Fang Heqian: Food Therapy Is Also Enjoyment
When discussing food therapy and dietary nourishment, many people think of medicinal diets, then shake their heads: these things aren’t tasty, lack color and fragrance, and have strange tastes—only suitable for occasional trial, not regular consumption. Indeed, although medicinal diets for treating illness are not new in China, most people still avoid them. Ordinary medicinal diets are usually simple combinations of medicine and food, whose therapeutic effects fall short of drinking a large bowl of decoction, and their peculiar taste makes long-term consumption difficult. It’s easier to drink a bitter decoction and then enjoy a delicious meal—after all, one bowl of medicine is easier to swallow than a whole table of medicine. Perhaps precisely due to this mindset, food therapy has gradually drifted further from people’s lives.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine theory, "medicine" and "food" originally share the same origin. Many foods themselves are also medicines. As stated: "For major toxins, treat illness and eliminate six-tenths; for common toxins, treat and eliminate seven-tenths; for minor toxins, treat and eliminate eight-tenths; for non-toxic substances, treat and eliminate nine-tenths." Since food is non-toxic, it can achieve the most ideal therapeutic effect. Therefore, although medicinal diets belong to the category of food therapy and nourishment, they are not simply "medicine + food = medicinal diet." From the perspective of food, it must first satisfy basic requirements such as color, aroma, taste, appearance, and texture. From the medicinal perspective, it should maximize the inherent efficacy of food and apply rational combinations based on syndrome differentiation. Even if medication is added, the herbs’ nature and taste should be as sweet, bland, mild, and odorless as possible—never sacrifice the quality of food for medicine.
Therefore, correct selection and cooking of suitable meals combined with the physical and mental characteristics of the consumer seamlessly integrates food therapy with exquisite and delicious cuisine—a highly technical and artistic endeavor. In ancient times, only emperors and nobles could enjoy such refinement and wisdom.