Recently, "diet therapy" has been warmly welcomed by the public, which has also created several "masters" famous for diet therapy. However, unfortunately, most people do not have a proper understanding of diet therapy, which has caused so many troubles. These days, I have been thinking about why the general public believes in "diet therapy" so much. Why do some Chinese and Western doctors even support the "diet therapy recipes" proposed by these "masters"?
Five Terrible Misunderstandings about Diet Therapy
After much contemplation, there are several terrible misunderstandings about diet therapy that have blinded people's eyes. If these fundamental misunderstandings are not clarified, there will still be numerous people paying the price for "diet therapy" in the future, even if more "masters" emerge.
Misunderstanding 1: Medicinal and edible are the same, so all foods can treat chronic diseases
The fundamental difference between food, health products, and drugs lies in their "efficacy."
Food has a mild nature and contains fewer medicinal components, which makes it suitable for daily consumption. If a food causes a significant change in blood lipids or blood pressure after a few days of consumption, can it be consumed over a long period of time? Can it be consumed in excessive amounts? In fact, the more "effective" a food is, the more cautious one should be. It should not be consumed excessively or by individuals with incompatible constitutions. On the other hand, foods like rice, noodles, vegetables, and apples can be consumed by everyone precisely because they have a mild nature and do not have such strong "physiological regulatory" effects. Dietary adjustments for health improvement usually require long-term consumption to see noticeable effects and rarely show immediate results.
Health products are often concentrated products of various nutrients and medicinal components in food. Their "efficacy" in altering human body functions is stronger, and they are not limited by other food components. If used correctly, they can be beneficial to health. However, if used incorrectly, they can have side effects. For example, tofu contains soy isoflavones, but soy isoflavone capsules are different. Children and men should not consume them casually, and even middle-aged and elderly women are not suitable for everyone.
Drugs have stronger efficacy, greater ability to alter human metabolism, and their significance lies in their short-term effectiveness. If a drug does not show any effect after a week or two, it loses its value. Therefore, taking the wrong medicine or wrong dosage is a terrible thing.
Many people often ask me, "I cannot be cured by Chinese or Western medicine, so tell me, what foods can cure me?" This expectation itself is wrong. Because ordinary foods do not have such strong efficacy, unless consumed for a long period of time. I am not denying that dietary adjustments can improve many diseases, but I want to emphasize that diet therapy requires long-term efforts. However, modern people are impatient and probably cannot wait for one or two months, let alone lifelong health maintenance.
Misunderstanding 2: As long as it is diet therapy, it is safe and non-toxic
Many people are enthusiastic about "diet therapy" because they believe that food is safe and easy to accept psychologically. However, the reason why these so-called "medicinal and edible" foods have therapeutic effects is precisely because they contain more medicinal components. Whether it is food or medicine, as long as the medicinal components reach a certain level, they can be toxic. This is the basic principle of toxicology: the dose determines toxicity.
Food is safe when consumed in normal amounts. However, when consumed excessively and the medicinal components reach a certain level, it becomes medicine. For example, drinking two ounces of mung bean soup every day is considered normal food consumption; but drinking three kilograms of mung bean boiled water becomes medicine. The concentration is 15 times higher than normal. Another example is niacin and niacinamide, which are originally B vitamins. The normal daily intake is a dozen milligrams. However, as a treatment drug for controlling blood lipids, it is consumed in grams, which is dozens of times the normal dietary intake. At this point, it has obvious side effects. Even water can cause death if consumed excessively, let alone the toxin solanine in raw eggplant or the toxin produced by sprouted potatoes. When consumed in large quantities, raw eggplant is just as dangerous as eating sprouted potatoes.
Therefore, the claim that all diet therapy is safe and non-toxic is not valid.
Misunderstanding 3: The same diet therapy can be used for everyone
Many self-proclaimed experts like to impersonate Chinese medicine practitioners and talk extensively about traditional health preservation and diet therapy. In fact, true Chinese medicine practitioners prescribe medications after identifying the individual's constitution, and the combination of medicines also needs to be carefully adjusted to balance between cold and heat. It is impossible for them to prescribe the same recipe for everyone like these "masters." Just this point alone is enough to determine that they are not qualified Chinese medicine practitioners.
