Traditional Chinese medicinal cuisine mainly uses wild plant medicines, a small amount of wild animal medicines, and a very small amount of mineral medicines. Although medicinal cuisine has therapeutic effects, it cannot replace the efficacy of medication. Medicinal cuisine is different from medication; medication focuses on treating diseases and has fast effects, while medicinal cuisine is mostly used for nourishing the body and preventing diseases, with slower effects. We should have the correct understanding of the relationship between medicinal cuisine and medication.
As a combination of dietary therapy, nutrition supplementation, and body strengthening for longevity, medicinal cuisine is the crystallization of Chinese dietary culture, accumulated over thousands of years. The use of medicinal cuisine should be targeted, with different medicinal cuisine formulas used for different diseases and stages of diseases. According to medicinal cuisine experts, there are four principles for the consumption of medicinal cuisine:
1. Diagnosis-based nourishment
Different constitutions and different diseases require different medicinal cuisine. For example, weak individuals should focus on nourishing, strong individuals should focus on clearing and nourishing, those with yang deficiency should focus on warming and nourishing, and those with yin deficiency should focus on nourishing yin.
2. Disease-based nourishment
Some medicinal cuisine has specific effects on certain diseases. For example, buckwheat ginseng noodles can be used to treat diabetes, and Chinese herbal medicines that tonify the body, clear heat, detoxify, promote blood circulation, disperse stagnation, etc. can be added to the diet for liver diseases.
3. Personalized nourishment
The human body is an organic whole, influenced by changes in climate, environment, excessive fatigue, mental stimulation, and irregular diet, leading to imbalances and various diseases. Different age groups require different medicinal cuisine. For example, medicinal cuisine for children should be high in nutrition to supplement the body's deficiencies; medicinal cuisine for young adults should focus on nourishing with animal-based ingredients, assisting yang, and generating body fluids; medicinal cuisine for middle-aged adults should focus on nourishing qi and blood, regulating organ functions, and using kidney-tonifying, spleen-strengthening, and liver-soothing herbal ingredients; medicinal cuisine for the elderly should focus on nourishing with grains, using light and easy-to-digest ingredients to invigorate the spleen, tonify the kidneys, promote blood circulation, and facilitate bowel movements for longevity.
4. Seasonal nourishment
Throughout the year, there are characteristics of spring warmth, summer heat, summer humidity, autumn coolness and dryness, and winter coldness. Therefore, different medicinal cuisine should be chosen according to different seasons. For example, in spring, it is suitable to tonify and fully mobilize the body's yang qi to achieve harmonization of qi and blood; in summer, it is suitable to clear and nourish, to regulate the body's yin and yang and qi and blood; in late summer, it is suitable for light nourishment, to promote dampness and invigorate the spleen, and achieve the source of qi and blood; in autumn, it is suitable for balanced nourishment, as the climate is dry, and it is necessary to balance yin and yang and nourish the body; in winter, it is suitable for warming nourishment, as the winter is cold, and it is necessary to regulate the organs, qi, and blood through warm and tonifying ingredients, helping the body adapt to changes in the natural environment.
Medicinal cuisine, as a functional food, has gained attention in the new century. However, whether it can be popularized and bring about a major change in people's diet depends on people's full understanding of functional foods and continuous improvement and enhancement of functional foods in terms of color, fragrance, taste, variety, raw materials, production, and efficacy. In addition, in the call to "return to nature," people need to maintain a clear mind, based on scientific theories, and correctly choose medicinal cuisine that suits their own physical conditions in order to maintain a strong and healthy body.
