You might have heard it before and didn't believed, but food is actually a very powerful medicine which can make you feel good or bad, depending on what you are eating. Dr. Mark Hyman, a family physician and a four-time New York Times bestselling author, is teaching us, in his article "Eat Your Medicine", about foods and their great properties for the human body.

Taking a trip to Asia, he discovered that people over there consider dinner as a date with the doctor, because they knew exactly what to eat, in order to treat certain conditions. "Dinner with my hosts included mild, crunchy white tree fungus, bai mu er, which enhances detoxification and improves the complexion. A mixed vegetable dish included sweet, nutty ginkgo nuts to help increase circulation, improve cognitive function and acts as a powerful antioxidant. The earthy shitake or Chinese black mushrooms boost immunity through special polysaccharide molecules."

Dr. Hyman says that the best approach of healing through food is to "think color". He states that "plants use colors as protective mechanisms. Those colors are the sources of phytonutrients - plant chemicals that interact with your biology and act like switches on your DNA to heal your body. We use their defense mechanisms to help our bodies function better. These are the anti-inflammatory, detoxifying, antioxidant and hormone-balancing compounds that we should eat every day to prevent disease and create optimal health."

Dr Mark says that you should change your eating habits by adding to your plate all the food colors, in order to have a healthy life.

"Reds (tomatoes, pink grapefruit, watermelon)" have phytonutrients like "the carotenoid lycopene, which helps rid the body of free radicals that damage genes; yellow/greens (spinach and other greens, yellow corn, green peas, avocado, honeydew)" are rich in phytonutrients like "the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin, believed to reduce the risk of cataracts and age-related macular degeneration; oranges (carrots, mangos, apricots, cantaloupes, pumpkin, acorn squash, winter squash, sweet potatoes)" contain phytonutrients like "alpha carotene, which protects against cancer, and beta-carotene, which protects the skin against free-radical damage and helps repair damaged DNA; orange/yellows (pineapple, oranges, tangerines, peaces, papayas, nectarines)" have phytonutrients like "beta cryptothanxin, which helps cells in the body communicate and may help prevent heart disease; red/purples (beets, eggplant, purple grapes, red wine, grape juice, prunes, berries, red apples)" have phytonutrients like "antioxidants called anthocyanins, believed to protect against heart disease by preventing blood clots. They may also delay cell aging and help delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease; greens (broccoli, Brussels sprout, cabbage, kale)" are filled with phytonutrients like "sulforaphane, isocyanate and indoles, all of which help ward off cancer; white/greens (leeks, scallions, garlic, onions, celery, pears, white wine, endive, chives)" contain different kind of phytonutrients "(the onion family contains allicin, which has anti-tumor properties. Other foods in this group food contain antioxidant flavonoids like quercetin and kaempferol)", teaches us Dr. Mark.

We should not exclude any group of foods of any colour, as they all have their own purpose in our diet, and it will only help us feel better and treat and prevent our diseases without the use of medication.