Science and medicine have changed dramatically in the last 100 years. The basics of a healthy lifestyle have not. You’ve heard “we are what we eat”, and “exercise is the key to good health”. As an international chef and a medical doctor educated at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, where like many medical schools in the world once Ibn Sina’s famous text-book of “Canon of Medicine” used to be taught, I turned to Ibn Sina and his teacher Hippocrates** for basic concepts of a healthy lifestyle. I turned to him, because in the world’s professional eyes he is known as the ‘doctor of doctors’. Plus, these concepts were parallel with what my grandmother taught me from an early age in Iran and I concluded that simplicity and logic are universal keys to choosing a lifestyle that promotes both happiness and longevity.
Interest in healthy eating was born in ancient Greece. Dietetics along with drugs and surgery, was one of the 3 pillars of Greek medicine. Since the 4th century B.C., physicians and pre-Socratic philosophers claimed the importance of environment, climate, and lifestyle in maintaining health. The Greeks advocated practices such as physical exercise, a healthy sexual life, regular bathing, and diet for preventing disease. Later Ibn Sina in his “Canon of Medicine” echoed that health is the result of the right diet, regular exercise, and enough sleep. He introduced exercise as the focal point of good health, and suggested a vigorous daily exercise regime along with a diet of white meat, wheat, and select fruits.
Between the 6th and 4th century B.C., Greek physicians who were disciples of Pythagoras, divided everything into 4 basic categories: Water, Earth, Air, and Fire. Later they developed the concept of dual opposition: hot/cold, dry/moist, bitter/sweet, and divided foods into these categories. For example they said that melon was cold and dry, and veal was hot and moist. They believed that the imbalance of food types caused disease and death.
Hippocratic medicine stated that the body consisted of four ‘humors’ that needed to be in healthy balance (black bile, yellow bile, phlegm and blood). A diet was proposed to restore and maintain balance. Interestingly each of these 4 humors suggested by the Greeks: heat, cold, dry and moist, which becomes dominant during one of the four seasons and one of the four stages of our lives.
– Spring/Childhood: The blood, which corresponds to air, is both hot and moist. This element dominates in childhood and spring, and produces a positive and cheerful temperament, inclined towards pleasure.
– Summer/Youth: The yellow bile, also known as “choler”, hot and dry, dominates in youth and summer, and produces an aggressive temperament, full of fire.
– Autumn/Adult: Autumn, cold and dry, is the season corresponding to adult life, dominated by the earth and black bile. The adult temperament is melancholic, which is the Greek word for black bile.
– Winter/Old Age: Winter is the time of water, cold and moist, and corresponds to old age. Older people are matter-of-fact or indifferent.
Whether positive, aggressive, melancholic or indifferent, each person is born with a dominant temperament that is the distinct sign of his or her own character. A “spring person” can be recognized by his/her reddish complexion and his/her vigor and stoutness. A “summer person” usually has a yellowish complexion and a dry and nervous body. The “autumn person” is grey and rather thin. A “winter person” will be rather thin and limp with a pale complexion. Each type of temperament is attracted by food that correspond to it. A spring person will love meat in gravy and wines that are hot and moist. A summer person will favor grilled meat, spices, hot and dry food. The autumn person will prefer “roots” pulled out of earth which is their reference point. A winter person will eat soup and raw vegetables.
Many of the Greek physicians believed that the right diet could correct and balance a person’s temperament. For example the summer person with a hot temperament should eat cold and moist food. According to Hippocratic dietetics, a balanced diet during different seasons and at different ages was important to health. For example, robust red wine ( hot and dry) is recommended for winter and autumn people who are cold natured. On the other hand, fresh fish, plums or pears (cold and moist) are more suitable for spring and summer people.
However, according to Galen and physicians who were disciples of Hippocrates, a balanced diet was obtained by combining foods. For example a cold and moist food-item should be paired with a hot and dry one, such as mushrooms cooked with pepper or garlic. Older people with cold temperaments could drink more wine that is “hot” as compared with younger individuals whose temperament is generally hot and cheerful.
In winter, one must eat as much as possible and drink as little as possible. One can eat bread, roasted meat and fish, but vegetables are not recommended. This diet will keep the body hot and dry. In summer, the diet should consist mainly of soft cereals, boiled meats, raw or boiled vegetables. This summer diet will keep the body cool because hot and dry foods increase body temperature. In spring and autumn, the diet adapts to the season.
Between 14th and 16th century, master cooks employed by royalty knew the value of these different food combinations very well. They prepared “balanced” meals that conformed to the seasons with delicate dishes in summer, heavier meats in winter, and with the temperament of their employer (for example, cheerful or indifferent.). They knew how to maintain a balance in a meal by combining hot and dry spices with beef or venison that was cold, by heating a salad with salt and oil, or heating oysters (cold and moist) with fried onions and spices diluted in vinegar. Poultry was usually cooked with sour un-ripened fruit juice and it was made in summer. Beef was usually cooked with vinegar and it was made in winter. Spices were usually absent from the dishes made for the sick. Cookbooks published during this period bear witness to the fact that the master cooks were very aware of these dietary principles.
