There is a saying in China, "A person eats various grains and cereals, how can they not get sick?" But many people know that "medicine is three parts poison", so they often use food therapy to treat illnesses. Is there any scientific basis for the saying "Food is better than medicine for supplementation"?
When faced with minor illnesses in life, even if it's just a sore throat from inflammation, some people will think of "taking medicine", especially traditional Chinese herbal medicine, which has significant health benefits for the body, such as nourishing qi, replenishing blood, nourishing yin, enhancing yang, and calming the mind. Therefore, some people without proper knowledge of Chinese herbal medicine even consider it as a daily routine. Although Chinese herbal medicine has significant health benefits and can indeed be used for health maintenance, it is also true that long-term consumption of medicinal herbs will inevitably lead to some corresponding adverse reactions.
In addition, the most important source of substances that ensure human health and energy is diet. Only food can guarantee the comprehensive supply of daily nutritional needs, while the nutritional components of medicines are far less comprehensive than those of food. From this point alone, it is enough to prove the principle that "Food is better than medicine for supplementation".
In fact, most common diseases and pathological constitutions in daily life can be effectively improved through food. For example, a person with a weak constitution characterized by loss of appetite, fatigue, shortness of breath, and laziness can achieve the effect of nourishing qi through "food supplementation". By consuming moderate amounts of foods such as lamb, beef, pork, eggs, dairy products, peanuts, walnuts, and pine nuts, which have the effect of nourishing qi, the weak constitution can be effectively improved. As long as it is not a very severe or long-term qi deficiency condition, the symptoms of qi deficiency can be quickly relieved after "food supplementation". At this time, blindly taking medicine for supplementation may likely cause side effects and have no benefits for the body.
If a young person or someone with excess heat blindly takes qi supplementing medicines such as ginseng and cordyceps, it may further aggravate the functional disorders in their body, leading to symptoms such as excessive blood heat, restlessness, dizziness, and eye pain. Even for elderly or weak individuals, if they do not take appropriate supplementing medicines, they may experience discomfort due to the "inability to accept supplementation".
Therefore, "medication supplementation" is not suitable for everyone, and compared to that, "food supplementation" can be more effective and safe in replenishing the body.
In addition, when choosing between "food supplementation" and "medication supplementation" for conditioning, it is important to use the correct method of differentiation. First, it is important to focus on "food supplementation" before considering "medication supplementation". Only if "food supplementation" is ineffective, should "medication supplementation" be considered. Secondly, for different illnesses, the principle of "treating according to differentiation" should be followed, using a combination of medicine and food to treat the specific symptoms, in order to achieve safe and effective supplementation.
