Medicinal diet has a history of more than 2,000 years. It is a food therapy culture that combines China’s unique diet and traditional Chinese medicine. It is extensive, profound and has a long history. Medicinal diet combines medicine with food. It not only uses medicine as food, but also gives food medicinal use, which can not only prevent and cure diseases, strengthen the body, but also have high nutritional value and therapeutic effect.Its role has always been praised by doctors and widely accepted by the public. It is unique in China’s medical treasure house.
Huangdi Neijing was the first to record the theory of diet therapy, and the first medicinal diet prescription, which laid the foundation for the theory and development of traditional Chinese medicine diet therapy and medicine. The dietary therapy theory and medicinal diet prescription method of Huangdi Neijing are not only consistent with the modern emerging concept of nutrition, but also have unique ideas beyond the vision of modern Western nutrition. The theory and method of medicinal diet are systematically sorted out and studied to develop health care, improve people’s health, and promote the development of modern nutrition. Etc., all have important practical significance.
“Food is the first necessity of the people”. Feeding activities are the most basic manifestations of human life activities. Human beings must constantly absorb nutrients from their diet. “Lingshu · Ying Health Association” said: “The valley enters the stomach, so that it can be passed on to the lungs, and the internal organs are all subject to the qi.” Su Wen · Six-section Tibetan Elephant Theory” said: “Five flavours are hidden in the intestines and stomach, and the taste is hidden. In order to nourish the five qi, the qi is born in harmony, the body fluid is formed, and the god is born by itself.” It shows that the continuous supplementation of water valley qi produces substances such as the qi of the five internal organs of the human body, the qi of the six internal organs, the qi of the camp guard, as well as various functional activities of the organs of the human body. These views all explain the various nutrients digested and absorbed in the diet, which are not only the The material basis of physical function. On the other hand, if the diet is not normal, it may affect people’s health and lead to the decline of visceral function.
Since ancient times in China, there has been a saying that “food is better than food” in China. Medicinal diet therapy has attracted much attention in the Chinese civilisation where food is the people. The ancient medicine classic Shennong Bencao Jing contains many edible and medicinal drugs, such as longan, dates, walnuts, grapes, sesame, yam, lily, honey, etc. Proper consumption at ordinary times can supplement the nutrition needed by the human body and improve the ability to resist diseases.
Sun Simiao, a famous doctor in the Tang Dynasty, set up a “Food Treatment Chapter” in “Qian Jin Fang”, which proposed: “If you want to treat, you should first use food therapy. After the diet is not cured, use medicine.” Medicinal diet therapy combines medicine and food in one oven to treat certain diseases by eating a diet made from medicine and food. Among the 13 prescriptions recorded in Nei Jing, 6 are medicinal diet formulas. Among them, the black eel bone pills, which are used to cure “blood withering”, are made from four flavours: sea snails, snails, sparrow eggs and abalone. Among them, the sea snail is salty and warm, the main woman is red and white, and the blood is withered and the meridian is closed; Qiancao is cold, which can not only stop the bleeding and cure the collapse, but also can communicate with the blood meridian. Both of them are commonly used traditional Chinese medicine. Sparrow eggs and abalone are all animal foods, which can replenish essence and blood, benefit yin qi, and pass through meridians. They are delicious and nutritious. The four flavours can nourish lean blood, regulate the meridians, take medicine and food together, and also eat medicine. It is really a good product to treat blood withering and amenorrhea.
According to the Yellow Emperor’s Neijing, according to the physical characteristics, the warmth, flatness and coolness of food can be used to regulate the yin and yang of the human body to achieve the purpose of disease prevention and health care.
Warm food: flour, soybean oil, wine, vinegar, etc. of grains and beans, ginger, green onions, garlic, carrots, coriander, etc. of fruits, longan, lychee, dates, lotus seeds, walnuts, peanuts, grapes, black plums, papaya, plums, chestnuts, oranges, peaches, , beef, etc., aquatic eels, shrimp, grass carp, etc.
Cold food: buckwheat, barley, mung beans, tofu, fermented bean, soy milk, etc. of grain and beans, amaranth, spinach, rape, cabbage, cucumber, watermelon, bamboo shoots, taro, eggplant, etc. of grains and beans, pears, diamonds, oranges, bananas, sugar cane , field snails, etc.
Other foods are mostly plain. When arranging recipes, you should make reasonable choices according to the nature of the above foods in combination with your own physical characteristics, so that the body’s yin and yang can be balanced.
