A final consideration in the understanding of traditional health systems is the relationship between food and medicine that exists in these traditions.

In many traditional societies, and also in urban communities where traditional medicine is used and traditional medical theory influences household cooking and self-medication practices, food is considered central to health and the management of disease. Typically, there is not a clear distinction made between food and medicine, as food is often viewed medicinally and many plants used for medicine may also be included in the diet according to seasonal changes and family requirements.

The Hausa of Nigeria use certain plants as both food and medicine, including plants identified as having antimalarial effects. Nina Etkin of the University of Hawaii has reported that the use of plants with antimalarial effects ‘as both food and medicine exposes individuals to more pharmacologically remarkable constituents than does either …