Nature has provided us with many powerful remedies which cost very little and have no side effects in the form of food. Food can be more powerful medicine than drugs and even herbs. In fact, many popular Christmas foods have extraordinary benefits.

Did you know walnuts are good for impotency, eating pumpkin can help diabetes and yams can cure hemorrhoids?

Dr. Maoshing Ni, Vice- President of Yo San University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Santa Monica, California recalled a patient who came to see him after suffering from three weeks of excruciating hemorrhoid pain hat his medical doctor felt could only be relieved through surgery.

“Realistically with acupuncture we have to treat continuously every day or every other day for a week or two, but, he lived far away and couldn't come in,” Dr. Ni. said in the book Alternative Medicine by Burton Goldberg. Dr. Ni said he advised the patient to go home and eat four yams a day. “Within a week's time his hemorrhoids completely disappeared, and the pain, of course, went away too,” said Dr. Ni.

Dr. Ni said he wouldn't recommend yams for every hemorrhoid condition, though, because in Chinese medicine hemorrhoids may have many different causes.

Festive pumpkin is high in vitamin A, C, and B and many minerals including calcium and iron. For diabetes it is recommended to eat a slice of pumpkin with every meal or bake a pie with pumpkin, yam and potato. Pumpkin seeds are high in zinc and are therefor helpful for almost all prostate troubles according to James F. Balch M.D., author of Prescription for Nutritional Healing. Dr. Balch recommends one to four ounces of raw pumpkin seeds every day or as an alternative pumpkin seed oil can be taken in a capsule form.

Walnuts are an excellent brain food. This nut even resembles a little brain and contains important fatty acids and 15-20 percent protein to nourish the nervous system. Sometimes called the “fruit of longevity”, this little nut when consumed regularly can help nourish the brain, prevent Alzheimer's disease and delay the aging process.

- Walnuts are also recommended for impotency and infertility. Eat 20 walnuts a day for one month.

- Cranberries can help clear up a mild bladder infection. This little berry, which often accompanies the Christmas turkey, acidifies the urine and and prevents bacteria from adhering to the bladder. They are also a good source of vitamin C. Dr. Linda Page, in her book Healthy Healing recommends diluting unsweetened cranberry juice and consuming six to eight glasses daily.

- Carrots have a remarkable vitamin A content. They contain over 20,000 IUs of vitamin A, mainly as beta-carotene. They also contain folic acid vitamin C and many minerals including selenium, which is lacking in many foods. Carrots are great for the skin and excellent for the immune system.

- This popular holiday vegetable is used to help prevent and treat cancer. German doctor, Max Gerson, M.D., believed that cancer would not occur in bodies with properly balanced and functioning pancreases, livers, thyroid and immune systems. Dr. Gerson said he found that he could reverse the majority of cancer in patients who came to him with his dietary regimen, which consisted of various supplements in addition to a low- salt vegan diet, supplemented ten times a day with freshly crushed organic carrot and apple juices. To learn more about Gerson therapy for cancer visit www.gerson.org.

- To learn more about how to heal with food, buy Bermuda by picking up a copy of the Tao of Nutrition by Dr. Maoshing Ni and Cathy McNease, available at Nature's Aroma Metaphysical Bookstore.