ILAJ BIL GHIZA (DIETOTHERAPY): A CORE PRINCIPLE OF UNANI TREATMENT– AN APPRAISAL

Abstract

Ghiza (diet) is one of the vital necessities of life. During prehistoric period m ost of the peopl e considered diet only to satisfy their hunger pangs, but with the advent of medical science and preventive or co mmunity medicine, people began to realize the dietary importance as it play s a key role to maintain health and recover from various ailment, In fact diet is responsible for cellular activity, growth, reproduction and their secretion which help to perform various physiological function s . F or the maintenance of health , body requires macronutrient s viz., carbohydrates, protein and fat and micron utri ents viz., vitamins, mineral s , trace elements etc. T his requirement of the body is accomplish ed with proper and balanced diet . Ideal d iet recommendation is ben eficial for preventive as well as curative purpose. It is only i n 19 th century A.D that dieto ther apy has become a core specialty where as Unani physicians were way ahead in incorporating dietotherapy a s a separate principle of treatment as evident by Unani literature since Hippocratic era . The present appraisal is an earnest effort to highlight the sa lient features of dietotherapy both prophylactically and therapeutically as enunciated in classical texts of Unani medicine.