Chinese Medicated Diet
Confucius once said:
Eating is the utmost important thing in life.
General Introduction
Chinese medicated diet is not a simple combination of food and Chinese drugs,
but a special highly finished diet made from Chinese drugs, food and condiments
under the theoretical guidance of diet preparation based on differentiation of
symptoms and signs of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). It has not only the
efficiency of medicine but also the delicacy of food, and can be used to prevent
and cure diseases, build up one's health
and prolong one's life.
Origin
and Development
Chinese medicated diet has a long history. The ancient legend
"Shennong Tastes a Hundred Grasses "shows that early in remote antiquity
the Chinese nation began to explore the function of food and medicaments, hence
the saying "Traditional Chinese medicine and diet both originate from the
practice and experience in daily life."
In the Zhou Dynasty, one thousand
or more years B. C. , royal doctors were divided into four kinds. One of them
was dietetic doctors who were in charge of the emperor's health care and health
preservation, preparing diets for him.
In The Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic,
a medical classic in TCM which appeared approximately in the Warring States period,
several medicated diet prescriptions were recorded. In Shennong's Herbal Classic,
which was published approximately in about the Qin and Han Periods and is the
extant earliest monograph on material medical, many sorts of medicaments which
are both drugs and food were recorded, such as Chinese-date (Fructus Ziziphi Jujubae),
sesame seed (Semen Sesame), Chinese yam (Rhizoma Dioscoreae), grape (Vitis), walnut
kernel (Semen Fug Landis), lily bulb (Bulbus Lilii) , fresh ginger (Rhizoma Zingiberis
Recens), Job's-tears seed (Semen Choices), etc. In the book Treatise on febrile
and Miscellaneous Diseases written by Zhang Zhongjing, a noted medical man, in
the East Han dynasty, some noted medicated diet recipes were recorded, such as
Soup of Chinese Angelica root, Fresh ginger and Mutton (Danggui Shengjiang Yangrou
Tang ), Decoction of Pig-skin Zhufu Tang), etc., all of which now still have important
values. Sun simiao, a well-known doctor in the Tang Dynasty, listed and discussed
such questions as dietetic treatment, dietetic treatment for senile health care
and health preservation, etc. in his books Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold
for Emergencies and A Supplement to Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold
for Emergencies. These two books were substantial in medicated diet prescriptions.
According to history books, up to the period of the Sui and Tang Dynasties about
more than sixty kinds of books on dietetic treatment had been published. But unfortunately
most of them are lost. The book Dietotherapy of Material Medical by Meng Xian
in the Tang Dynasty has a great influence on later generations. It is the extant
and earliest monograph on dietetic treatment.
In the Song Dynasty, Wang Huaiyin
and some others wrote Peaceful Holy Benevolent Prescriptions, in which they discussed
medicated diet treatment for many diseases. A Book on How to Help the Old to Preserve
Health and Your Kith and Kin to Prolong their Lives by Chen Zhi is an extant early
monograph on gerontology in China. Of all the prescriptions recorded in it, 70%
are about medicated diet. it is emphasized in this book that "dietetic therapy
should go first for any senile diseases, and then followed by medicine if they
are not cured. " In the book Principles of Correct Diet, a monograph on medicated
diet, by Hu Sihui, a royal doctor in the Yuan Dynasty, oceans of medicated diet
prescriptions and dietetic drugs were recorded; in addition, some questions, such
as diet contraindication in pregnancy, diet contraindication for wet nurse, contraindication
for drinking, etc. were also discussed in this book. In the Ming Dynasty, Li Shizhen
collected and recorded in his Compendium of Materia Medica many medicated diet
prescriptions, dozens of which were about medicated gruel alone, another dozens
touched on nothing other than medicated wine. In Eight Essays on Life preservation,
a monograph on health preserving in the Ming Dynasty, many medicated diets on
health preserving
and health care were recorded too. Monographs on medicated
diet treatment in the Qing Dynasty varied in characteristics: in Recipe of Suixiju
by Wang Shixiong, over 300 species belonging to 7 phyla of medicated food and
drink were introduced; in Analysis of Food and Drink for Treatment of Diseases
by Zhang Mu, more medicated foods were touched upon; in Cookbook of Suiyuan cooking
principles and methods were dealt with; while in Common Saying for Senile Health
Preservation, also known as Jottings on Health Preservation, by Cao Tingdong,
about 100 medicated gruel prescriptions for
gerocomy were listed.
