Explanation of nutritional concepts of food therapy and health preservation

Nutrition is the science that studies the nutritional patterns of the human body and measures to improve them. "Nutrition" in nutrition refers to the dynamic process of the human body ingesting, digesting, absorbing and utilizing nutrients in food to maintain growth and development, tissue renewal and good health. Substances in food that have nutritional functions are called "nutrients." Only by properly combining various nutrients can the physiological functions of the human body be maintained.

With the development of medicine and other related disciplines, people have found that many epidemiological observation results are difficult to explain solely by nutrients, 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, osteoporosis, etc.) has attracted widespread attention, and research on its mechanism of action has aroused great interest among nutritionists. Epidemiological data show that controlling dietary nutritional factors is an important means to prevent and treat these diseases. The completion of genome sequencing has broadened the research horizon. Studying the interaction between genes and nutrition from the molecular and population levels, and establishing dietary intervention based on the individual genome structure has become a new hot spot.

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the human body suffers from chronic diseases due to poor qi movement and dysfunction of the internal organs in transporting water and grains. Diet therapy advocates "syndrome differentiation and diet", and the diet should be appropriately adjusted according to the climate and environment of the four seasons. The selection of therapeutic foods should follow the four qi of cold, hot, warm, and cool, the five flavors of pungent, sweet, sour, bitter, and salty and the theory of meridian tropism of traditional Chinese medicine. It should be flexibly used to supplement the deficient ones, purge the excess ones, and heat the cold ones. According to the principle of treating heat with cold, through dietary therapy, the purpose of balancing yin and yang and preventing and treating chronic diseases can be achieved. This is actually consistent with the concept of modern nutrition. Modern nutrition also pays attention to reasonable diet and scientific meal preparation, that is, selecting ingredients according to the chemical composition, nutritional value, and physical and chemical properties of food, scientifically matching them to achieve nutritional balance, and adjusting the physiological functions of the human body to a good state to achieve chronic disease. , the effect of mild illness.

In my country's earliest medical book "Huangdi Neijing", there is a view that "five grains are for nourishment, five fruits are for help, five animals are for benefit, and five vegetables are for supplement", which is consistent with the view of "balanced diet" advocated by modern nutrition. of. However, my country’s traditional concept of dietary nutrition is different from the concept of nutrients and nutritional value mentioned by modern Western medicine. The Chinese dietary concept does not take the nutrients in food as the main line, but starts from many aspects such as internal organs, meridians, weather, geography, personal physical fitness, etc., combined with the characteristics of the food itself, and comprehensively considers its impact on the body. Nourishing effect of human body. As for the food itself, the traditional health-preserving dietary therapy concept is more based on its nature and flavor, rather than the specific nutrients it contains. For example, honey has a sweet nature and taste, and has the effects of nourishing, moisturizing, detoxifying, and easing medicinal properties.

The traditional dietary therapy concept is consistent with the health care concept of traditional Chinese medicine. It is believed that the human body's spiritual energy and blood are nourished by the five flavors of food, and the five flavors and the five internal organs have relative affinities. For example, sourness enters the liver, bitterness enters the heart, sweetness enters the spleen, and pungent flavor enters the body. Lungs, salty food enters the kidneys, that is to say, sour food is good for the liver, bitter food is good for the heart, sweet food is good for the spleen, pungent food is good for the lungs, and salty food is good for the kidneys. It believes that the fundamental principle of food selection should be to protect the spleen and stomach. The spleen and stomach are the acquired foundation of human beings. Only when the spleen and stomach are nourished and the five flavors are nourished can the dietary nutrients transform into the essence of water and grain, so as to nourish the five internal organs, replenish qi and blood, and The purpose is to replenish essence and marrow, strengthen muscles and bones, and get rid of evil diseases.

Due to climate changes in different seasons, the human body will also undergo corresponding changes. In addition to adopting different health care principles, there should also be differences in food selection. For example, in spring, it is advisable to eat more food that warms and nourishes yang energy. Onions, garlic, and leeks are good foods to benefit the liver and nourish yang. Moreover, spring is the time when liver qi is strong. Eating more sour foods will cause excessive liver qi and damage the spleen and stomach, so you should eat less sour food. food. In addition to protecting the liver in spring, you should also pay attention to supplementing the trace element selenium. Eat more animals and plants rich in selenium, such as sea fish, sea shrimp, beef, quail eggs, sesame seeds, almonds, wolfberry, cowpea, daylily, etc., to improve the health of the human body. The immune function is conducive to health care. Summer, autumn, and winter also have different climate characteristics, and they should also focus on their diet choices. According to the characteristics of different seasons, foods with different properties and tastes can be combined to achieve the purpose of health care. This is actually a manifestation of empirical diet therapy.