From time immemorial, Sri Lankans have not distinguished medicine from food because what they ate became a precautionary or preventive measure against non-communicable diseases. Our food tradition is rich in nutritional, health- related, and therapeutic reasoning of our ancestors and blended with wonders of culinary art that are appreciated the world over. Keeping taste and appeal as priorities, our ancestors focused on using ingredients and cooking methods that suit general wellbeing, physiological condition, involved activities, and disease conditions of the consumer, and the environment and climate of the consuming location as important considerations. In addition to making nutritional and therapeutic foods with mouthwatering taste and inviting aroma, ancient Sri Lankans developed very effective methods for preserving food without using harmful, artificial additives.
Also, we had our own organic methods of farming which were associated with natural pesticides, fertilizers, and weeding practices. When Sri Lankans cooked traditional oil cakes (Kevum) in the good old days, for example, they used oil extracted from Mee tree (Madhuca longifolia), and treacle from the Kithul tree (Caryota urens) as a sweetener and rice flour as the main ingredient; all of which are known for their medicinal values.