Food is Medicine
Book review by Pam Moffatt

We are urged daily to eat healthily. For too many people this conjures up images of boring menus with tasteless food. However, should you chance upon a wonderful book entitled "Food is Medicine" by Jean Pierre Cousin you will discover a veritable encyclopedia of ingredients and their healing and medical qualities, and how best to utilise them.

It is beautifully presented with excellent colour illustrations and more to the point it is divided into four sections which makes for easy reference. For instance, Part I is given over to healing foods with each entry covering precisely the ingredient and its healing property. Part II is devoted to foods suggested for common ailments detailing foods to eat and foods to avoid. Part III is the best part because much thought has gone into exquisite recipes which are straightforward and well-itemised and, dare I say, will appeal to the average gourmet. There are starters, main courses and desserts to die for and it's all in the name of good health. My favourite has to be 'chicken breasts with celeriac mash'. We all know the value of eating chicken . Celeriac is a valuable ingredient when one is concerned about lowering the level s of cholesterol and it is said to reduce the risk of bowel cancer. But, that apart, it TASTES DELICIOUS and that aspect is also important.

If you feel in need of a detox programme, this is well covered in Part IV with suggested menus as part of a diet. An interesting section has mouthwatering recipes for various medicinal drinks, tinctures and syrups. Blueberry wine as a tonic sounds a good spirit-raiser to me.

Towards the end of the book there is a directory of Vitamins, Minerals and other Nutrients which lists the sources and benefits of each item

M. Cousin, acupuncturist and herbalist, is well known in his field. His book should be at the forefront of everybody's cookery bookshelf to be dipped into daily. I found it compulsive reading.