Dietotherapy and the Origin of Medicinal Diet

China has a long history of medicated diet. The ancient legend about "Shennong tasted a hundred herbs" reflects that the Chinese nation began to explore the role of food and medicine as early as ancient times, so there is a saying that "medicine and food are of the same origin". In the Zhou Dynasty, which was more than 0/000 years BC, court doctors were divided into four families, among which "food doctors" served the emperor's health care by preparing meals. There are several recipes for medicated diet in Huangdi Neijing, a classic Chinese medicine book written in the Warring States Period. The earliest existing pharmaceutical monograph "Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing" in China was written in the Qin and Han Dynasties, which recorded many varieties with the same origin of medicine and food, such as jujube, sesame, yam, grape, walnut, lily, ginger and coix seed. In Treatise on Febrile Diseases, Zhang Zhongjing, a medical sage in the Eastern Han Dynasty, also has some famous prescriptions for medicinal diet, such as Danggui Ginger Mutton Soup, Lily Egg Yellow Soup and Pig Skin Soup, which are still of practical value. Sun Simiao, a famous doctor in the Tang Dynasty, wrote two special courses, Dietotherapy and Dietotherapy for the Aged, which contained rich recipes of medicinal diet. According to historical records, by the Sui and Tang Dynasties, there were more than 60 monographs on dietotherapy in China, but many of them were lost. Herbal Dietotherapy written by Meng E in Tang Dynasty is the earliest extant monograph on dietotherapy in China, which has a great influence on later generations.

To the Song Dynasty, Taiping Shenghui Fang, edited by Wang Huaiyin and others, discussed the medicated diet therapy for many diseases; Chen Zhi's "Providing for the Aged and Protecting Parents" is an existing monograph on early gerontology in China, in which 70% of the prescriptions are medicated. The book emphasizes: "All diseases of the elderly should be eaten first and then treated with medicine." The book "Drinking and Eating" written by Hu Sihui, an imperial physician in Yuan Dynasty, contains a wealth of medicinal dietary remedies and dietotherapy drugs, including dietary taboos and drinking for pregnant women and lactating mothers. In the Ming Dynasty, Li Shizhen collected many medicinal formulas in Compendium of Materia Medica, including dozens of medicinal porridge and medicinal liquor. Gao Lian's monograph "Eight Notes on Respect for Life" in the Ming Dynasty also contains many health-care medicated diets. The monographs on medicinal diet in Qing Dynasty have their own characteristics. For example, Wang Shixiong's Interesting Diet Spectrum introduces more than 300 kinds of medicated diets, Zhang Mu's Diet Debate for Regulating Diseases involves more medicinal diets, Yuan Mei's Suiyuan Food List introduces the cooking principles and methods of various medicated diets, and Cao Tingdong's Laohenghua (also known as Health Essays) lists 100 kinds of medicated porridge for the elderly.

On the basis of traditional technology, there are more and more varieties of medicated diet, such as canned medicated diet and medicated diet candy. There are many kinds of foods and drinks with therapeutic effects made by combining modern scientific research achievements, each with its own characteristics. There are not only medicated diets suitable for patients with diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular diseases, but also health drinks suitable for athletes, actors and miners, as well as health foods or medicated diets that promote the healthy development of children or prolong the life of the elderly.

China's medicated diet began to go to the world, and many canned medicated diets, traditional Chinese medicine health drinks and medicinal liquor have been sold to the international market. Some countries have opened medicinal food restaurants. Some scholars and business people in the world are very concerned about China medicated diet, a special food, and hope to carry out academic exchanges and technical cooperation in this field. China medicated diet will contribute to the health of people all over the world.