Foods That Look Like the Body Part They Benefit

For thousands of years, people looked to nature for remedies to relieve suffering from various ailments. Perhaps it was more of a well-planned biological design that ancient healers could rely on the plant’s appearance for clues to its medicinal properties, as some plant foods resemble the body parts they benefit. Dioscorides, who practiced medicine in ancient Rome, was believed to have said in 65 A.

D.: “The Herb Scorpius resembles the tail of the Scorpion and is good against his biting.” By the medieval period, the general idea that “a like could bring good benefit to what it looked like,” or something that resembled something would be suitable for that ailment, was a widespread belief, with many thinking that the divine intentionally made these signatures in the leaves, flowers, or roots to help cure the ailments of mankind.



This concept of relying on the plant’s appearance for clues to its medicinal properties has existed since ancient times in cultures worldwide, including Native American herbalism, Indian Ayurveda, traditional Chinese medicine, Greek medicine, and African herbalism. Understanding this synchronicity gives us an intuitive approach to using “food as medicine” and illustrates how our food choices relate to our health and well-being. Walnut: Brain Sweet Potato: Pancreas Avocado: Uterus Tomato: Heart Ginger: Stomach Kidney Bean: Kidneys Olive: Ovaries Carrot: Eyes Ginseng: Nerves Celery: Bones By paying attention to the shape, color, and variety of the foods you eat, you can better meet your body’s nutritional needs.

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