The effect of nutrition on maintaining the health of heart, brain, and liver from the perspective of traditional Persian medicine

Background and Purpose:

The relationship between health of the heart, liver and brain, and nutrition is undeniable. A holistic medical school that lies on the basis of a multitude of several thousand years of experience, Persian medicine has studied the role of nutrition in health maintenance of the brain, heart, and liver. The purpose of this study is to describe and explain the role of foods and drinks in maintaining the health of these organs from the perspective of traditional Persian medicine.

The studied material included twenty reference books in traditional Persian medicine composed in different centuries (from the first to 14th century, AH), some of which were accessed from Noor software. Modern literature was also queried in well-known international databases (in English) within the period of 1999 to 2020. The searching process was conducted based on related keywords. Retrieved data were collected and analyzed by analytical-documentary method.

Useful principles in maintaining heart health include eating tender (latif), delicious non-drying foods and observing the principles in drinking water. To keep the liver healthy, it is recommended to eat foods that do not upset the balance of humors and do not cause dystemperaments. In maintaining the health of the brain, use of tender (latif) foods and drinks are recommended. Consumption of foodstuff that produces harmful vapors in the body, exposure to bad odors, and overeating are prohibited. Some of these findings were also observed in modern medicine research regarding the effects of Saffron and dried figs as well as principles of eating and drinking.

This study highlights the crucial importance of nutrition in improving functions of the liver, heart and brain, and protecting these organs from developing diseases. It seems necessary to conduct more research focusing on the effect of different types of foods and beverages on maintaining the health of these organs.