Chinese medicated diet has a long history. It is not a simple combination of food and Chinese drugs, but a special highly finished diet made from Chinese drugs, food and condiments under the theoretical guidance of diet preparation based on differentiation of symptoms and signs of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). It has not only the efficiency of medicine but also the delicacy of food, and can be used to prevent and cure diseases, built up one’s health and prolong one’s life. Early in remote antiquity the Chinese nation began to explore the function of food and medicaments, hence the saying “Traditional Chinese medicine and diet both originate from the practice and experience in daily life.” The extant earliest monograph on material medica, many sorts of medicaments which are both drugs and food were recorded, such Lenten, gingeli, grape, kernel, lily.
Diabetes Medicated Diet
(1) Corn stigma (Stigma Maydis) Put 30g of corn stigma in 1500ml of water to decoct it until 700ml is left. Take half of it at a time, twice a day. This recipe is especially applicable to patients suffering from diabetes and hypertension con-currently.
(2) Wheat bran (Exocarpium Fructi Tritici) Make gruel with wheat bran as food. It is applicable to diabetics with obvious symptoms of vexation.
Adiposis
This morbid state refers to body weight exceeding normal weight by more than 20%. Those who have subjective symptoms suffer from what belongs to the category of phlegm syndrome in TCM. Some people are also overweight indeed, but don’t suffer much.
Dietetic Chinese Drugs
(1) Japanese sea tangle (Thallus Ecklonia) Eat cooked Japanese sea tangle, 30g a day. It is prohibited to be eaten by those who suffer from insufficiency and coldness of the spleen and stomach.
(2) Waxgourd (Benincasa) Cut 500g of waxgourd into thick slices and them make soup. It is advisable to use a bit of sesame oil and salt to flavour it. Waxgourd contains no fat, less sodium and therefore, is ideal for reducing weight. Not only is it fit to be eaten frequently by obese persons, but it does a lot of good to those who suffer from kidney diseases, hydrops and diabetes.
Composite Recipes of Medicated Diet
(1) Lotus leaf, Hawthorn Fruit Drink (Heye Shanzha)
Process Decoct 9g of lotus leaf and 9g of burnt hawthorn fruit in water for a while and take it as a drink. To treat simple obesity, it is advisable to take such a drink frequently.
(2)As for other recipes, one can choose and eat persistently such compound medicated food as steamed round cardamom bread, or poria stuffed bun (steamed), or red bean and carp, etc., which can invigorate the spleen, remove dampness and resolve phlegm.
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