Bhashya
अन्नात् रसादिभावपरिणतात् , वै इति स्मरणार्थ , प्रजास्थावरजङ्गमात्मका , प्रजायन्ते ।या काश्च अविशिष्टा पृथिवींश्रिता पृथिवीमाश्रिता , ता सर्वा अन्नादेव प्रजायन्ते ।अथोअपि , जाता अन्नेनैव जीवन्ति प्राणान्धारयन्ति , वर्धन्तइत्यर्थ ।अथ अपि , एनत् अन्नम् , अपियन्ति अपिगच्छन्ति ,अपिशब्द प्रतिशब्दार्थे , अन्नं प्रति लीयन्त इत्यर्थ , अन्ततअन्ते जीवनलक्षणाया वृत्ते परिसमाप्तौ ।कस्मात् ? अन्नंहि यस्मात् भूतानां प्राणिनां ज्येष्ठं प्रथमजम् ।अन्नमयादीनांहि इतरषां भूतानां कारणमन्नम् , अतः अन्नप्रभवा अन्न-जीवना अन्नप्रलयाश्च सर्वा प्रजा ।यस्माच्चैवम् , तस्मात्सर्वौषधं सर्वप्राणिनां देहदाहप्रशमनमन्नमुच्यते ॥
In plain words
All living beings on this earth, whether stationary or moving, are born from food. Sustained by food alone, they live and grow; and in the end, they return to food, dissolving back into their source. For food is the first-born of all creation, the eldest of all things. It is the root cause of all physical forms. Thus, food is rightly called the great healer, the universal medicine that cools the burning hunger of all that breathes.
Close to the Sanskrit
From food, which is transformed into bodily fluids, indeed—the word 'vai' is for the purpose of reminding—creatures, consisting of both stationary and moving types, are born. Whichever creatures without exception dwell upon the earth, they all are born from food alone. Furthermore, once born, they live by food alone (meaning they sustain their vital breaths) and they grow. Then also, they merge back into this food; the word 'api' is in the sense of 'towards', meaning they dissolve towards food, ultimately at the end of the completion of the active life. Why? Because food is the eldest, the first-born of all beings. Food is indeed the cause of the other sheaths starting with the food-sheath; therefore, all creatures have food as their origin, food as their life, and food as their dissolution. And since it is so, therefore food is called the universal medicine, the allayer of the burning heat of the body of all living beings.