Ginseng root.
(Figure 5–12) in an effort to prevent ILLNESS. Garlic or onions also may be worn on the body or hung in the Italian, Greek, or Native American home. Chachayotel (Figure 5–13), a seed, may be tied around the waist by a Mexican person to prevent arthritic pain. Among traditional Chinese people, thousand- year-old eggs are eaten with rice to keep the body HEALTHY and to prevent ILLNESS. The ginseng root is the most famous of Chinese medicines. It has uni- versal medicinal applications and is used preventively to “build the blood,” espe- cially after childbirth. Tradition states that, the more the root looks like a man, the more effective it is. Ginseng is also native to the United States and is used in this country as a restorative tonic (Figure 5–14).
Diet regimens also are used to protect HEALTH. It is believed that the body is kept in balance, or harmony, by the type of food one eats.
Traditionalists have strong beliefs about diet and foods and their relation- ship to the protection of HEALTH. The rules of the kosher diet practiced among Jewish people mandate the elimination of pig products and shellfish. Only fish with scales and fins are allowed, and only certain cuts of meat from animals