Buddha’s Idea concerning Food and a New View of Nutrition

“Whole health” refers to spiritual, emotional, and social health as well as physical well-being. The Buddha insisted thousands of years ago that physical, mental, and spiritual phenomena cannot be separated. The mind and even the soul are tightly linked to the body. Furthermore, the Buddha recognized that everything in the universe is its own complete system, even a grain of rice or a head of cabbage. It is understandable that food is composed of both materials and elements beyond matter, such as spirits. However, Nutrition as a modern science focuses on food containing only physical material, while human beings consume food merely to maintain the body. Kesten, though a nutritionist, understood the ancient wisdom of food, including the Buddha’s thought which has been undervalued and often even ignored in the field of Nutrition. She has provided some new insights regarding Nutrition with comprehending the inherent properties of food. Thus, in this article, the Buddha’s ideas concerning food including vegetarianism and “Integrative Nutrition,” which were also proposed by Kesten, were reviewed to form a new view of Nutrition. KCI Citation Count: 0