Being healthy is a mindset that has caught up fast. Staying without diseases and effectively managing diseases in day-to-day life has become imperative in the ever-demanding present days. But what makes you healthy? Eating good food? Physical activities? Hereditary? Or pollution-less environment? In fact, all these factors contribute to a healthy body. Though the latter two are not in our control, we can work on the former two, i.e., eating healthy food and undertaking regular physical activity.

We often come across the quote attributed to Hippocrates, the Greek founder of Western medicine, “Letfoodbethy medicineand medicine be thyfood”. What he might have meant by it? Some experts say whole foods act as medicine, mend and protect the body and strengthen the immune system, helping the body to deal with chemicals, preservatives, additives and toxins added to processed foods these days. They say every meal we consume influences our mood and our bodily functions. So the more nutritious, body-friendly foods we eat, the less burden on the body to keep us from diseases. In other words, the healthier food we consume, the more the chances of us staying healthy.

The relationship between human genome, nutrition and health is being studied by the science field called nutrigenomics. Scientists are working towards uncovering the benefits of nutrigenomics and also the idea that food we consume is the information that speaks to our genes and triggers messages that makes our body healthy or diseased. Besides nutrition, factors like stress, hormone balance, our gut health also play a role in bringing about diseases. In effect, food is almost a medicine that has to be used to keep the body healthy.

On the other hand, some scientists are of the opinion that food is much more than medicine. It is inherently connected to community and social interactions. It is basically culture and a source of joy and love. Classifying food as medicine robs these positive qualities. There is no denying the fact that it is essential to have a healthy relationship with food for our well-being. Though food has medicinal properties, it is not just a medicine or a fuel the body needs. Food is much more than nutrients. We should not consume it in the ideal of reducing risk of diseases. Why because if we start to see food as medicine, we would be obsessed about counting micro and macronutrients intake and unfairly glorify or damn certain foods, which making eating a joyless experience. Eating some foods which are our favorites but not classified as healthy increases our guilt and lowers self-esteem. Secondly, many of us overestimate the immediate impact of what we eat, thinking super-healthy food will give instant benefits at the same time undervaluing the long-term effect of staple food over a period of time.

Weighing both sides in summary we can say that what we eat today can have small, subtle influences on health, but they become powerful when repeated over the lifespan. Contrarily, medicines are necessary substances that help us fight diseases and maintain good health. For many medicines are needed every day to stay alive. Though they take healthiest foods, it’s the medicines that help them stay alive. Human lifespan has considerably increased due to modern medicines. Hence let food be food and medicine be medicine. Both are amazing without a shred of doubt. Eating healthy is no more difficult. All restaurants cater to the needs of health-conscious diners by offering healthy substitutes of fatty oils, and giving the ingredients in the menu apart from giving details about the food preparation when asked. GotTable’s associate restaurants in Bengaluru take part in this healthy food trend with pocket-friendly meal deals offer for you to enjoy dining while minding your Hs (health) and Ws (wealth).