In light of its form and process, medicated diet can be divided into ten kinds: fresh juice, medicated tea, drink, medicated wine, decoction (liquid extract of a material via boiling), medicated gruel, honey extract, medicated cake, medicated pancake, and soups.
History of Chinese Medicated Diet
Chinese medicated diet has a long history. The ancient legend "Shennong Tastes a Hundred Grasses "shows that early in remote antiquity the Chinese nation began to explore the function of food and medicaments (substance used for medicine).
In theZhou Dynasty(11th century-256BC), royal doctors were divided into four kinds. One of them consisted of dietetic doctors who were in charge of the emperor's health, preparing diets for him.
In Shennong's Herbal Classic, which was published approximately in about the Qin (221-206BC) and Han (@)^BC-220) Periods and is the earliest monograph extant on materia medica, many sorts of medicaments which are both drugs and food were recorded, such as sesame, Chinese yam, grape, walnut kernel, lily bulb, and fresh ginger.
According to history books, up to the period of the Sui (581-618) and Tang (618-907) dynasties, about more than sixty kinds of books on dietetic treatment had been published. But unfortunately most of them are now lost.
The book Dietotherapy of Materia Medica by Meng Xian in theTang Dynastyhad a great influence on later generations. It is the extant and earliest monograph on dietetic treatment.
In theMing Dynasty(1368-1644),Li Shizhencollected and recorded in his Compendium of Materia Medica many medicated diet prescriptions, dozens of which were about medicated gruel alone, with dozens more solely touching on medicated wine and nothing else.
At present
Based on the traditional process, medicated diet has been developing greatly in assortment, producing products such as , medicated cans (holding canned food), medicated sweets and so on. Salutary food and drinks produced on the basis of achievements in scientific research and being capable of curing diseases have a variety of sorts and differ in characteristics.
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