Treating Patients First Through Diet

​In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Master Muhammad.

Physicians have stated that whenever treatment can be accomplished through a gentler means, one should not proceed to a stronger one. Thus, if treatment can be achieved through diet, one should not resort to medication. If it can be achieved through a simple medicine, one should not move on to a compound medicine. They also stated that many illnesses can be relieved through diet alone, whereas medication alone may not be sufficient. Therefore, diet is indispensable in the treatment of disease.

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Ibn al-Nafis and al-Shirazi on Treatment Through Diet

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Ibn al-Nafis stated in his Commentary on the General Principles of the Canon that medicines are needed only when the humors cannot be corrected through diet. If the physician is able to restore balance through foods, then this approach is preferable and safer. In his book Al-Mujaz fi al-Tibb, he also wrote: “Whenever management through foods is possible, one should not turn to medicines.”

Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi similarly wrote in his commentary on the General Principles of the Canon that if a physician can treat through diet, he should avoid medication. If treatment cannot be achieved through dietary measures alone, he should proceed gradually, using the least intensive intervention capable of achieving the desired result, moving from dietary remedies to simple medicines and only then to more complex formulations when necessary.

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Explanation of the Statements of Ibn al-Nafis and al-Shirazi

The physician begins treatment through diet because it is generally more suitable and gentler on the human body. If a physician knows how to treat through food, this method is safer and easier for the patient. If success is achieved through dietary management, there is no need to resort to medication.

If dietary treatment proves insufficient, the physician proceeds to medicinal foods, then to simple medicines of mild potency, followed by stronger simple medicines if needed. Only after these measures fail does the physician move to compound medicines, beginning with simpler formulas before progressing to more complex ones. These principles form the foundation of the traditional medical approach.

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The Consensus of Physicians Regarding Diet for the Four Temperaments

Physicians agreed that a person with a sanguine temperament (hot and wet) should consume foods that are cold and dry. Such individuals are believed to be more susceptible to conditions arising from an excess of blood, such as bleeding and vascular disorders. Cold and dry foods help moderate the hotness of the blood and reduce the likelihood of these conditions.

A person with a phlegmatic temperament (cold and wet) should consume foods that are hot and dry. Such individuals are thought to be more prone to disorders caused by excess phlegm. Hot and dry foods help counteract the coldness and wetness associated with this temperament and promote balance.

A person with a yellow bile-dominant temperament (hot and dry) should consume foods that are cold and wet. Such individuals are believed to be more vulnerable to disorders associated with excess yellow bile. Cold and wet foods help moderate hotness and dryness and support balance within the body.

A person with a black bile-dominant temperament (cold and dry) should consume foods that are hot and wet. Such individuals are considered more susceptible to disorders associated with excess black bile. Hot and wet foods help balance coldness and dryness and support healthy bodily function.

Physicians further agreed that many illnesses can be relieved through dietary correction alone. If the underlying cause of an illness remains present in the diet, medicines may have limited benefit because the factor contributing to the imbalance has not been removed.

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Conclusion

Many people find it easy to take medicine while neglecting dietary management. They assume that all foods benefit the body equally and therefore question why certain foods should be avoided. Such objections may arise either from unfamiliarity with the principles of traditional medicine or from exclusive reliance on contemporary medical approaches that often place less emphasis on dietary regulation.

The famous Arab physician Al-Harith ibn Kaladah stated, “The stomach is the house of disease,” because many illnesses originate from the humors generated by food.

Mulla Ali al-Qari, in Mirqat al-Mafatih, relates the narration of Abdullah ibn Ja‘far, who said:

“I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ eating fresh dates with cucumber.”

Al-Qurtubi commented that this hadith demonstrates the permissibility of considering the qualities and temperaments of foods and combining them according to sound medical principles. Fresh dates possess hotness, while cucumber possesses coldness; when eaten together, they moderate one another. He regarded this as an important principle in the composition of remedies.

From this, it may be understood that maintaining health involves paying attention to the qualities of foods—whether they are hot, cold, wet, or dry—and consuming them in a manner suited to one’s condition. Likewise, when illness occurs, dietary management remains one of the essential foundations of treatment and cannot be neglected by either physician or patient.

Even when considering only the effects of food on the body's vessels and internal organs, particularly the heart, traditional physicians observed that dry foods tend to constrict and harden tissues, whereas wet foods tend to soften and nourish them. For this reason, food should be used according to the principles established by the physicians of old for the preservation of health and the prevention of disease.