FOOD therapy is fast becoming a buzz word in today's disease-ridden society. But how much of this is hype remains a moot point.

Medical research shows that a healthy diet can help prevent a number of health problems, including cancer, diabetes and hypertension. But few studies have been so bold as to suggest that food can cure terminal illness.

One research team, however, tried to prove exactly that. The Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Israel recently published a landmark paper in the scientific journal Planta Medica. The university's research team has successfully isolated a herbal element that could kill cancer cells 'in vitro' while leaving healthy cells unharmed.

According to the study, citral - the key component that gives the lemony aroma in lemon grass - causes cancer cells to 'commit suicide' through apoptosis or programmed cell death. A drink with as little as one gram of lemon grass in hot water is apparently sufficient to start the 'killing' process.

Given the popularity of lemon grass in Asian cuisine, does this then mean that we can now effectively cure cancer and other chronic diseases through food and diet alone?

Dr Swee Yong Peng, vice-principal of the Singapore College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), thinks not. He cautions against indiscriminate belief in 'food cures', preferring to see the relationship between food and disease in largely preventive terms.

'It's a fact that diet is important for health. Nobody will dispute that. It is also a fact that certain plants and herbs can prevent or reduce the risk of cancer, but I won't go so far as to say any particular diet by itself can cure cancer. Prevention and cure are very different things,' says Dr Swee, who holds a TCM diploma as well as a degree in Western medicine.

He adds that there are hundreds of disease-fighting food, many of which are widely used in Asian cooking.

'Soy products such as tofu can help prevent the spread of cancerous cells and mushrooms can strengthen the body's immune system, so in a very general sense, these food are disease-fighters,' says Dr Swee, who has collaborated with local health company Honeycomb Technology to develop a series of special menus for those suffering from cancer, diabetes and hypertension.

'Planning a suitable menu or diet means two things - first, you consider what ingredients to include and secondly, you consider what to exclude,' says Dr Swee.

His menu for cancer patients, therefore, included items like tofu, ginseng, mushroom, fungus, chicken and berries, while the spread for diabetic patients contain grapefruit, brown rice and starfruit.

'For diabetic patients, sugar is a main worry, but that doesn't mean you must swear off all sugar-giving food. For example, instead of eating white rice, diabetics can eat brown rice, which is a complex carbohydrate. This will slow the release of sugar and prevent sudden surges in sugar levels,' says Dr Swee, who stresses that certain fruits like starfruit can be eaten by diabetics in small helpings.

Other common food with disease-fighting qualities include most tropical fruit like papaya and vegetables such as seaweed, garlic, chili peppers, tapioca and tea leaves. Apart from the actual food, cooking style also plays a part in reducing the risk of disease.

'It is widely accepted that certain cooking methods are better for the body than others. For example, grilling your meat is less healthy than boiling or steaming it. Food exposed to high temperatures may form cancer-causing compounds,' advises Dr Swee.

Hence, meat that is blackened through barbecue, for instance, has been known to increase the risk of stomach and intestinal cancer. Preserved meats with high salt content like salted egg or fish have also been blamed for raising risk levels in cancer and hypertension.

Noting that few food are all good or all bad, Dr Swee advocates moderation in eating, believing that the body works best if given a variety of food in the right amount.

'There isn't a single element in any food that can do all the work, so eating a variety of food in moderation is still the best option,' says Dr Swee. According to him, the question of how the various food functions as therapy boils down to three simple guidelines:

First, go easy on red meats, and if you must have your meats, don't overcook them. Overcooking can lead to release of potentially harmful carcinogens.

Second, eat more than your fair share of plant food, including a variety of leaves, roots, tubers, seeds, etc. These contain natural cancer inhibitors.

Third, food alone will not cure diseases that are already present in your body. For that, you would need a combination of diet and medication.

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For cancer

Sweet Chili Tofu & Barley Salad Salad (mint yogurt dressing)

INGREDIENTS

4x80 g fresh tofu loaf
50 ml sweet red chili sauce
80 g dry barley soaked in cold water over night and rinsed
10 g fresh mint leaves, washed
30 ml extra virgin olive oil
40 ml low fat plain yogurt
60 g each carrots, celery
30 g green peas, soft cooked
100 ml Balsamic vinegar, reduced to 40 ml until thick
40 g cherry tomatoes, cut into half
5 g sea salt

PREPARATION

Sprinkle the tofu with olive oil and bake under hot grill for about four-five minutes until it turns slightly brown. Wash, peel and cut the carrots and celery into small cubes and saute together with the cooked peas in olive oil.

Boil the barley in slightly salted water until soft, strain and add the vegetables and the mint leaves to it. Allow the mixture to cool.

Warm the chili sauce and pour it sparingly over the tofu.

Heat balsamic vinegar on low heat for about five minutes until it's thicker.

Sprinkle the heated vinegar on the tofu and serve the barley mint salad in a bowl together with the tofu.

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For diabetes

Chinese Fungus& Boskop Apple Soup

INGREDIENTS

60 g dried Chinese black fungus,(soaked in luke warm water for hour before use.)
2 pc crisp fresh red Boskop apple (cut into small balls with skin on)
60 g each carrot, zucchini, celery
800 ml clear chicken stock
3 pc each fresh laksa leaves, gloves,star anise, bay leaves
3 g sea salt
10 ml apple cider
30 ml sugar free fresh soy milk
30 g chives, finely sliced
5 ml extra virgin olive oil

PREPARATION

Clean and cut the Chinese black fungus into small squares and the carrot, zucchini and celery into thin strips.

Simmer the chicken stock with the fresh laksa leaves, gloves, star anise, bay leaves and salt for about 30 minutes on low temperature, and strain all the spices off.

Cut the apples into 20 small Parisienne balls, using a small Parisienne cutter. Fry the vegetables, mushrooms and apples in hot olive oil for about 30 seconds.

Add the hot stock on top and portion out the soup.

Drizzle each soup with little cider vinegar, soy milk and lastly with the finely sliced chives.

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For hypertension

Butter Head Lettuce with Portobello Mushroom

INGREDIENTS

4 quarters of butter lettuce heads washed and dried
4 large Portobello mushrooms
10 g fresh rosemary
2 gloves fresh garlic
2 avocados, medium size
80 g sun dried tomatoes in olive oil cut into fine strips
40 g fresh coriander, sliced
10 g fresh basil, sliced
1 tea spoon whole grain mustard
30 ml extra virgin olive oil
30 ml balsamic vinegar
5 g salt, 5 g crushed black pepper

PREPARATION

Separate the leaves of the lettuce and remove the stems of the mushrooms such that the heads form a miniature bowl. Peel the avocado and cut into thirds. Stuff the rosemary leaves, garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil into each mushroom head and bake them in the oven for about 10 minutes on 160C. Cut the heads into quarters.

To prepare the dressing, whisk the mustard, balsamic vinegar and some olive oil thoroughly, add salt and pepper to taste, then, add coriander and basil julienne to the mixture.

Arrange the lettuce leaves, avocado wedges andmushroom heads onto serving plates and sprinkle the sun-dried tomato julienne over. Just before serving, pour the dressing over together with the remaining salt and crushed black pepper.