Dietary Therapy Encyclopedia - (Treasure Edition)

Author: Wang Wei / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-06-01
Features: The origin and evolution of dietary therapy can be traced back thousands of years. Our ancestors, driven by the need for survival, had to forage in the natural world. Over time, they discovered that certain animals and plants not only served as food to relieve hunger but also possessed medicinal value. In the primitive stages of human society, people neither needed nor had the ability to distinguish between food and medicine. This phenomenon of combining food and medicine gave rise to dietary therapy. Of course, this early form of dietary therapy cannot be considered true dietary therapy, as people at that time did not consciously utilize the medicinal properties of food. True dietary therapy could only emerge in a civilized era after humans had acquired extensive knowledge of medicine and accumulated rich culinary experience. So, when did true dietary therapy originate in China, and how did it evolve? Historical records provide many answers.
As early as over a thousand years BC during the Zhou Dynasty, there were figures similar to modern nutrition doctors. At that time, court physicians were categorized into four specialties: dietary therapists, disease therapists, wound therapists, and veterinary therapists. Among them, the "dietary therapist" was described in detail in the Rites of Zhou. Dietary therapists were primarily responsible for adjusting the flavors, temperatures, and quantities of the "Six Foods," "Six Drinks," "Six Stews," "Hundred Dishes," and "Hundred Sauces" for the Zhou. Their work was similar to that of modern nutrition doctors. The text also covered other aspects of dietary therapy. The Rites of Zhou·Heavenly Officials further recorded that disease therapists advocated treating illnesses with "the five flavors, five grains, and five medicinal herbs," while wound therapists recommended "nourishing bones with sourness, tendons with pungency, veins with bitterness, qi with sweetness, and flesh with smoothness." These principles already represented a mature form of dietary therapy.
The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon, compiled during the Warring States period, included passages such as: "When diagnosing diseases, one must inquire about diet and living habits," "Treating diseases requires addressing their root causes," "Medicine expels pathogens, while food follows to nourish." It also stated: "Grains are the foundation of the human body," "Heaven nourishes people with five qi, and the earth nourishes them with five flavors." "When the five flavors enter the mouth, they are stored in the intestines and stomach." "Poisons attack pathogens, while grains nourish, five fruits assist, five livestock benefit, five vegetables replenish. When these are combined harmoniously and consumed, they can nourish the body and strengthen qi." The Shanhaijing, compiled around the same time, also mentioned the medicinal value of certain foods: "The fruit of the mu tree strengthens the body; the fruit of the li tree prevents aging; the xingsheng animal, when eaten, enhances speed; wearing its hide prevents fevers."
The records in these medical texts indicate that by the pre-Qin period, dietary therapy theory in China had taken shape. The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon contains 13 prescriptions, eight of which are dietary therapy prescriptions, such as the Wu Gu Bone Pill, made from qin cao, wu gu, sparrow eggs, and abalone. The preparation method involved grinding the first three ingredients into pills, which were then taken with abalone soup. It was primarily used to treat blood deficiency. This shows that the preparation and application of dietary therapy meals were already quite advanced at that time.
The Shennong's Herbal Classic, compiled in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, summarized the research of predecessors and listed 365 medicinal herbs. Many of them, such as jujubes, ginseng, goji berries, schisandra, rehmannia, coix seeds, poria, sandalwood, ginger, scallions, angelica sinensis, fritillaria, almonds, wu mei, deer antler, walnuts, lotus seeds, honey, longans, lilies, and aconite, all possessed medicinal properties and were commonly used as ingredients in dietary therapy prescriptions.
The famous Han Dynasty physician Zhang Zhongjing's works, Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases and Essentials from the Golden Cabinet, not only advanced traditional Chinese medicine theory but also incorporated numerous dietary therapy methods alongside medicinal treatments. Examples include Bai Hu Tang, Tao Hua Tang, Zhu Ye Shi Gao Tang, Gua Ti San, Shi Bao Tang, Ejiao Ji Zi Huang Tang, Dang Gui Jiang Yang Rou Tang, and Gan Mai Da Zao Tang. In dietary therapy, Zhang Zhongjing not only developed the theory of the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon but also emphasized the role of diet in conditioning and preventing illness. He set a precedent for combining medicine and food to treat severe and acute conditions, and recorded dietary therapy contraindications and dietary hygiene precautions.
During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the renowned physician Ge Hong wrote Emergency Prescriptions for the Elbow, a specialized work on both medicinal and dietary therapy, strongly advocating the harmonizing effects of diet on diseases. Another notable work, Heart Mirror of Dietary Therapy, is a comprehensive text on dietary therapy, listing 209 prescriptions, such as using millet ginger porridge to treat cold abdominal pain, milk to treat diabetes, and carp, watermelon seeds, and red bean porridge to treat edema. It also used portulaca as the primary ingredient to treat women's uterine bleeding and leukorrhea.
