What should we eat, what should we not eat, what should we do to stay healthy? We do not think about this. We focus only on earning, eating and having fun. The doctor should take care of the body. The result of this is that our mind focuses on the body only when we feel pain or discomfort, otherwise not. We should at least think that a person who is not close to his own body, how can he be close to others? That is why today we are not even selfish [sva+arthi i.e. well-wisher of self]. We have become only seekers [those who expect everything from others. We have a saying that "Without me, you cannot get heaven." Perhaps that is why we are living hell while living on earth.
Medical science looks at the body from the point of view of fat, vitamins, proteins, hormones, carbohydrates, minerals or metals etc. Every day, news is published that a certain vitamin or protein is beneficial in a certain disease.
Life is the best gift of God and staying healthy is the biggest blessing. Nutritious food is essential for staying healthy. We need to know when and what to eat to stay healthy so that the food not only satisfies our hunger but also keeps us healthy by acting like a medicine.
Food is the basis for living a healthy life. If the food we eat is tasty and digested, we will remain healthy. Modern science provides many charts for ideal food that protects health, in which the quantity of different food items like carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins etc. is given daily according to calories, but due to poor digestion, we do not get as many calories in the elemental form as we eat. The result is that we fall ill. Therefore, we should pay special attention to food and eat those foods in the right manner which act like medicine in curing the disease while nourishing the body. In this book, 'Treatment through food' has been explained on this basis.
The patient should be treated in a restaurant rather than a hospital. In our daily life, we eat almost dead food. If we keep improving our food and live a disciplined life, then no one can stop us from living a long life. It is also said in the Gita that Satvik diet and eating less than required increases life span. Keep the stomach empty of food, so that we can see God in it. No matter how delicious the food is, whatever you eat, chew it well. A man dies quickly by eating too much, not by eating less. Eat less, digest more, always be cheerful. Medicine cannot have any effect if abstinence or diet is not right. Health and beauty remain good by eating food as per requirement. The closer your lifestyle is to nature, the healthier and longer you will be. If the food is pure, then it leads to sattva. Sattva increases the power of unshakable memory and memory power leads to the attainment of knowledge. Knowledge opens the knots of the heart, i.e. ignorance is destroyed and all doubts are resolved. Thus, the consumption of pure food leads to welfare in all ways.
The most useful food for a human being is that which is either in its natural state and form or has undergone minimal change in its state and form.
In naturopathy, sattvic substances are consumed. From the point of view of naturopathy, food is medicine and medicine is food. Natural food makes the internal resistance of the body so dynamic that it is able to resist all types of infectious diseases. Therefore, 'healing through food' is a part of naturopathy.
People who often remain ill should eat vegetables, salads and fruits for a few days. This is beneficial in all types of diseases. The more you take the things mentioned in this book together, the sooner you will get the benefit.
If you want to remain healthy, then improve the method of eating food. Eat fruits, vegetables etc. in a systematic way. All the vitamins are fulfilled by them. To remain healthy, make food itself a medicine. Socrates has said, health is in diet and diet is medicine. When healthy, food should be taken for nutrition and when sick, food should be taken like medicine to cure the disease.
Just like medicine for disease prevention, proper food is also necessary for quick relief. Vitamins are a type of food. Their intake helps in keeping us healthy. Their deficiency also causes some diseases. If the fruits, vegetables, spices etc. described below are consumed for a long time in the prescribed manner, then they not only work like medicine in disease prevention, but they can also be called proper food for the patient. If any medicine is to be given along with them, then that can also be given. Considering the nature and condition of the patient, their consumption should be advised with discretion. If a patient suffers any kind of pain by consuming them, then their consumption should be stopped. Vitamin 'C' is described below. By its discussion, it will be easily understood that how the consumption of special substances is beneficial for being healthy and being sick?
Diseases caused by deficiency of Vitamin C—Face becomes pale, loss of strength, body pain, gums swell, bleeding occurs in them. Teeth become loose and start shaking. Breath smells bad. Bleeding occurs from skin and mucous membranes. Teeth become crooked and defective. Pyorrhea occurs. Appetite is lost. Nutrition is not complete. Bones, cells and blood vessels get damaged i.e. when Vitamin C is low in the body, wounds do not heal easily, bones break due to minor injury or slipping. A dreaded disease like scurvy occurs. Man becomes weak and irritable. The patient becomes anaemic, red blood cells become less, weak and incomplete, arteries of the person shrink, his heart becomes weak, the patient cannot fight infectious diseases; he repeatedly gets diseases like cold, flu, pneumonia etc. The working capacity decreases. He gets tired even after doing little work and starts becoming old in his youth.
Usefulness of Vitamin C - It is essential for pregnant women and lactating mothers. It is useful in many diseases of the stomach, intestines and liver. It helps in body growth, weight gain, increasing appetite and blood formation. It is essential in the diet of children. It is an accepted medicine for preventing and curing scurvy.
Sources of Vitamin C - Vitamin C is naturally found in abundance in juicy fruits like orange, lemon, seasonal fruits etc. It is found in amaranth, cabbage, raw cabbage, small carrot, onion, tomato, radish, coriander, spinach, beetroot, pear, plum, pineapple, guava. Amla is almost complete Vitamin C. Vitamin C is not destroyed even after cooking Amla. Amla is a sperm enhancer. It destroys blood bile. You can transform yourself by grinding dry Indian gooseberry, filtering it through a cloth and mixing it with honey and consuming 3 grams of it every day for 4 months. Your appetite will increase. Indian gooseberry is more beneficial than big patent medicines in getting deep sleep, increasing mental power, strengthening the heart, making hair black and shiny, curing headaches and other diseases. Grind Indian gooseberry, make tablets of it and swallow 6 tablets 3 times a day (see the chapter titled 'Indian gooseberry' in the book "Medicine through food"). By eating raw green vegetables and drinking their juice daily, you can attain a long life and work like young people even in old age.
Vitamin A - If your eyesight has become weak. You cannot see well at night or become blind at night. Eyes are dry, they itch and burn. They cannot tolerate light, they have lost their shine, cataract has started appearing in old age. Eyes have become blurred. Kidney stones are formed repeatedly. Pinhead-like bumps have appeared on the skin. Teeth have started shaking in youth, then these symptoms mean that there is a deficiency of Vitamin A in your body. All these symptoms can be seen in foods containing Vitamin A - fresh green Amaranth, cabbage, coriander, green mint leaves, green radish leaves, fenugreek, You can cure them by eating spinach, carrots, papaya, mango and butter. You can eat all the vegetables mentioned above raw, make chutney of them and use them by extracting juice from the leaves. By eating this method for 3-4 months, all the diseases mentioned above will be cured.
