Medications
Prior to it being solid as a common pain-reliever, willow bark was used by the Sumerians and Egyptians to help with generalized aches and pains over 3,500 years ago.
What is aspirin?
Rice and beans have been combined for centuries and are an example of this type of protein, which has all of the essential amino acids.
What is a complete protein?
Before the 1500's, sailors routinely died of scurvy until Vasco da Gama identified that citrus fruit prevented sailors from developing scurvy. What micronutrient prevents scurvy this?
What is Vitamin C?
This root vegetable has been used for over 2,000 years to help with nausea and vomiting.
What is ginger?
Ancient cultures would use mold and fungi to help prevent or control infections before this antibiotic was identified from mold.
What is penicillin?
The Inuit people did not have access to many carbohydrate sources, but they were able to absorb this storage form of carbs from the meat they ate.
What is glycogen?
Cod-liver oil was a common treatment for rickets in the 1800's, a deficiency in this vitamin that was eventually discovered in 1920.
What is Vitamin D?
This herb has been used in Eastern medicine for inflammation and joint pain, as well as being a tasty and colorful component of curries.
What is tumeric/curcumin?
The use of this sweet substance has been used since 2600 BCE to help heal wounds and prevent infections due to its naturally antibacterial properties.
What is honey?
All civilizations have what is called a "foundational grain" that the majority of meals were centered around. What are the three most common foundational grains?
What are corn, rice, and wheat?
Seaweed, sea sponges, and animal thyroid extracts were used in the 1800's to treat goiters before we discovered this mineral.
What is iodine?
This common comfort/sick food has the benefit of providing fluids, electrolytes, and anti-inflammatory properties.
Chicken noodle soup
The bark of the cinchona tree was ground into a fine powder and consumed regularly in mosquito-infested areas to help prevent malaria. What compound was in this bark and is also found in tonic water?
What is quinine?
Legumes were frequently consumed in ancient civilizations due to being higher in this macronutrient than other grains.
What is protein?
Ancient Greeks boiled wild greens like dandelion, thistle, and stinging nettle to release their Vitamin C, which helps with the absorption of this mineral.
What is iron?
This herb has historically been used in Ayurvedic medicine to help treat symptoms of stress and anxiety, although today's research is uncertain about its true benefits.
What is ashwagandha?
It may not smell great in its raw form, but this root vegetable has been used on the feet or hands to treat warts, athlete's foot, and inflammation for over 1500 years.
What is garlic?
This form of butter was and still is crucial in India and all over South/South-East Asia due to it being shelf-stable once the proteins are removed.
What is ghee?
An ancient Egyptian document described using liver to treat night blindness not knowing that liver is a good source of _____
What is Vitamin A?
Ancient Egyptians used a combination of crushed rocks, salt, pepper, and this herb to brush their teeth
What is mint?