Home natural therapy

Author: None
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: Medicinal Diet Therapy for
Medicinal diet therapy is a unique Chinese dietary method derived from the profound traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). It involves the combination of food with medicinal properties and traditional Chinese herbs according to TCM theory, using traditional cooking methods to create food that has disease-fighting and health-preserving effects.
The characteristics of medicinal diet therapy:
Medicinal diet therapy is based on TCM theory. Among the nearly 5,000 commonly used Chinese medicinal herbs, about 500 can be used as medicinal diet ingredients, and 79 are designated by the Ministry of Health as food-drug combinations. The essence of medicinal diet therapy lies in selecting and combining ingredients according to the principles of TCM formulae, paying attention to the four natures (warms, colds, neutral, and extreme) and five flavors (sweet, sour, bitter, pungent, and salty) of food, as well as its properties and meridian tropism. It also involves reasonable combination and cooking based on differences in constitution and the causes of diseases, aiming to balance yin and yang, the five elements, the five organs, and unblock meridians. Medicinal diet therapy is an organic combination of dietary and medicinal treatment. It differs from ordinary diets and general TCM formulae, emphasizing the rational combination of food and herbs, with food as the main component and a small amount of medicine as a supplement (sometimes only medicinal foods are used as the primary ingredients). This achieves special regulatory effects. Therefore, medicinal diets should not contain excessive medicinal flavors but should instead leverage the properties of herbs and the flavors of food, allowing medicine to enhance the taste of food and food to enhance the efficacy of medicine, making treatment palatable and easily accepted by people.
### Classification of Medicinal Diets
Health-Enhancing Medicinal Diets
These diets typically use mild-acting herbs and foods that are nourishing without causing stagnation, promoting benefits such as strengthening the body, longevity, blood replenishment and beauty, liver health and clear vision, intelligence and brain health, and kidney nourishment. They are suitable for generally healthy individuals or those with weak constitutions to consume long-term, offering benefits without harm.
Preventive Medicinal Diets
These diets often use herbs and foods that enhance the immune system, replenish vital energy, prevent diseases, and resist viruses. Examples include coix seed and black fungus, which have anti-cancer effects; mung beans, lotus seeds, and summer, which have cooling and refreshing effects; and mint and ginger, which can prevent colds.
Therapeutic Medicinal Diets
These diets use herbs and foods with therapeutic effects on specific diseases. They are primarily intended for patients during illness and recovery.
### Foods and Fruits/Vegetables That Help Prevent
Fruits and vegetables are the main sources of inorganic salts, dietary fiber, vitamins, and trace elements (such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, copper, zinc, and iodine), with leafy greens being particularly rich in these nutrients. The nutrients in fruits and vegetables play a significant role in purifying the blood, lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, and reducing fat accumulation. Nutritionists recommend that each person consume 400–500 grams of fruits and vegetables daily.
Although fruits and vegetables contain sugar, most of it is healthy fructose, which will not cause blood sugar to rise even if consumed in excess. Additionally, fruits and vegetables have low calorie content, making them suitable for obese individuals who will not gain weight but can instead promote metabolism and remove waste from the body, improving skin health.
Fruits and vegetables beneficial for preventing:
1. Garlic can reduce cholesterol and blood clots, increase high-density lipoproteins, and have effects such as lowering blood fat, blood pressure, and blood sugar.
2. Chives are rich in fiber and trace elements, promoting bowel movement and moisturizing the body.