Food makes the body, maintains it, regulates its functions, and causes and cures most diseases. Yet, no system of medicine has understood it fully to make full use of it. They have different views on the subject which all may be valid, but incomplete.
For modern science, diet is but vitamins and minerals, while Ayurveda regards it as mucus producing, gas forming and so on, and many other traditional therapies label it as just cooling or heating. As they all are correct, it is necessary to integrate them to get their true picture. There are other factors of food such as its the 'alkalinity and acidity, gluten content, and antioxidant properties which should also be taken into account.
Nutrition is a very complicated science. Sometimes the nutrients work only in combinations and sometimes they need external factors like sunlight to be absorbed into the system. The quantity of nutrients is also important, as too much of certain nutrients can ruin one's health. For example, too little vitamin A can lower immunity and too much of it can cause irreversible lever damage. Even mental problems can occur due to faulty food such as calcium deficiency can cause depression.
Hence it is essential to take a perfectly balanced food for perfect health