Medicated
diet has been developing greatly in assortment on the basis of traditional process,
for example, medicated can, medicated sweets and so on. Salutary food and drinks
produced on the basis of achievements in scientific research and having the effect
of curing diseases have a variety of sorts and vary in characteristics. There
is medicated food suitable for patients suffering from diabetes, obesity and angiocardiopathy;
there are health-care food and drinks suitable for athletes, actors, actresses
and miners; there are also health- care food or medicated diets suitable for the
promotion of children's health and growth, or for prolonging life of the aged.
Chinese medicated diet has begun to go abroad. medicated cans, health-care
drinks and medicated wine made from traditional Chinese medicine have been sold
at the international market. Medicated diet dining- halls have been set up in
some countries. Personnel of academic, industrial and commercial circles abroad
have paid close attention to Chinese mediated diet-a special food, hoping to develop
academic exchanges and technical and economic cooperation in this respect. Chinese
medicated diet will make contributions to the health of the people all over the
world.
Characteristics
The characteristics of Chinese medicated diet
are as follows:
1.Laying Stress on the Whole, Selecting Medicated Diet on
the Basis of Differential Diagnosis By "laying stress on the whole, selecting
medicated diet on the basis of differential diagnosis", we mean that when
prescribing medicated diet, we should first make an overall analysis of the patient's
physical and health condition, the nature of his illness, the season he got ill
in and the geographical condition, etc, form a judgment on the type of syndrome;
then decide on corresponding principles for dietetic therapy and select suitable
medicated diet. Take a patient with chronic gastritis, as an example. he should
take Galangal and Cyperus Gruel (Liangfu Zhou) if the suffers from chronic gastritis
of stomach- cold type, but the can take Drink of Fragrant Solomonseal Rhizome,
Dendrobium, Black Plam and hawthron Fruit (Yu Shi Mei Zha Yin) if the suffers
from chronic gastritis due to deficiency of the stomach-yin.
2.Suitable for
both Prevention and Treatment, Outstanding in Effect Medicated diet can be used
either to treat diseases or for healthy people to build up their health and prevent
diseases. This is one of the characteristics in which medicated diet is different
from treatment by medicine. although medicated diet is something mild, it has
a notable
effect on the prevention and cure of diseases, health building -up
and health preserving. Here are some of the achievements in scientific research
of Shandong Traditional Chinese Medicine College:
Eight-Ingredient Food:
It is prepared according to the experience in ancient dietetic treatment and health
care of imperial court in the Qing Dynasty from eight dietetic Chinese drugs including
Chinese yam (Rhizoma Dioscoreae), lotus seed (semen Nelumbinis), hawthorn fruit
(Fructus Crataegi). 97% of the children who took it for 30 days have whetted their
appetite, adn their growth has improved too.
Nourishing Extract of laiyang
Pear and mushroom: It is made from the juice of Laiyang Pear (Malum Piri) and
extract of mushrooms ( Lentinus Edodes) and tremella (Tremella). if the middle-aged
and senile patients suffering from chronic diseases take it ,not only can the
symptoms of their illness be alleviated, but their blood-fat can be brought down
too when they are suffering from hyperlipemia, and their immunologic function
can be improved.
3. Good in Taste, Convenient for Taking.
There goes
the saying "Good medicine tastes bitter" among the people, because most
of the decoctions of chinese drugs are bitter. Some people , especially children,
take an aversion to the bitterness of Chinese drugs and refuse to take them. Most
of the drugs used in medicated diet are both edible and medicinal, and retain
the properties of food: colour, sweet-smelling, flavor, and so on. Even if part
of them are chinese herbs, their nature and flavour are taken into consideration
and made into tasty medicated diet by mixing hem with food and careful cooking.
So it can be said that medicated diet is good in taste and convenient for taking.