HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Chinese food therapy (, also called nutrition therapy and dietary therapy) is a mode of dieting rooted in Chinese beliefs concerning the effects of food on the human organism, and centered on concepts such as eating in moderation. Its basic precepts are a mix of Taoist Wuxing theory and concepts drawn from the modern representation of
traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...
. Food therapy has long been a common approach to health among
Chinese people The Chinese people or simply Chinese, are people or ethnic groups identified with China, usually through ethnicity, nationality, citizenship, or other affiliation. Chinese people are known as Zhongguoren () or as Huaren () by speakers of s ...
both in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and overseas, and was popularized for western readers in the 1990s with the publication of books like ''The Tao of Healthy Eating'' () and ''The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen'' ().


Origins

A number of ancient Chinese
cookbooks A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (appetizer, first cour ...
and treatises on food (now lost) display an early Chinese interest in food, but no known focus on its medical value. The literature on "nourishing life" () integrated advice on food within broader advice on how to attain
immortality Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some modern species may possess biological immortality. Some scientists, futurists, and philosophers have theorized about the immortality of the human body, with some suggesting that human immorta ...
. Such books, however, are only precursors of "dietary therapy", because they did not systematically describe the effect of individual food items. In the volume on "Fermentations and Food Science" of
Joseph Needham Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham (; 9 December 1900 – 24 March 1995) was a British biochemist, historian of science and sinologist known for his scientific research and writing on the history of Chinese science and technology, in ...
's ''Science and Civilization in China'', H. T. Huang considers the '' Recipes for Fifty-Two Ailments'' (c. 200 BCE) and the '' Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon'' as precursors of the "dietary therapy" tradition, the former because it recommends food products as remedies for various illnesses, the latter because it discusses the impact of food on health. The '' materia medica'' literature, exemplified by the ''
Shennong Bencao Jing ''Shennong Bencaojing'' (also ''Classic of the Materia Medica'' or ''Shen-nong's Herbal Classics'' and ''Shen-nung Pen-tsao Ching''; ) is a Chinese book on agriculture and medicinal plants, traditionally attributed to Shennong. Researchers belie ...
'' (1st century CE), also discussed food products, but without specializing on them. thumbnail, The ''Shiliao Bencao'' stated that many parts of the wild_boar_could_be_used_therapeutically._Boar_gallstones,_powdered_and_decoction.html" ;"title="gallstone.html" ;"title="wild boar could be used therapeutically. Boar gallstone">wild boar could be used therapeutically. Boar gallstones, powdered and decoction">decocted, could cure epidemics. Boar teeth, burnt to ashes and ingested, could alleviate the symptoms of snakebites. And refining, refined boar fat taken with cereal wine could help nursing women produce more milk. The earliest extant Chinese dietary text is a chapter of Sun Simiao's ''Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold'' (), which was completed in the 650s during the
Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
. Sun's work contains the earliest known use of the term "food (or dietary) therapy" (''shiliao''). Sun stated that he wanted to present current knowledge about food so that people would first turn to food rather than drugs when suffering from an ailment. His chapter contains 154 entries divided into four sections – on fruits, vegetables, cereals, and meat – in which Sun explains the properties of individual foodstuffs with concepts borrowed from the ''Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon'': '' qi'', the
viscera In biology, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to act together in a ...
, and vital essence (), as well as correspondences between the
Five Phases (; Japanese: (); Korean: (); Vietnamese: ''ngũ hành'' (五行)), usually translated as Five Phases or Five Agents, is a fivefold conceptual scheme that many traditional Chinese fields used to explain a wide array of phenomena, from cosmi ...
, the "five flavors" (sour, bitter, sweet, pungent, and salty), and the five grains. He also set a large number of "dietary interdictions" (), some based on calendrical notions (no
water chestnuts Water chestnut may refer to either of two plants (both sometimes used in Chinese cuisine): * The Chinese water chestnut ('' Eleocharis dulcis''), eaten for its crisp corm * The water caltrop The water caltrop is any of three extant species of th ...
in the 7th month), others on purported interactions between foods (no clear wine with horse meat) or between different flavors. Sun Simiao's disciple Meng Shen (; 621–713) compiled the first work entirely devoted to the therapeutic value of food: the ''Materia Dietetica'' (). This work has not survived, but it was quoted in later texts – like the 10th-century Japanese text
Ishinpō is the oldest surviving Japanese medical text. It was completed in 984 by Tamba Yasuyori (also referred in some sources as Tanba no Yasuyori) and is 30 volumes in length. The work is partly based on a Chinese medical work called '' Zhubing yuan ...
– and a fragment of it has been found among the
Dunhuang manuscripts Dunhuang manuscripts refer to a wide variety of religious and secular documents (mostly manuscripts, but also including some woodblock-printed texts) in Chinese and other languages that were discovered at the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang, China, durin ...
. Surviving excerpts show that Meng gave less importance to dietary prohibitions than Sun, and that he provided information on how to prepare foodstuffs rather than just describe their properties. The works of Sun Simiao and Meng Shen established the genre of ''materia dietetica'' and shaped its development in the following centuries.


