The idea that food has therapeutic value is not a new one. Ayurveda, for instance, recommends diet regimes based on seasons and on an individual's constitution (see box: Take cues from traditional wisdom). And it's not just this ancient system of medicine. Traditional communities in most countries had dietary practices that placed a premium on nutrition. Tamarind, for example, is consumed in different forms by people all over the country: in south India, it's taken as part of daily food items such as sambhar, chutney and rasam, while in the north, tamarind water adds tang to the ubiquitous golgappas. According to P Pushpangadan, director, National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI), Lucknow, "Tamarind contains proteins and glycolipids that protect us from fluoride poisoning