With the development of medicine and other related disciplines, it is found that many epidemiological observations are difficult to be explained by nutrients alone, and the role of non-nutrient bioactive components in food has gradually become a research hotspot. Furthermore, the relationship between nutrition and some chronic diseases (cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer and osteoporosis, etc.). ) has aroused widespread concern, and the study of its mechanism has also aroused great interest of nutritionists. Epidemiological data show that controlling dietary nutritional factors is an important means to prevent and treat these diseases. However, the completion of genome sequencing has broadened its research field. It has become a new hotspot to study the interaction between genes and nutrition at molecular and population levels and establish dietary intervention on individual genome structure.
Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the human body suffers from chronic diseases due to qi stagnation and subtle dyskinesia of viscera and Shui Gu. Dietotherapy advocates "dialectical diet", and the diet should be adjusted according to the climatic environment of the four seasons. The selection of dietotherapy food should follow the theory of cold, heat, warmth, coolness, pungent, sweet, sour, bitter, salty and meridian tropism in traditional Chinese medicine, and flexibly use the principles of dietotherapy to tonify deficiency, diarrhea, dispel cold and prevent and treat chronic diseases. This is actually consistent with the concept of modern nutrition. Modern nutrition also pays attention to reasonable diet and scientific catering, that is, selecting materials according to the chemical composition, nutritional value, physical and chemical properties of food, scientifically matching, achieving nutritional balance, and adjusting the physiological function of human body to a good state, thus achieving the effect of relieving diseases and mild diseases.
In Huangdi Neijing, the earliest medical work in China, there is a view that "five grains are the supplement, five fruits are the help, five animals are the benefit and five vegetables are the supplement", which is consistent with the view of "balanced diet" advocated by modern nutrition. The traditional concept of dietary nutrition in China is different from the concepts of nutrients and nutritional value mentioned by modern western medicine. China people's dietary concept is not based on the nutritional components in food, but from many aspects, such as dirty image, meridians, weather, geography, personal physical quality and so on. Combined with the characteristics of food itself, the nourishing effect of food on human body is considered as a whole. As far as food itself is concerned, the traditional concept of health preservation and dietotherapy focuses more on its sexual taste, regardless of what nutrients it contains, such as honey, which is sweet in taste and flat in nature, and has the medicinal properties of nourishing, moistening dryness, detoxifying and relieving.
The traditional concept of dietotherapy is consistent with the concept of health preservation in TCM. It is believed that human spirit and blood are bred by five flavors of diet, and the five flavors have relative affinity with the five internal organs, such as sour taste entering the liver, bitter taste entering the heart, sweet taste entering the spleen, pungent taste entering the lung and salty taste entering the kidney. In other words, sour food is good for the liver, bitter food is good for the heart, sweet food is good for the spleen, spicy food is good for the lungs, and salty food is good for the kidneys. It holds that the fundamental principle of food selection should be to protect and nourish the spleen and stomach, which is the foundation of human beings, nourish the spleen and stomach, breed five flavors, transform dietary nutrients into the essence of Shui Gu, and achieve the purposes of nourishing the five internal organs, nourishing qi and blood, replenishing essence and marrow, strengthening tendons and bones, and eliminating evil spirits.
Due to the climate change in different seasons, the human body will also have some corresponding changes. In addition to adopting different health care principles, there should also be differences in the choice of food. For example, in spring, you should eat more food that warms the yang. Onion, garlic and leek are the best products for benefiting liver and strengthening yang. When the liver qi is strong in spring, eating more sour food will lead to excessive liver qi and damage the spleen and stomach, so we should eat less sour food. In spring, in addition to protecting the liver, we should pay attention to supplementing trace element selenium, and eat more selenium-rich animals and plants, such as sea fish, shrimp, beef, quail eggs, sesame seeds, almonds, medlar, cowpea and day lily. Thereby improving human immune function and being beneficial to health care. Summer, autumn and winter also have different climate characteristics, so we should pay attention to the choice of diet. According to the characteristics of different seasons, with different tastes, different sexual orientation of food, so as to achieve the purpose of health care, which is actually a manifestation of experiential diet.