Cooking food and using natural herbs to prevent and treat diseases and promote health is a practice that has been developed by humans in their fight against diseases. The ancient book "Zhou Li" recorded: "Use the five flavors, the five grains, and the five herbs to nourish the body." "Huang Di Nei Jing" listed many diet therapy prescriptions; "Shang Han Za Bing Lun" contains recipes like "Pork Skin Soup" and "Angelica Ginger Lamb Soup". From here, we can see that angelica is a medicinal herb, while ginger is both a food and a medicine, and lamb is a food. However, when they are combined together, they become a great medicinal recipe.
I. Historical Records
In the Tang Dynasty, the famous physician Sun Simiao, known as the "King of Medicine", dedicated a section to "Food Therapy" in his book "Bei Ji Qian Jin Yao Fang". He conducted extensive research on medicinal diets and there are many touching stories about how he used food therapy to treat diseases for the common people. In the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, there were a large number of writings on diet and health, and books began to emerge on using wild vegetables to treat diseases. Traditional Chinese medicine has the saying that "medicine and food share the same origin", so there is no strict distinction between what is considered medicine and what is considered food. Chinese medicine believes that food is equivalent to medicine, as they can both treat diseases and be consumed, sharing the same source, usage, and efficacy. They are basically consistent based on the properties, flavors, meridians, and characteristics of the medicine or food.
II. Differences between Medicinal Diets, Diet Therapy, and Food Nourishment
Although traditional Chinese medicine uses the terms medicinal diets, diet therapy, and food nourishment, there is no clear boundary between medicine and food, and their meanings seem to be the same. However, if we carefully analyze it, there are certain differences in terms of material composition, purpose of use, and target users.
Medicinal diets are a mixture of food and medicine, used for health preservation and disease treatment. Health-preserving medicinal diets rely on medicinal diets to achieve the effects of longevity, health, beauty, nourishment, and regulation. Diet therapy, on the other hand, uses different cooking methods to consume food for the treatment of diseases. Generally, it is used for patients with mild illnesses or sub-healthy individuals. Food nourishment, on the other hand, uses food to nourish the body for the purposes of longevity, health, and strength. It is generally used by elderly people and healthy individuals.
III. Development and Treatment of Medicinal Diets
Although medicinal diets were mentioned in ancient medical books, they truly gained popularity in modern times. The popularity of medicinal diets in the medical field is mainly due to the in-depth research and discussion conducted by many scholars in the fields of nutrition and health. For example, the modern medical practitioner Zhang Xichun recorded a large number of medicinal diet prescriptions in his book "Yi Xue Zhong Zhong Can Xi Lu".
In recent years, medicinal diets have taken various forms, such as liquid preparations, soup preparations, porridge preparations, cake preparations, broth preparations, pancake preparations, dish preparations, and infusion preparations. Regardless of the cooking or preparation method used for medicinal diets, it should adhere to the theories of traditional medicine. Especially when consuming them, differential diagnosis and treatment should be conducted to maintain the health of the spleen and stomach. It should not be a one-size-fits-all approach. The compatibility of medicinal diets with the organs and the regulation of qi and blood should be combined. Attention should be paid to nutritional formulas and the use of cooking techniques to achieve a perfect combination of form and effect, allowing people to truly achieve the effects of health preservation, beauty, and strengthening the body while enjoying delicious food.
In summary, although there are similarities and differences between medicinal diets, diet therapy, and food nourishment, their goal is the same, which is to ensure the strong physical health of the Chinese nation. With the continuous improvement of people's living standards, this national characteristic of medicinal diets, diet therapy, and food nourishment will make significant contributions to the world of medicine.
