Practical Dietary Recommendations of Persian Medicine for Pruritus: A Brief Review

Abstract

This paper is a brief review of the practical dietary recommendations of Persian Medicine (PM) in the management of itching. According to our findings, PM scholars believe that the following dietary modifications help ameliorate pruritus: relative reduction of food intake, consuming tenuous foods, consumption of sweet-and-sour foods, whether natural (e.g., pomegranate juice) or man-made (e.g., oxymels), substances with astringent property, narcotics and quasi-narcotics such as a combination of dry coriander and sugar, using a group of substances called fine-humor-producing foods, laxative fruits such as tamarinds and plums, foods with sedative action including lettuce extract, watery foods containing ingredients such as barley, and increasing the share of healthy fats in the diet.