Later history

An abundant literature developed in China around the medicinal uses of food. A mid-ninth-century work, now lost, called ''Candid Views of a Nutritionist-Physician'' () discussed how food could treat various disorders, while several works from the
Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
(960–1279) explained how to feed the elderly to extend their life. In the early 14th century,
Hu Sihui Hu Sihui (, 和斯輝, 忽斯慧, also Hu Zheng Qi Huei; active nr. 1314–1330) was a Chinese court therapist and dietitian during Yuan dynasty. He is known for his book ''Yinshan Zhengyao'' (''Dietary Principles''), that became a classic in Chin ...
, who served as Grand Dietician () at the court of the Mongol
Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...
(1260–1368), compiled a treatise called the ''Proper and Essential Things for the Emperor's Food and Drink'' (), which is still recognized in China as a classic of both ''materia medica'' and ''materia dietetica''. Influenced by the culinary and medical traditions of the Turko-Islamic world and integrating Mongol food stuffs like mutton into its recipes, Hu's treatise interpreted the effects of food according to the scheme of correspondences between the
five phases (; Japanese: (); Korean: (); Vietnamese: ''ngũ hành'' (五行)), usually translated as Five Phases or Five Agents, is a fivefold conceptual scheme that many traditional Chinese fields used to explain a wide array of phenomena, from cosmi ...
that had recently been systematized by northern Chinese medical writers of the
Jin dynasty (1115–1234) The Jin dynasty (, ; ) or Jin State (; Jurchen: Anchun Gurun), officially known as the Great Jin (), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed between 1115 and 1234. Its name is sometimes written as Kin, Jurchen Jin, Jinn, or Chin in ...
and Yuan eras. Before that period, food materials had not yet been comprehensively assigned to the five flavors systematically correlated with specific internal organs and therapeutic effects. Chinese understandings of the therapeutic effects of food were influential in East Asia. Cited in Japanese works as early as the 10th century, Chinese dietary works shaped Korean literature on food well into the
Joseon period Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...
(1392–1897). In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the imperial court of the
Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
(1644–1912) ordered several works on Chinese food therapy translated into
Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...
.


Main tenets

Although the precepts of Chinese food therapy are neither systematic nor identical in all times and places, some basic concepts can be isolated. One central tenet is that "medicine and food share a common origin", and that food materials can therefore be used to prevent or treat medical disorders. Like medicinal drugs, food items are classified as "heating" () or "cooling" (). In popular understanding, "heating" food is typically "high-calorie, subjected to high heat in cooking, spicy or bitter, or 'hot' in color (red, orange)", and includes red meat, innards, baked and deep-fried goods, and alcohol. They are to be avoided in the summer and can be used to treat "cold" illnesses like excessive pallor, watery feces, fatigue, chills, and low body temperature caused by a number of possible causes, including
anemia Anemia or anaemia (British English) is a blood disorder in which the blood has a reduced ability to carry oxygen due to a lower than normal number of red blood cells, or a reduction in the amount of hemoglobin. When anemia comes on slowly, th ...
. Green vegetables are the most typical "cooling" or "cold" food, which is "low-calorie, watery, soothing or sour in taste, or 'cool' in color (whitish, green)". They are recommended for "hot" conditions: rashes, dryness or redness of skin, heartburns, and other "symptoms similar to those of a burn", but also sore throat, swollen gums, and constipation. In more systematic understandings, each medicine or food item has one of five flavors: sour, sweet, bitter, pungent (or "acrid"), and salty. Besides describing the taste of food, each of these "flavors" purportedly has specific effects on particular
viscera In biology, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to act together in a ...
. The sour flavor, for instance, has "constriction and emollient effects" and "can emolliate the liver and control diarrhea and perspiration", whereas "bitter" food can "purge the heart 'fire', reduce excessive fluids, induce diarrhea, and reinforce the heart 'Yin'".


