Medical
Cuisine
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Incredible flavours, life giving
and life sustaining amazing foods! |
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Medicinal or healthy food for optimal
health! |
For thousands
of years humans have recognised the medicinal properties
of certain foods.
Australia's first people the aborigines
were aware of the healing properties of certain foods
and lineaments. Two very popular antiseptics Tea Tree
and Eucalyptus Oil were part of aboriginal medicine. |
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Many Australian plants have super medicinal
properties, for example; |
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Billy goat plum
/ Kakadu plum (Terminalia ferdinandiana) is
the world's richest source of vitamin C. The plum
has 50 times the Vitamin C of oranges. Found in the
woodlands of Northern Territory and Western Australia,
this fruit was a major source of vitamin C for the
native people in areas where it grows. |
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The next people that came to Australia, the early explorers
suffered many health problems from not getting the
right food. Scurvy (lack of vitamin C) and night blindness
(lack of vitamin A) were two very common diseases
suffered amongst early explorers. Many convicts also
died on voyages to Australia, poor diet and poor sanitation
often being the cause of their demise. If only they
had more garlic and onion to help their bodies fight
infection. |
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Today our understanding of food has improved 100 fold, food
science and technology are now using biochemistry
(flow of chemical energy through metabolism) to better
understand the nutritional and medicinal properties
of food. |
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Food composition and chemistry is very complicated, and nearly
all food is different in its structure, taste and
chemistry. Some foods offer high energy (like potatoes)
while other foods offer very little energy but provide
high levels of essential nutrients like vitamin C
(the immune system booster). |
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Food is very important because of nutrient value, health healing
etc, but also because of its physical form. The size
of food particles can affect the extent in which nutrients
are digested and made ready for absorption. Fiber
is also important, a necessary component to maintain
a healthy digestive system. |
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Food has many components, with each component working on one
or multitudes of bodily functions. |
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Nutritional
and medicinal properties of food |
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• Fruits |
• Grains |
• Nuts and Seeds |
• Legumes |
• Fungi (Mushrooms) |
• Spices |
• Herbs |
• Meat & Poultry |
• Shellfish |
• Fish & Seafood |
• Dairy Foods |
• Fats & Oils |
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Fruit and vegetables, lean meats,
good fat and oils, protein and carbohydrates, water
and a good mental attitude are just some of the essential
ingredients we need for optimal health. |
Tasty foods, the right ingredients
and last but not least, the six essential nutrients. |
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The
six essential nutrients |
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• Proteins |
• Carbohydrates |
• Fats and Oils |
• Water |
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Vitamins are essential nutrients.
Nutrients are the nutritional components in food that
living organisms utilise to survive and grow. |
Vitamins are essential for the healthy
maintenance of cells, tissues, and organs. They enable
us to use chemical energy that comes from food, and
to help process the proteins, carbohydrates, and fats
required for nutrition and ongoing life support. |
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Minerals are important for your
body to stay healthy. Your body uses minerals for
many different jobs, including building bones, making
hormones and regulating your heartbeat. |
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Proteins |
Proteins are essential nutrients
for the human body. They are one of the building blocks
of body tissue. |
Protein can be found in all cells
of the body and is the major structural component
of all cells in the body, especially muscle. When
broken down into amino acids, they are used as precursors
to nucleic acid, co-enzymes, hormones, immune response,
cellular repair, and other molecules essential for
life. Additionally, protein is needed to form blood
cells. |
What
are protein foods |
All foods made from meat, poultry,
seafood, beans and peas, eggs, processed soy products,
nuts, and seeds are considered part of the Protein
Foods Group. Beans and peas are also part of the vegetable
group. |
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Carbohydrates |
Carbohydrate is an important source
of energy for the body. Many carbohydrate-containing
foods are high in dietary fibre and are healthy food
choices. Carbohydrate is an important nutrient found
in many foods. |
What are Carbohydrate
Foods |
Carbohydrate containing foods include
breads, breakfast cereal, rice, pasta, noodles, fruit,
potato and starchy vegetables, corn, dried beans and
lentils, sugar, milk and yoghurt. |
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Fats
and Oils |
Dietary fat is important for many
body processes. Helps move some vitamins around the
body and also helps with making hormones. There are
different groups of dietary fat and each of the groups
can have a different effect on your blood cholesterol
level. |
Fat Types |
Dietary fat can be classified into
four groups. These are saturated fats, monounsaturated
fats, polyunsaturated fats and trans fats |
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Water |
All known life forms depend on water.
Water is vital both as a solvent in which many of
the body's solutes dissolve and as an essential part
of many metabolic processes within the body. |
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References |
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