Specified Nutritional Intake

Traditional medicine has been used and practiced since ancient times and has been recognized as an effective medical practice in many countries around the world. Bhutan is the traditional medicine for many people in the Himalayan region and includes a variety of dietary practices that have been developed to promote the prevention and treatment of diseases. Bhutanese traditional medicine focused on the importance of ensuring a balanced diet by eating foods that contained the essential nutrients and minerals needed for health and wellbeing. They believed that the type and amounts of different dietary components were necessary for a healthy body, and that an excess or lack of any one nutrient would lead to health problems. For this reason, the Bhutanese sought to provide people with the optimal amounts and combinations of nutrients for enhanced health benefits. One of the most important aspects of Bhutanese traditional medicine was the importance of consuming different types of foods in different ratios. As such, a “four-four count” was often used to ensure balanced nutrition. This required that four parts of the diet be composed of carbohydrates, four parts of fats, four parts of proteins, and four parts of vitamins and minerals. This counting system was intended to ensure that people ate a balanced diet that would provide them with all of the necessary macronutrients and micronutrients to support their health. Bhutanese traditional medicine also stressed the importance of consuming seasonal foods. They believed that seasonal produce offered the highest nutritional value and that it had special healing properties. In addition to consuming whole, seasonal foods, the traditional Bhutanese diet also incorporated certain herbs and spices which were believed to have medicinal properties. The combination of a balanced and seasonal diet, along with the use of herbs and spices, provided Bhutanese people with the essential nutrition needed to promote and maintain their health and wellbeing. While modern nutrition science has provided healthcare professionals with a better understanding of nutrition, traditional medicine still serves as a valuable source of knowledge and understanding of dietary practices.