Introducing Chinese food therapy: A review of origin, developing course and modern application

摘要

Abstract HighlightsThis review introduced the origin, developing course and modern application of Chinese food therapy in traditional Chinese medicine to enrich our understanding of relevant concepts and ways.Editor’s SummaryChinese food therapy, an important part of traditional Chinese medicine. The origins of Chinese food therapy can be traced back to the “Sanhuanwudi” period. It is essential to know Chinese food therapy plays a more important role in clinics and family health care.ABSTRACTObjective: This review introduced the origin, developing course and modern application of Chinese food therapy (CFT) in traditional Chinese medicine to enrich our understanding of relevant concepts and ways. Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, CBM, CNKI, VIP and Wanfang Databases were searched for papers on a range of terms relating to CFT. 41 references were finally selected for this review. Results: The development of CFT is comprised of five important periods in Chinese history. They are as following: the infancy period represented by the idea of homogeny of medicine and food; theoretical development period represented by Inner Canon of Yellow Emperor, Shennong’s Classic of Materia Medica and Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases; specialized volumes on CFT represented by Dietotherapy Worth a Thousand Gold; representative monographs on CFT represented by Dietetic Materia Medica and Principles of Correct Diet and the perfect period represented by integration of ancient food therapy practice and modern nutriology. Conclusion: CFT harbors a long and profound history, making great contribution to people’s health maintenance and illness prevention. With the further development of integrative medicine, CFT may play a more important role in clinics and family health care based on integration of syndrome differentiation and disease differentiation.