Even today in Iran people still use the terms hot and cold for every raw or cooked food and try to maintain a balanced diet. For example walnut and dates are hot, cherries are cold, Khoresh bademjoon is cold, Ghormesabzee is hot. Iranian cooks use side dishes to balance the temperament of the food. With Ghormesabzee they use yogurt or a tomato, cucumber & onion salad, which both are cold, and for Khoresh bademjoon they use fresh herbs or garlic pickles, which are hot. Generally, soups and salads are cold and stimulate appetite if they are used as an appetizer and in moderation. In another hand generally, desserts are hot and should be eaten in moderation and after the main meal. In every city of Iran they have their own specialty sweets, which is a luxury food. The main Iranian drinks are hot black tea and cold fruit juice and their snacks are fruits, vegetables and nuts. They make most of their dishes with vegetables and use fresh raw herbs, plain yogurt, and all kinds of pickled vegetables as side dishes. The typical diet in Iran is to start the day with hot sweet black tea, cheese and fresh and warm flat bread. Honey and fruit jams are very popular for breakfast and they are served with fresh cream, butter, and boiled eggs as a fancy breakfast (usually when they have guests). Iranians eat a big lunch and then a simple dinner. They eat together with everybody in the family. This is very important for persian culture.
An unbalanced diet with a predominance of hot food can cause signs and symptoms such as dry mouth with white sores, dry and cracked lips, thirst, skin pimples, itching, and gaining weight. These symptoms can be treated by eating cold food and drinks like yogurt and yogurt soda. Cold foods help with weight loss, but a predominance of cold food can cause fatigue, too much saliva, stomach cramps, nausea and vomiting. These symptoms can be corrected in a few hours by eating hot food like rock candy or dates. Rhazes, a Persian physician-philosopher, said: “As long as you can heal with food, do not heal with medication”.
The mediaeval dietary prescriptions for health practices are quite simple and full of common sense; eat, drink and live with moderation. Dietary excess or emotional excess such as anger, sadness, and over stress, which they called them “accidents of the soul” are harmful to a balanced life. Several millennia ago people knew what modern medicine knows today that total health is the state where soul (will, mind, and emotion), body, and spirit are in perfect balance, as nature helps them to be. It is more obvious these days how important it is to eat together with loved ones on a regular basis in order to have better nutrition, digestion, mental health, stability, self worth, and security. In many cultures, including the Persian culture, people show friendship by eating together to build better relationships.
In the West, Hippocratic dietetics survived in some culinary practices such as eating melon with raw ham at the beginning of a meal, pears in wine as a dessert, drinking liqueur at the end of a meal. Another modern form of dietetics can be seen in the vegetarian diet. Today you can buy foods grown anywhere in the world year round. But we are hearing about the importance of buying local fresh fruits and vegetables when they are in season. By purchasing local foods in-season, you eliminate the environmental damage caused by shipping foods thousands of miles, your food dollar goes directly to the farmer, and your family is able to enjoy the health benefits of eating fresh, unprocessed fruits and vegetables.
The habit of eating seasonal food has been practiced since ancient times as people ate what nature produced according to seasons. Recently I learned that people can be healed from their allergies by eating local honey. Traveling around the world and cooking international food has led me to realize that the taste of each food is dependent upon where it is cooked, even when using the same recipe and ingredients. This is due to the differences in soil, water, weather, and “farm to fork” time ratio. In general each food has the best taste in its original country and when it is “bon appetite” or “nooshe joon” and it tastes good to you, usually it is good for you. The taste of food has many nuances, as it is a sense. Taste affects our nervous system directly, stimulates nerves, awakens our minds and senses and makes us lively. It also sets our vital fluids in motion and enhances the power of digestion.
Cooking with the right spices is also very important for health. Spices in general increase both appetite and metabolism and taking time to eat is important. We need to slow down to taste the food and let our nervous systems react. In doing so, we will feel satisfied and not overeat. When we are sick, we lose our appetite and sense of taste. Taste, appetite and digestion are interrelated. A lack of taste indicates fever or other disease (toxins). Improving our sense of taste, means our body is in process of healing. so, in many ways spices are such an important part of our food.
In last decade I have read and searched through hundreds and thousands of scientific medical articles on a daily basis, One day science will proclaim that eating egg yokes, nuts, chocolate, or wine is bad for you. Another day, the “experts” not only say these foods are good for you, but suggest that without eating them your health will be in jeopardy. This causes confusion and makes people swing between different diet fads. Many evidence-based results of scientific research are trustworthy, but many are the result of economic and political agendas and not pure science.
My premise is that simple and logical dietary advice that has proven to be beneficial for health has been around for centuries and it still works. How wonderful it is to get to know our body and our temperaments and to get the benefit of ancient health advice, while using modern science resources to keep ourselves in a balanced, healthy life style. I trust my cook book that will publish in future will aid in your quest.
Dr. Sii
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Terms/Glossary:
**Hippocrates =Hippocrates was an ancient Greek physician. Hippocrates is perhaps history’s most famous physician. By rejecting superstition in favor of scientific observation, by classifying diseases, and by creating a set of moral and professional standards for physicians, he earned the title of “Father of Medicine”.
*Ibn Sina = Avicenna, In March 2008, it was announced that Avicenna’s name would be used for new Directories of education institutions for health care professionals, worldwide. The HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avicenna_Directories”Avicenna Directories will list universities and schools where doctors, public health practitioners, pharmacists and others, are educated. The project team stated “Why Avicenna?” That is because Avicenna was noted for his synthesis of knowledge from both east and west. He has had a lasting influence on the development of medicine and health sciences. The use of Avicenna’s name symbolizes the worldwide partnership that is needed for the promotion of health services of high quality.
Medicine = Science and art of healing
Healing arts = Practices for restoring health by prevention and treatment of diseases
Alchemical = A practice focused on the attempt to change base metals into gold and finding the elixir of longevity.
Dietetics = the study of eating habits
Taste = Essence
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