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Introduction to This Issue
⊙【Understanding Traditional Chinese Medicine】——What is Medicinal Cuisine?
⊙【Expert Consultation Schedule】
Medicinal cuisine originates from China’s traditional dietary and TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) therapeutic culture. It is a culinary art guided by the theories of TCM, culinary science, and nutrition, strictly following medicinal cuisine recipes that combine Chinese herbs with certain food items of medicinal value, using unique Chinese cooking techniques and modern scientific methods to create delicious foods with specific colors, aromas, flavors, and forms. (In short, medicinal cuisine is gourmet food made by pairing medicinal ingredients with food ingredients.)
It is a product of the combination of traditional medical knowledge and culinary experience in China. It “integrates medicine into food,” using medicinal substances as food while also endowing food with medicinal properties. The medicinal power is enhanced by the food, and the food supports the efficacy of the medicine, with both complementing and enhancing each other; it possesses high nutritional value and can prevent and treat diseases, promote health, and prolong life.
Therefore, medicinal cuisine is distinct from general Chinese herbal formulas and ordinary diets; it is a special dietary practice that combines the efficacy of medicine with the deliciousness of food. It allows consumers to enjoy gourmet food while nourishing their bodies and treating diseases. Thus, the preparation and application of traditional Chinese medicinal cuisine is not only a science but can also be considered an art.
Medicinal cuisine is an important component of TCM, a unique practical discipline that has gradually formed through thousands of years of exploration and accumulation by the Chinese nation, and is a valuable cultural heritage left by our ancestors.
For thousands of years, traditional Chinese medicine has placed great emphasis on the dialectical relationship between dietary regulation and health longevity. This includes dietary therapy, which uses food to achieve health maintenance and disease prevention and treatment, as well as medicinal cuisine, which combines food and medicine to create meals for health maintenance and disease prevention. The medicinal cuisine mentioned in this article includes dietary therapy content.
Through long-term medical practice, TCM has accumulated valuable experiences in medicinal cuisine and dietary therapy, forming a unique theoretical system. Therefore, the study of medicinal cuisine is an important part of TCM. Actively promoting TCM medicinal cuisine and dietary therapy not only contributes significantly to the health and longevity of the Chinese people but also has far-reaching significance for the development of global health care medicine.
Expert Consultation Schedule: Tomorrow’s Consulting Experts
Wang Chunwen: Available all week
Li Zhiyong: Available Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday mornings
Xu Zuoxuan: Available all day on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