From a nutritional perspective, it is also necessary to identify different individuals' physiological and nutritional statuses and arrange diets based on each person's individual circumstances. Some people should consume less red meat, while others are suitable for consuming more. Some people are suitable for consuming more oats, while others are not. If a nutritionist recommends the same diet for everyone, it can only be said that they are not qualified nutritionists.
Misunderstanding 4: Nutrition is the study of diet therapy
Due to the limited understanding of nutrition among the general public, many people think that nutrition is the study of diet therapy. A few days ago, I went to Shenzhen to give a lecture on "Scientific Diet," but when I arrived, I found that they changed the title to "Talking about Diet Therapy" without my consent. I said that nutrition is not diet therapy, let alone a study of remedies for diseases.
Diet therapy is one of the traditional Chinese therapies, which takes the form of diet but does not refuse the inclusion of various medicinal herbs. From the books on diet therapy, many of them include Chinese medicinal herbs or at least use ingredients with medicinal and edible properties. As for chicken soup or rice, they are primarily used as carriers. Diet therapy restaurants, both domestically and internationally, also incorporate various Chinese medicinal herbs for their effects. Although it is widely advocated that diseases can be improved solely through long-term daily diet adjustments, it usually takes longer to see results, which is not the quick and effective diet therapy that people expect.
Nutrition belongs to preventive medicine. It mainly focuses on maintaining health and reducing the risk of various diseases through balanced nutritional and health components. Nutrition also focuses on controlling chronic diseases through dietary and lifestyle adjustments, such as how to control blood sugar and blood lipids. If done well, it may be possible to reverse disease indicators in the long term, reduce medication dosage, or even stop medication. However, such dietary adjustments do not rely on one or two types of food, and they are completely different from remedies for diseases.
Misunderstanding 5: Chronic diseases can be cured with remedies
According to Western medicine, chronic diseases are multifactorial diseases that cannot be cured for life. Although this statement appears objective, it is not as pleasing as the claim of a remedy that can cure diabetes forever. Therefore, once people hear about a medication that can cure diabetes, there will always be people pursuing it, rushing to be deceived, even though experts can tell that it is a scam.
The same goes for diet. Whether it is diabetes or high blood lipids, they are largely caused by diet and can indeed be significantly improved through dietary methods. However, this is completely different from remedies for diseases. Diseases caused by poor diets, such as diabetes and fatty liver, are without exception the result of long-term nutritional imbalances. How can they be expected to be cured in just ten days with one kind of food? To solve the problem, it is necessary to comprehensively change dietary habits, balance nutrition, increase exercise, adjust daily routines, and eliminate the causes. As long as a healthy lifestyle is maintained, these "diseases caused by diet" will naturally improve gradually.
The problem is that people nowadays have a restless mentality. They are unwilling to adhere to medication, unwilling to adjust their diet and exercise, and even less willing to engage in fitness. They always dream of a single food that can solve everything. "Masters" say that as long as you eat raw eggplant, it is fine to eat several pig's feet every day. This statement is pleasing and exciting! In comparison, nutrition experts say that oil and meat intake should be controlled, and more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes should be consumed - these statements clearly lack appeal.
Look at those weight-loss products that emerge one after another. As long as they say "no need for dieting or exercise," they will definitely be popular. However, can the results of weight loss be maintained without proper diet control or exercise? Can weight loss drugs be consumed for a lifetime? These common sense truths that can be understood by thinking with one's heels are completely ignored by consumers under the persuasive marketing of businesses.
The "masters" recently criticized are graduates of nutritionist programs, but they claim to be Chinese medicine practitioners themselves and have become rich by promoting remedies. It is truly lamentable. The nutrition consulting industry has no status in our country and it is difficult to make a living by providing nutrition consultation. However, now it seems that there are quite a few people willing to pay for remedies and diet therapy. Unfortunately, they have taken the wrong path. If the public could have more "health wisdom" and less restlessness, and could spend two thousand yuan on nutrition consultation, seeking dietary advice from qualified nutrition experts to effectively improve their daily meals, control blood pressure, blood lipids, and blood sugar would be much easier. They would truly be able to eat away the diseases caused by poor diets, instead of bringing in new diseases.
