Sun Simiao's concept that "people who don't know what to eat are not enough to survive" emphasizes that "knowing what to eat is appropriate". The so-called "knowing how to eat and drink properly" means to follow the rules of "food supplement" or "diet therapy" in accordance with the changes of seasons, different environments, different constitutions and diseases, so as to conform to nature and "harmony between man and nature".
The climate of "knowing the right diet"-"four seasons and five supplements"
"On Death News" has an incisive exposition on the diet and health care of the four seasons, and holds that "in spring, bitterness should be reduced and sweetness should be added to nourish temper ... rice and wine should not be too much, and rice noodles and cakes should not be eaten too much, which will hurt the spleen and stomach and be difficult to digest ... In summer, the diet should be reduced and sweetened to nourish the lungs and heart. In autumn, the diet should reduce the taste and increase the acidity to nourish the liver qi ... In winter, the kidney water tastes salty, and the water is afraid of fire, so the heart is sick and it is appropriate to nourish the heart. "
Taoist doctors' concept of health preservation corresponds the changes of the four seasons with the five internal organs of the human body, which conforms to the theory of Tibetan images in traditional Chinese medicine. On this basis, later generations summed up the treatment principle of "four seasons and five supplements". That is, the principles of spring supplement, summer supplement, long summer supplement, autumn supplement and winter supplement.
Modern Chinese dietotherapy believes that the five flavors of diet are one of the most closely related aspects between man and nature. People nourish their bodies and maintain their lives through natural diet. There are countless changes in the five-flavor diet composed of animals and plants in nature, and the five-flavor diet has different genetic relationships with the five internal organs of the human body. The change of four seasons strongly affects the intake of five flavors by five internal organs. Therefore, eating different foods in different seasons will produce different physiological and pathological reactions, or nourish the body and improve health; Or change its physiological characteristics; Or cause special lesions.
Special reminder: From the Taoist point of view of "knowing food is appropriate", anti-season fruits and vegetables made by modern agricultural science and technology are contrary to the principle of "four seasons and five supplements" and should not be eaten often.
The environment of "knowing it but eating it"-eating it because of the place
Taoist doctors believe that different living areas have different dietary conditioning methods. For example, people in mountainous areas lack iodine and are prone to neck diseases, so they should eat more seafood with high iodine content; The northwest plain with dry climate should eat more soft food; In the southeast mountainous area with humid climate, you should eat more spicy food. Only by eating from the ground can we get rid of illness and prolong life.
This view has long been recorded in the theory of traditional Chinese medicine. For example, in On Different Methods and Appropriate Prescriptions, it is said: "Therefore, the land of the East is the land where heaven and earth are born. The land of fish and salt, the seashore is near the water, and its people eat fish and love salt ... Fish makes people warm, and salt wins blood. Therefore, everyone is black and careless, and their diseases are all carbuncle. " The real records obtained by the ancients through practice and observation show that nature influences and changes people through the five flavors of diet.
Modern Chinese medicine dietotherapy has different methods for local diseases caused by environmental factors, which is consistent with the understanding of early Taoist doctors. For example, Keshan disease is a special endemic heart disease with myocardial necrosis. It is found that the selenium deficiency in the soil of epidemic areas and the low selenium content in food crops and vegetables lead to long-term selenium deficiency in human body. Therefore, in the process of preventing and treating Keshan disease, supplementing selenium from diet is an extremely effective dietotherapy method. Simple goiter and Kaschin-Beck disease are endemic diseases with obvious regional characteristics, which are closely related to local water quality, mineral salts and trace elements, so different dietary supplements and dietary adjustments are very important.
The relationship between special working environment and diet therapy;
The environment of "knowing how to eat reasonably" also includes a special "working environment". Such as mining, tunnel excavation, quartz powder factory, mixing of glass, ceramics and refractory materials, casting and powder spraying in machinery manufacturing, etc., workers do not pay attention to protection and are exposed to dust containing free silicon dioxide for a long time, which is very suitable for "silicosis". Studies have found that eating more radishes can reverse pulmonary fibrosis, remove silica dust and make it excreted with sputum; Eating more kelp helps to soften, excrete and disperse silicon nodules; Eating more spinach and wax gourd can improve pulmonary blood circulation, eliminate silica dust and prevent silicosis; In addition, auricularia auricula, celery, water chestnut and mushrooms all have health care functions. It can eliminate dust poison, prevent phagocyte degeneration and necrosis, prevent lymphangitis, prevent fibrous changes and the formation of silicon nodules. The special working environment is easy to cause many diseases, such as radiation sickness, high-frequency microwave damage, lead poisoning, mercury poisoning, arsenic poisoning, benzene poisoning and so on. In the process of diet therapy, targeted food, differentiated food and differentiated food have achieved good results.
The composition of "knowing it but eating it"-eating according to people's choice
Taoist doctors believe that different constitutions also have different requirements for food conditioning, such as fat people are far fat and light; Thin people are far fragrant and dry, nourishing yin and promoting fluid production. Those with excessive yang and heat should clear away heat and purge fire, and those with yang deficiency and cold should warm and tonify yang. For people with diseases, it is determined according to the characteristics of insufficient cold and heat, deficiency of yin and yang, five flavors of food, four qi, ups and downs, and meridian tropism.
Modern dietotherapy believes that the adaptability between food and individual is a complex problem including the interaction of physical, chemical, biochemical and immune factors. General food will not cause discomfort to most people, but due to individual differences, a few people will feel uncomfortable, and the most common is food allergy. According to the British report, 33 migraine patients were investigated and it was found that 23 of them had food allergic reaction. After stopping eating allergic food, the migraine disappeared. After two years of investigation and study, we have tested the effects of a large number of foods such as milk, eggs, chocolate, coffee, fruit, fish, wheat, aquatic shells and meat. And found that each of the above 23 migraine patients had an allergic reaction to three of them on average. Babies are often allergic to milk. Studies have shown that the larger protein particles in milk can penetrate into the mucosa, causing allergic reactions. There is also solar dermatitis caused by more common food. Pineapple allergy and so on. Therefore, the clinical "diet therapy" is suitable for the crowd and will have a good effect.
Taoist dietotherapy regimen is the principle of diet regimen according to season, environment and physique, which embodies the concept of "harmony between man and nature" and "conforming to nature" in Taoist diet, and still has practical significance for the research and development of modern dietotherapy.