Rhazes’ concepts and manuscripts on nutrition in treatment and health care

The use of nutrition in medical practice has a long history dating back to 6000 years. The great Persian chemist, physician, and philosopher, Rhazes (865-925 AD), wrote over 200 books in different branches of science. Some of his work drew attention to the notion that nutrition is an important part of treating diseases and health care procedures. Rhazes formulated highly developed concepts of nutrition and wrote several special books about food and diet such as manfe’ al aghzie va mazareha (Benefits of Food and its Harmfulness), teb al moluki (Medicine for Kings), and Ata’me al marza (Food for Patients). His writing included detailed guidance about eating fruit ma iaghdam men al favakeh va al aghzieh va ma yoakhar (Fruit Before or After Meal), and other food types keifiat al eghteza (Temperament and Quality of Foods) and al aghziat al mokhtasareh (Brief Facts about Food). Considering the time that these books were written, they have had a great influence on approaches to nutrition in the history of medicine, so Rhazes can be considered as a pioneer in the scientific field of nutrition.