Thorsons
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This edition published by Thorsons 2017
FIRST EDITION
Text © Dr Rupy Aujla 2017
Food photography © Faith Mason 2017
Cover layout design ©HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2017
Cover photograph © Faith Mason 2017
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Dr Rupy Aujla asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
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Source ISBN 9780008239336
Ebook Edition © December 2017 ISBN: 9780008239343
Version 2017-12-20
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To my mother. Without her love and guidance I would not be the doctor I am today … or a cook. I owe her everything.
Contents
Introduction: Food as Medicine
5 Spices, dressings and pastes
Introduction: Food as Medicine
Hi, I’m Rupy. I love practising medicine as a doctor in the NHS and I also have a real passion for showing my patients and colleagues the health benefits of food.
I believe what you choose to put on your plate is the most important health intervention anyone can make.
Imagine a world where everybody appreciates the true impact of diet and lifestyle on disease and is empowered to make permanent, simple changes. Some of the most prevalent illnesses can be alleviated and managed by making educated modifications to what we eat and how we live. We have been conditioned to believe that the sole purpose of going to the doctor is to get prescriptions and pills to cure us when we are sick, but my aspiration is to teach patients to take control of their health and prevent illness from occurring in the first place by using a lifestyle medicine approach.
Every day, we make choices that either positively or negatively impact our bodies. But I haven’t written this book to scare you into a restrictive and bland way of life. I’m here to welcome you on a journey of colour, flavour and cultures that makes healthy eating delicious and accessible to everyone. I want to introduce you to the medicinal effects of food, while showing you how it can be vibrant and easy to slot into a hectic lifestyle.
As a GP in the NHS, I see hundreds of patients every week. From my desk I witness the outcome of poor diet and lifestyle time and time again: high blood pressure, low mood, chronic pain, diabetes, cognitive decline. The reality is, we are not taught the immense