The Tang Dynasty physician Sun Simiao, in his work Essential Prescriptions for Emergencies, included a dedicated section on "Dietary Therapy," divided into five parts: fruits, vegetables, grains, birds and animals, and insects and fish, listing 154 medicinal foods and 117 dietary therapy prescriptions. Sun Simiao also stated: "Food can expel pathogens and nourish the viscera, delight the mind, and invigorate the spirit. Before treating diseases, one should first use dietary therapy. If dietary therapy does not work, then medicine should be used." He believed that "if one can use food to balance health and treat illnesses according to one's nature, they can be considered a skilled physician. This is a unique method for longevity and a supreme practice in." By this time, dietary therapy had become a specialized discipline. Sun Simiao's disciple Meng Xin compiled Dietary Therapy Herbal, the first comprehensive work in China that combined food and traditional Chinese medicine for dietary therapy. It listed 241 foods, detailing their properties, health benefits, side effects of excessive or insufficient consumption, and unique processing methods. Other notable works from this period include Heart Mirror of Dietary Therapy by Zhan Yin, Dietary Therapy Herbal by Chen Shiliang of Southern Tang, which were all specialized texts on the benefits of dietary therapy, discussing it as a dedicated field.
During the Northern Song Dynasty, with relative social stability and cultural prosperity, medicine and dietary therapy also advanced. The Song Dynasty established the Office for Correcting Medical Texts and the Great Peace and Benevolent Pharmaceutical Bureau, which revised and wrote numerous medical works. Starting with Taiping Shenghui Fang, over 300 works were published, nearly 50 of which were dedicated to "dietary therapy," such as Shengji Zonglu, Pujifu, Qixiao Liangfang, Shi Yi De Xiao Fang, Gujin Yi Jian, Gujin Yi Tong Da Quan, Wanbing Hui Chun, and Yu Yao Yuan Fang. Among these, Shengji Zonglu had a dedicated section on "Dietary Therapy," systematically explaining the use of medicine, prescription formulation, dosage forms, preparation methods, administration, as well as functions, indications, and contraindications.
The Essential Prescriptions for Drinking and Feasting, written by the Yuan Dynasty court dietitian Hu Sihui, was another influential work on dietary therapy. It introduced 29 prescriptions for anti-aging and 129 for treating various diseases, and illustrated the shapes, properties, and functions of various meats, fruits, vegetables, and spices. This work played a significant role in promoting the development of dietary therapy in imperial courts during the Ming and Qing dynasties, sparking a trend of dietary therapy for health preservation among nobility and positively influencing the development of health-preserving diets and foods.
The Ming and Qing dynasties marked a more refined stage in the development of Chinese dietary therapy and medicinal cuisine. Almost all works on herbs acknowledged the relationship between herbs and dietary therapy, and the preparation and cooking of dietary therapy meals reached an extremely high level, often aligning with nutritional requirements. Li Shizhen's Bencao Gangmu (Compendium of Materia Medica) provided abundant materials for traditional Chinese dietary therapy. In just the sections on grains, vegetables, and fruits, it listed over 300 items, including specific dietary restrictions and precautions regarding food and medicine interactions. Zhu Li's Jiuhuang Bencao (Essentials for Famine Relief) recorded 414 edible plants for famine relief, with detailed illustrations of their origins, names, properties, and cooking methods. Other notable works include Xu Chunfu's Gujin Yi Tong, Lu He's Shiwu Bencao, and Ning Yuan's Shi Jian Bencao. Famous works like Jia Ming's Dietary Essentials and Wang Mengying's Dietary Spectrum remain highly practical in clinical and daily life.
A prominent feature of dietary therapy during this period was the further development of vegetarianism. Works like Huang Yunhu's Porridge Spectrum and Cao Tingdong's Elderly Elderly Constant Words emphasized vegetarianism, contributing to the advancement of dietary therapy and. Today, there are countless works on dietary therapy and medicinal cuisine, with unprecedented application and the emergence of specialized medicinal cuisine restaurants. Dietary therapy has also gained widespread popularity in daily life and is highly regarded abroad. Dietary therapy is an inevitable product of the development of Chinese dietary culture. Its entire process—from inception to maturation—represents the continuous refinement of its fundamental concepts. Today, our understanding of dietary therapy is well-established.
As the Mencius states, "Food and sex are natural inclinations," which encapsulates the essence of dietary therapy. Today, dietary therapy is a discipline that studies the prevention and treatment of diseases and the promotion of physical and mental health through diet. Its theoretical foundation stems from dietary culture and traditional Chinese medicine, while its practical application is unique in its specificity and holistic scientificity. It differs from Western nutrition and is not merely a simple dietary perspective. Rather, it is a comprehensive discipline with a systematic philosophy, diverse forms, unique methods, scientific operation, convenient use, and complete functionality.