History of Chinese Medicated Diet
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 (substance used for medicine).
In theZhou Dynasty(11th century-256BC), royal doctors were divided into four kinds. One of them consisted of dietetic doctors who were in charge of the emperor's health, preparing diets for him.
In Shennong's Herbal Classic, which was published approximately in about the Qin (221-206BC) and Han (@)^BC-220) Periods and is the earliest monograph extant on materia medica, many sorts of medicaments which are both drugs and food were recorded, such as sesame, Chinese yam, grape, walnut kernel, lily bulb, and fresh ginger.
According to history books, up to the period of the Sui (581-618) and Tang (618-907) dynasties, about more than sixty kinds of books on dietetic treatment had been published. But unfortunately most of them are now lost.
The book Dietotherapy of Materia Medica by Meng Xian in theTang Dynastyhad a great influence on later generations. It is the extant and earliest monograph on dietetic treatment.
In theMing Dynasty(1368-1644),Li Shizhencollected and recorded in his Compendium of Materia Medica many medicated diet prescriptions, dozens of which were about medicated gruel alone, with dozens more solely touching on medicated wine and nothing else.
At present
Based on the traditional process, medicated diet has been developing greatly in assortment, producing products such as , medicated cans (holding canned food), medicated sweets and so on. Salutary food and drinks produced on the basis of achievements in scientific research and being capable of curing diseases have a variety of sorts and differ in characteristics.
medicated cans have been sold internationally. Chinese medicated diet will contribute to the health of the people all over the world.
Characteristics of Chinese medicated diet
The characteristics of Chinese medicated diet are as follows:
- Laying Stress on the Whole, Selecting Medicated Diet on the Basis of Differential Diagnosis
"Laying stress on the whole, selecting medicated diet on the basis of differential diagnosis" mean that when doctors prescribe medicated diet, they should first make an overall analysis of the patient's physical and health condition, the nature of the patient's illness, the season the patient got ill in, and the geographical condition, etc, before forming a judgment on the type of syndrome. Only then should the doctors decide on corresponding principles for dietetic therapy and select suitable medicated diet.
Take a patient suffering from a chronic stomach condition, as an example. If the patient is suffering from a stomach condition resulting from a cold, he or she should take one kind of medicine, but if the patient is suffering from the same kind of condition brought on by a stomach deficiency, he or she should take another kind of medicine.
- Suitable for Prevention and Treatment, Outstanding in Effect
Medicated diet can be used either to treat diseases or for healthy people to improve 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 improvement, and health preservation.
- Good in Taste, Convenient for Taking
There is a saying "Good medicine tastes bitter" among the people, because most of the decoctions of Chinese drugs are bitter. Some people, especially children, develop 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 smell, flavor, and so on. Even if part of them are Chinese herbs, their nature and flavor are taken into consideration and made into tasty medicated diet by mixing them with food and carefully cooking them. So it can be said that medicated diet is good in taste and convenient for taking.
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