Preface:

Very often, I am asked by my patients to advise them on 'the foods that they should avoid and that they can take'. In the earlier days of my homoeopathic practice my advice to them used to be routine and non-specific like all raw vegetables specially onions, garlic, turmeric and seasoned foods ; or the foods that don't agree with their system should be avoided. A patient is often at a loss to analyse his own dietetic modalities. Gradually I learnt more to rely on my Materia Medica for such queries.

For instance, I specifically ask a Sepia patient to avoid temporarily milk, fat and beans and a Lycopodium patient to suspend beans, cabbage and sweets. This, 1 find not only provides an assured relief to them but also removes from the regimen of medicine a temporary hinderance to cure. On my fellow homoeo-pathicians' insistence, therefore, ' agreed to compile such a booklet. I feel the information will not only serve as a ready guide to a busy practitioner to suggest to his patients specifically all such foods to avoid which may aggravate their condition but may, in a limited way, serve a? a small repertory to select a remedy on the dietetic modalities of a patient. The information is supplementary to that given in sections 259, 260 and 261 of the Organon.

To the information compiled from many sources, 1 have added some foods which, in the course of my practice, I find aggravating or ameliorating the conditions of certain patients but have not been reported anywhere. These foods have been marked with a dagger (t). Some of the foods which i have verified to be positively aggravating or ameliorating the condition of certain patients have been marked with an asterisk (*).

I shall feel amply rewarded if the homoeopathicians find the compilation useful in their daily practice. Any suggestions for the improvement of the booklet or verification of the facts given therein will be gratefully acknowledged.