An overview of the origin of medicine and food: the integration of traditional wisdom and modern health

The homology of medicine and food means that certain ingredients have the dual properties of medicine and food, and can be consumed daily and help regulate the body. This concept is derived from the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, which emphasizes "preventing disease" and natural healing. The main content is divided into three parts: First,Historical origins, such as recorded in Huangdi Neijing and other classics; secondly,Common categories, such as red dates, wolfberry, yam, etc.; the third ismodern applications, including health food development and scientific verification. The core is to balance the body through diet, not to replace medical treatment.

Historical Origins: From Classics to Folk Wisdom

The concept of medicine and food having the same origin can be traced back to the "Shen Nong's Materia Medica", which classifies 365 medicinal materials into three categories: upper, middle and lower grades according to their toxicity. Among them, the "upper grade" are mostly nourishing materials that can be eaten for a long time. "Qianjin Yaofang" of the Tang Dynasty further put forward the view that "diet therapy comes first". For example, the uses of ginger to dispel cold and mung bean to detoxify are still widely spread today. This type of food has many mild properties and is suitable for long-term conditioning, such asPoriaDiuresis and dampness,LilyMoisturizing the lungs and calming the nerves embodies the philosophy of traditional Chinese medicine that "medicinal supplements are not as good as dietary supplements".

Common categories: natural ingredients that are both delicious and functional

At present, the catalog of medicines and foods published by the Chinese National Health Commission contains more than 100 kinds of materials, which are roughly divided into three categories: first.Nourishing(such as donkey-hide gelatin, longan), the second isSeasoning(such as star anise, cinnamon), the third isWild vegetables(Such as purslane, dandelion). Take wolfberry as an example. It contains wolfberry polysaccharide and beta-carotene, which can help protect eyes; hawthorn contains organic acids to aid digestion. It should be noted that consumption should be based on physical constitution - for example, those with yin deficiency should use Chinese prickly ash with caution, and those with damp and hot constitutions should eat less jujube.

Modern applications: scientific verification and industrial development

Modern research has verified some of the traditional benefits through ingredient analysis. For example,Mulberry leavesThe flavonoids in it have been proven to help control blood sugar, and related products such as "mulberry leaf tea" have been marketed. On the corporate side,TongrentangLaunched Poria Cake,Jiangzhong GroupDevelop monkey mushroom biscuits, etc. However, it must be made clear that these products are health foods (blue hat label) and cannot claim curative effects. The following table lists some common products:

Looking rationally: balancing tradition and scientific knowledge

The origin of medicine and food is an important practice in Chinese health culture, but there are two misunderstandings that need to be avoided: one is to over-deify the efficacy, such as claiming that "barley is anti-cancer"; the other is to ignore individual differences. It is recommended to choose ingredients based on your physical condition under the guidance of a doctor or nutritionist. In the future, with the deepening of scientific research, more traditional wisdom may be absorbed by modern medicine, but "appropriate amount" will always be the core principle.

Citing sources

1. Classical books and documents: "The Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic" and "Shen Nong's Materia Medica" (Author: Anonymous/collectively inherited)

2. Policy document: "Catalogue of Substances Traditionally Both Food and Traditional Chinese Medicine" (Chinese National Health Commission, 2021)

3. Research paper: "Study on the hypoglycemic effect of mulberry leaf polysaccharides" ("Chinese Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine", 2018)

4. Enterprise products: Tongrentang Poria Cake (Beijing Tongrentang), Jiangzhong Monkey Mushroom Biscuits (Jiangzhong Group)