🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Wang, a resident of Daqing City, a major oil-producing city in northern China, suffers from chronic allergic rhinitis. Hearing that decocting fresh Xiang'erzi (Cnidium monnieri) with chicken helps treat chronic rhinitis and sinusitis, she bought 150 grams of fresh Xiang'erzi from a pharmacy and prepared chicken soup at home. After consuming it for just one day, she felt extreme weakness, accompanied by dizziness, nausea, abdominal pain, frequent vomiting, and breathing difficulties. She was rushed to emergency care for gastric lavage, catharsis, high-position enema with saline, intravenous injection of concentrated glucose, vitamin C, liver-protective drugs, and a decoction of licorice and mung beans to detoxify—only then did she recover safely.
Xiang'erzi is the fruit of Cnidium monnieri, including the bract, containing alkaloids and cnidium glycosides. Daily intake exceeding 6 grams can lead to poisoning, causing symptoms such as bradycardia, atrioventricular conduction block, and abnormal liver and kidney function. Severe cases may result in respiratory and circulatory failure and death. Unfortunately, similar incidents involving hospitalization due to medicinal cuisine consumption occur frequently in real life.
Medicinal cuisine is not merely a nutritional food nor a simple mixture of herbs and food. It is a vital component of traditional Chinese medical dietary therapy, relying on food to carry medicinal flavors and herbs to enhance food efficacy, transforming “bitter medicine” into “palatable medicine.” It is a unique herbal formulation that maximizes the therapeutic power of Chinese medicine while satisfying people’s aversion to medicine and preference for food.
Traditional Chinese medicine has long emphasized “dietary supplementation is better than herbal supplementation” and stressed “all medicine carries toxicity.” Ancient texts such as *Yinshan Zhengyao*, *Shanghan Zabing Lun*, and *Qianjin Fang: Food Therapy Chapter* contain numerous dietary therapy recipes, guided by the theory of “four natures and five flavors” and “meridian tropism” to help people practice proper dietary therapy. In other words, herbs used in medicinal cuisine must possess not only therapeutic functions but also varying degrees of edibility. Thus, herbs selected for medicinal cuisine must meet the following criteria: first, they must be non-toxic raw materials or processed/cooked herbs, such as Codonopsis pilosula, ginseng, Lycium barbarum, and processed Aconite slices; second, they should be chewable and edible, such as Codonopsis pilosula, Chinese yam, and Poria cocos; third, they must have pleasant aroma and palatability, such as Anise, Cardamom, Amomum villosum, cinnamon bark, and fennel.
During interviews, Professor Yang Baofeng, Deputy Director of the Pharmacy Department at Daqing Oilfield General Hospital, repeatedly emphasized: Only a small portion of Chinese herbs are suitable for medicinal cuisine. By functional classification, these mainly fall within tonifying herbs, warming interior herbs, dampness-transforming herbs, and food-eliminating herbs. Potentially dangerous or toxic herbs must never be included in medicinal cuisine recipes. Otherwise, as seen in Wang’s case, instead of curing illness or promoting health, one might nearly face fatal consequences.
Professor Yang stated that preparing medicinal cuisine requires scientific rigor and specificity, tailored to different diseases and stages of illness. First, tailor the diet to the syndrome—since traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes syndrome differentiation and treatment, medicinal cuisine application must also be based on syndrome identification to effectively harness its health benefits. Second, adapt to the seasons—traditional Chinese medicine holds that the flow of zang-fu organs and qi-blood closely relates to seasonal changes. “Avoid cold when using cold substances, avoid heat when using hot substances”—meaning when using cold-natured herbs, avoid winter; when using hot-natured herbs, avoid summer. This principle applies equally to medicinal cuisine. Third, tailor to the individual—different constitutions and ages require different approaches. Children have delicate constitutions; avoid overly cold or hot ingredients. Elderly people often suffer from liver-kidney deficiency; avoid overly warming or drying herbs. Pregnant women risk stimulating fetal movement; avoid blood-activating and slippery herbs. These points must be heeded in medicinal cuisine.
Finally, adapt to location—regional climate and lifestyle differences influence human physiology and pathology. Some areas are humid, leading to diets rich in warm, spicy, and pungent foods; others are cold, favoring warm and nourishing diets.
In northeastern regions, particularly Heilongjiang Province, which lies at a high latitude with long, harsh winters, medicinal cuisine hot pots have gained widespread popularity. Behind this popularity, however, lie many hidden dangers. Professor Yang revealed that many hot pot broths currently contain added Chinese herbs—ranging from three to five herbs to over twenty. Although China has a tradition of “food and medicine sharing origins,” only 87 herbs have been officially approved by the National Health Commission for use in food. Many herbs used for flavoring are not among them. Thus, many herbs added to hot pots have not undergone scientific validation. Hot pot operators often fail to follow national standards in selecting herbs and do not disclose the ingredients or pharmacological actions to consumers—leading inevitably to foodborne illnesses.
Professor Yang warns consumers that prolonged boiling of hot pot broth is harmful to health. Though flavorful, the broth concentrates salt and other components, including harmful nitrites. Furthermore, metal ions and salts in the broth can bind with food proteins to form large molecular complexes, which are difficult to absorb in the gastrointestinal tract once ingested.
It is reported that relevant national departments are drafting the *Regulations on Medicinal Cuisine Management*. Once implemented, the production and sale of medicinal cuisine will be legally regulated, protecting consumer interests. More importantly, ambiguous concepts and uncertain understandings about medicinal cuisine will be standardized and corrected, enabling consumers to make informed choices regarding food and medicine.