Mmmmedicinal cookery with Dale Pinnock at a health store near you!

Imagine a sumptuous soup reminiscent of a full-bodied Bloody Mary. Then imagine it curing your cold! Therein lies the essence of 'medicinal cookery', a cutting-edge culinary art that is as hedonistic as it is healing. The term 'medicinal cookery' is set to enter the public mind next April, when Dale Pinnock publishes his book Medicinal Cookery. But if you skate down to The Hopsack on Thursday 11 November between 6 and 9pm, you'll be treated to a mouthwatering preview! Dale is visiting our wee shop to demonstrate his chefly skills and feed the results to you 🙂 . OK. And to us. We admit it. Our sticky fingers will be hovering, so you'd better get there early to elbow us out of the way. You've been warned. So who is Dale Pinnock? Dale is Technical Director of Viridian Nutrition, creators of those super supplements with the (er…) viridian-coloured label. He is also a qualified nutritionist and medical herbalist, runs a busy nutrition and herbal medicine practice called The Natural Solutions Clinic, and is a pioneering 'medicinal chef'. What, we wondered, is a medicinal chef? Intrigued, we tracked him down to find out. Medicinal cookery is a concept that reflects Dale's eclectic background in food preparation, human nutrition and herbal medicine. He combines whole foods, herbs and supplements – prepared to optimise the health-giving properties of each ingredient – to create luscious dishes with specific goals in mind, such as calming inflammation, boosting immunity, and tormenting your tongue in the nicest possible way. Who wouldn't want their arthritis meds to taste like a pineapple, ginger and celery smoothie? Like many innovators in the natural health field, Dale's own journey to healing began with illness. When he was 10, he developed a severe case of acne that nothing could cure. He suffered for five years until he read Fit for Life by Harvey and Marilyn Diamond. Inspired, he cut meat and dairy out of his diet and started to eat raw and lightly-cooked whole foods. What happened next was life-changing. Not only did his skin clear up but he began to feel profound levels of mental and emotional clarity. “It was a transformational experience,” he recalls. Dale became “obsessed” with natural healing. He read widely and eventually enrolled at Kingston University to pursue a degree in human nutrition. From observing “massive health transformations” in himself and other people, Dale “knew there was something else going on in food” above and beyond its vitamins, minerals and other nutritional components. That was when he became interested in phytochemistry, or plant chemistry, a discipline that addresses, among other things, the biologically active compounds in food that do not fall under the strict scientific definition of a nutrient. These include flavonoids, polyphenols, and other compounds that deliver a notable beneficial effect on the body but are not classed as nutrients. Nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, fatty acids and other substances, are the building blocks of the body. Phytochemicals are not building blocks but are external compounds that influence physiological events; therefore, their effect is pharmacological in nature, not nutritional. Dale's nutritional training had not touched on phytochemistry, so he took a second degree in herbal medicine at the University of Westminster to deepen his knowledge. In learning how plant chemicals interact with the human body through the study of herbal medicine, Dale also discovered that many culinary ingredients contain phytochemicals similar to those found in medicinal herbs – sometimes in even greater abundance. “That was when the light went on,” he says. That was why food could be so transformational. He started pulling it all together, reasoning thus: “I know that ingredient contains that compound; I know that compound influences that physiological system; I know that physiological system is affected in this particular disease state. Ding! I started putting dishes together, actually putting together therapeutic recipes designed to target specific ailments based on the pharmacological activity of each individual ingredient.” Medicinal cookery was born. Dale is a passionate foodie and an accomplished cook. He has been handy with pots and pans since his mum steered him into the kitchen at the age of four! Preparing food to enhance the biological effects of phytochemicals is both a science and an art. The science lies in knowing how to prepare each ingredient to maximise its potency and combining the elements to create a meal with targeted healing effects. The art lies in composing dishes so decadent that you'll never spit out your medicine again! In medicinal cookery, some foods are best left raw while others are improved by cooking. Uncooked celery, for example, contains a natural painkiller that is wiped out by heat. Others, such as brightly coloured foods, may benefit from light cooking because raw colour pigments can be bound to structures that make their healing properties less available to the body. The application of heat loosens those bonds, making the phytochemicals more bioavailable. So, combining a medicinally cooked meal with a Super Size Me salad gives you the full spectrum of nutritional and pharmacological elements essential for superior health. Dale also adds herbs and supplements to his creations to magnify their therapeutic potential. (We hope he's going to make us his D-luscious vitamin D and rhodiola choccie bar, designed to beat the winter blues … hint hint!) At other times, he uses culinary ingredients that parallel herbs in their effects. Shiitake mushrooms, for example, boost immunity in a fashion not unlike the famous echinacea, which is why they are a key ingredient in his flu-fighting soup. Medicinal mushrooms, such as reishi, maitake and shiitake, are a fascinating example of the health-enhancing properties of culinary ingredients, whether they be floating in a broth or taken in supplement form. They are powerful immune system modulators and Dale admits to being obsessed with them. The polysaccharides in reishi mushrooms, for example, can calm autoimmune and allergic reactions by making the body switch from an antibody-mediated immune response, which fights pathogens but can produce aggressive symptoms, to a non-specific immune response, which is also a powerful protector but does not cause discomfort. One of his favourite products for this purpose is Viridian's Mushroom Antioxidant Complex. Ultimately, medicinal cookery is a deliciously serious part of a wider vision for the future. Dale believes strongly in integration between modern medicine and the natural health arena to provide quality healthcare tailored to patient needs. He argues that we do not need extremism or polarisation on either side; rather, we need integration and proper, degree-trained practitioners on both sides to level the playing field. Natural approaches excel at treating chronic disease, while modern medicine shines in the realms of surgery, emergency situations and acute care. Allowing each its area of expertise, while working together in harmony, would amount to true healthcare. And if that includes garlicky soups, spicy smoothies and chocolate, so be it…! 🙂 Dale Pinnock is Technical Director of Viridian Nutrition. He holds degrees in Nutrition from Kingston University and Herbal Medicine from the University of Westminster, and is about to embark on an MSc in Nutritional Medicine at the University of Surrey. He is director of The Natural Solutions Clinic, which embraces the concept of medicinal cookery, and is the author of Medicinal Cookery (April 2011). He is also a columnist and broadcaster and features regularly in the UK media. Radio days! Dale is being interviewed live on 4fm at 10am on Thursday morning (11 November) and will be letting folks know about his trip to the The Hopsack that evening! You can listen live online, or in the traditional manner. 🙂