them raw they lead to a high level of human energy, but if we roast them we lose a part of this energy, and if we fry them (in gift boxes, we all gorge on them!) we completely kill them (not only do they become fattening but also lead to acidity). And if we sprout them, then we discover an anti-aging remedy.

Foods builds our body: The basic unit of all life is the same, plant or animal products literally break down to the smallest unit in our body. These are the buildings blocks of the human body, right from bones, skin, hair and organs.

Foods have vitamins: Vitamins, we believe, give us energy or have a healing effect. Vitamins are the essential links needed to process food inside the body; without vitamins, the calories on their own cant be of any use. So right from the digestion of food to the absorption of food, till the time it becomes our muscle, bones, hair and a many other things, vitamins are the key to transformation. They are live active molecules capable of getting killed if we do not handle food right. For example, exposing a juice to air oxidises the Vitamin C quickly.

Foods have minerals: In the intensive coronary unit, we were taught how to check for blood electrolytes because in a myocardial infarct (heart attack) patient, the levels of the electrolyte potassium can spell life or death for the patient. On a more day-to-day level, food cravings have been related to magnesium and manganese; muscle pains to calcium levels; bone pain to a balance between calcium and magnesium.

Foods have phytoestrogens and phytochemicals: Foods have bio-chemicals which can mimic human hormones and affect us in many ways. For example, soya has a compound which can improve the menopausal symptoms and have positive effect on the girls suffering from polycystic ovary.

Foods have enzymes: The powerful tool of transformation is the enzyme which breaks down the bonds of one food to bring it down to the smallest unit to be assimilated by us. Most digestive ailments stem from the fact that we eat foods whose enzymes are killed by processinmg.So, we are unable to digest food adequately as we overburden our digestive enzymes.

Foods have adaptogens: Adaptogens are a new group of compounds which have miraculous properties ranging from anti-cancer, rejuvenation, disease cure and many more. These adaptogens are present in herbs and foods. Which is why all over Europe and America the latest buzzword is Ayurveda.

Random Tip: Eat a variety of food throughout the week. Pamper your tastebuds a little bit. Having a nice amalgamation of food throught the week adds colour and taste which efficaciously means ingesting lots of vitamins and minerals.