Foodie Pharmacology is a science podcast built for the food curious, the flavor connoisseurs, chefs, science geeks, plant lovers and adventurous taste experimenters out in the world! Join American ethnobotanist Dr. Cassandra Quave on this adventure through history, medicine, cuisine and molecules as we explore the amazing pharmacology of our foods.
Episodes
Thursday Nov 21, 2019
Thursday Nov 21, 2019
The history of medicine has long fascinated me. In the ancient Mediterranean, the lines between food and medicine were often blurred. Hippocrates, the “father of medicine,” is famously quoted as stating, “Let thy food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food.” Interestingly, there are no actual records of this statement – but it clearly falls in line with the philosophy of medicine that emerged over a span of three hundred years when the Hippocratic Corpus, or series of manuscripts, were written. In this episode, I meet with Dr. Alain Touwaide – a leading scholar in the history of science and medicine in the ancient world – to find out more about how certain plants were integrated into medicine in the past. We cover 3,000 of fascinating history in this episode – so get ready to explore the foods and medicines that spanned the rise and fall of empires with us!
#History #Medicine #Hippocrates
Monday Nov 11, 2019
Monday Nov 11, 2019
Mushroom forager Daniel Butler shares his tips on your favorite funky fungi. If you’ve ever gone on a forest hike on a wet day in autumn, it’s likely that you encountered many different species of mushrooms growing along the forest floor or on rotting logs. As you marveled at their myriad shapes, sizes and colors, you may have wondered – are these edible? Poisonous? In this episode, I met with with mushroom forager Daniel Butler in the Wales countryside to chat about this and more! From sustainable harvesting techniques to tips on how to learn more about the edible mushrooms found across the US and Europe, we cover some fascinating topics on the world of fungi. Whether you are a seasoned forager, or a novice curious to learn more, there is something for all to learn in this episode.
#Mushrooms #Forage #WildFood
Tuesday Nov 05, 2019
Tuesday Nov 05, 2019
The word “tonic” elicits thoughts of something bitter, beneficial to health, or perhaps even a favored cocktail base. When it comes to tonic water, the bitter tasting alkaloid “quinine” is the key ingredient – and it has a fascinating history. You may know that quinine was used in the battle against malaria – but did you know that the pairing of gin with tonic came long after years of consuming it with brandy, rum or wine? On this episode, I speak with Kim Walker and Dr. Mark Nesbitt – the authors of a new book on the topic of tonic, entitled Just the Tonic: a Natural History of Tonic Water.
#Tonic #NaturalHistory #Cinchona