The Healing Power of Food

Hippocrates, founder of the field of medicine, once provided the sagacious advice: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” For thousands of years, human beings have looked to food as not only a source of energy and nourishment, but also as a remedy. The ginger root, for example, has been used by the Chinese for over two thousand years as a medicinal food that helps treat nausea and provide stomach relief. Even today, many pharmaceutical companies look toward plants to try and extract substances with potential healing effects.

Food with medicinal properties is widespread. In addition to ginger roots, bananas and raspberries can also provide stomach relief. The vapors Foods such as onions, mushrooms, corn, garlic, plums, strawberries, and cranberries have been proven to be able to provide antiviral relief against symptoms of the common cold. Fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin C and antioxidants provide general antibiotic and anti-cancer protection through means such as stimulating the immune system and combating free radicals, respectively.  

Extra virgin olive oil, which is currently the focus of our study in Italy, is yet another potent medicinal food. There are numerous reasons for this. One is that extra virgin olive oil contains the antioxidant hydroxytyrosol, which as mentioned above, can provide anti-cancer benefits. Another reason is that extra virgin olive oil contains a relatively recently discovered substance known as oleocanthal. Oleocanthal is a phenol, which means it contains a benzene ring with an -OH group attached to it. The structure is shown below. 



The compound causes a throat-burning sensation much like that of ibuprofen, the active ingredient in many of today’s over-the-counter painkillers and cold medicines. In fact, it’s been discovered that oleocanthal’s chemical activity in the body is very similar - both inhibit enzymes that provide anti-inflammatory relief. More specifically, oleocanthal inhibits the COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes, just like ibuprofen. Studies have found that mole-for-mole, oleocanthal is actually more potent than ibuprofen. That’s not all, though. Oleocanthal is also believed to be associated with lowering the risk of neuro-degenerative disease, joint-degenerative disease, and heart-related illnesses, although the mechanism for latter is not yet known. It is possible that oleocanthal does this in the same way that aspirin does, because aspirin, when taken in low doses, can also provide cardiovascular health benefits. Oleocanthal reduces the risk of neuro-degenerative disease through its inhibition of tau fibrillization in neurons. These are the tangles that can form in the extensions near neuron cell bodies.

Tau fibrillization

The evidence about oleocanthal being some sort of miracle substance is far from conclusive, but one thing is certain: olive oil affords its consumer with multiple health benefits. With so many good, tasty foods out there that provide similar effects to that of medicines without the potentially harmful side effects, the decision to eat healthier should be obvious. Remember...you are what you eat!

Sources:
1) http://cdn.intechopen.com/pdfs/27042/InTech-Oleocanthal_a_naturally_occurring_anti_inflammatory_agent_in_virgin_olive_oil.pdf
2) http://www.travelsintaste.com/top_medicinal_foods-listing2584.aspx
3) http://www.landofvos.com/articles/kitchen.html