Page 90 - EBOOK_Jamu: The Ancient Indonesian Art of Herbal Healing

sign of departing. Not surprisingly, government statistics indicate cancer and

hypertension have increased dramatically, while heart disease is now the number
one killer in Indonesia’s larger cities. The good news is that traditional foods are
still easily available. One of the tourist attractions of Indonesia is the sight of
mobile food sellers announcing their home-cooked fare day and night; markets
are thriving: these are busy places where you can always get a quick but
delicious meal at a food stall.

At one time, cooks were also experts on medicinal foods. Every Javanese
family had its botekan, a storage box for around 15 kinds of herbs and spices.
Most of its contents had a dual purpose, because they went into both the cooking
pot and the herbal medicine concoction. Today, the skill has largely disappeared
as women juggle their time between family and work. They buy from a favourite
street seller or rustle up something quick and tasty. Recipes have survived but

few people know if, or what, they can cure.
Having served as a distillation point for different cultures, Indonesia has
been influenced by the diets and ancient medical systems of four different
cultures, namely Indian, European, Arab and Chinese. All support, to varying
degrees, the theory that proper nutrition is the key to good health. Food,
medicine and power of the mind have long been seen as a single entity.

The Kitchen Apothecary
Food does not count as jamu, though this depends, of course, on how you define
jamu and how you prepare it. However, food does count as traditional medicine.