Scientific assessments

There are few studies in English on the scientific validity of these beliefs and practices. A few studies conducted in China suggest that a diet designed according to the precepts of Chinese food therapy may help control
blood pressure Blood pressure (BP) is the pressure of circulating blood against the walls of blood vessels. Most of this pressure results from the heart pumping blood through the circulatory system. When used without qualification, the term "blood pressure" r ...
, but these studies are based on different diagnostic categories than those of
evidence-based medicine Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is "the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients". The aim of EBM is to integrate the experience of the clinician, the values of t ...
("Yin deficiency" instead of
hypertension Hypertension (HTN or HT), also known as high blood pressure (HBP), is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms. Long-term high bl ...
), and on chiefly qualitative and conceptual evidence rather than on modern
randomized controlled trial A randomized controlled trial (or randomized control trial; RCT) is a form of scientific experiment used to control factors not under direct experimental control. Examples of RCTs are clinical trials that compare the effects of drugs, surgical te ...
s. Consequently, the claims of efficacy are weaker in scientific evidence than those based on mixed nutritious foods and demonstrated to have health effects by extensive
clinical research Clinical research is a branch of healthcare science that determines the safety and effectiveness ( efficacy) of medications, devices, diagnostic products and treatment regimens intended for human use. These may be used for prevention, treatm ...
, such as the
DASH diet The DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) is a dietary pattern promoted by the U.S.-based National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an agency of the United States Department of Healt ...
or
Mediterranean diet The Mediterranean diet is a diet inspired by the eating habits of people who live near the Mediterranean Sea. When initially formulated in the 1960s, it drew on the cuisines of Greece, Italy, France and Spain. In decades since, it has also incor ...
.


Other examples

*
Qiu Li Gao Qiu Li Gao or Autumn Pear Syrup or Sydney Paste is a pear syrup or paste used as a traditional medicine in East Asia, in particular in Chinese food therapy. History The preparation was known as early as the Qing Dynasty, when it was mentioned in ...
is a pear syrup or paste used to treat lung ailments.


See also

*
Bencao Gangmu The ''Bencao gangmu'', known in English as the ''Compendium of Materia Medica'' or ''Great Pharmacopoeia'', is an encyclopedic gathering of medicine, natural history, and Chinese herbology compiled and edited by Li Shizhen and published in the ...
, a '' materia medica'' compiled by
Li Shizhen Li Shizhen (July 3, 1518  – 1593), courtesy name Dongbi, was a Chinese acupuncturist, herbalist, naturalist, pharmacologist, physician, and writer of the Ming dynasty. He is the author of a 27-year work, found in the ''Compendium of M ...
during the
Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
. *
Ch'ang Ming Ch'ang Ming (長命 Pinyin: Chángmìng) (literally "long life") is a series of dietary and health recommendations based on Taoist philosophy. It was first introduced to the West by Chan Kam Lee (李陈金 Pinyin: Lǐ chén jīn), a Taoist teacher ...
, a series of dietary and lifestyle recommendations adapted to Western eating habits * Yangsheng, a method of "nourishing life"


References


Citations


Works cited

* . * . * * . * . * . * * * * * . * * . * .


Further reading

* . * * . * . * . * . * * {{Authority control Traditional Chinese medicine Chinese cuisine Diets Biologically-based therapies Chinese folk religion