Vegetable power for cancer treatment

Even as super-specialty hospitals are coming out with innovative precision therapies for treating cancer, D S Research Centre swears by the power of ayurveda for the same.

“Ayurveda contains a wealth of knowledge on health sciences. Accordingly, traditional foods and their dietary guidelines are prescribed in it. There is so much similarity in Ayurveda dietetics and traditional food,” said Dr B Divyasree Lakshmi, Ayurvedacharya, D S Research Center addressing a press conference in the city on Friday.

Dietitian, Kalpana Rani Pedagopu, D S Research Center said, “Traditional information about processing of food, its preservation techniques, and their therapeutic effects has been established for many generations.

Food systems can deliver biological functions through dietary components in the human body. Indian foodis also recognised as ‘functional’ because of the presence of components, such as body-healing chemicals, antioxidants, dietary fibres, and probiotics.”

“There is diversity in traditional health food because the regional options have evolved according to climate, culture, and cropping practices,” she said.

“The scientists of DS Research Centre propounded the theory of ‘nutrient energy’. Pure energy is derived from fresh and simple food. But due to nature’s cycle of change, food did not remain stable. Virtuous food is the one that remains stable,” explained Dr Lakshmi.

“Therefore, vegetarian diet is not merely a means to satisfy appetite. If taken as diet, this enhances the capacity to withstand natural changes,” she said.

“Experts of DS Research Centre collected about 1,621 such food items for consumption and obtained energy from them through ancient Ayurveda method. These have been used to treat cancer patients,” said the doctor. The survivors were at the event, too.