People's demands for food have long gone beyond mere deliciousness. Using diet for health preservation and wellness has become a further pursuit. Consequently, restaurants of all sizes have begun advertising medicinal cuisines, offering various dishes, nourishing soups, and health-boosting broths.
Experts tell reporters that medicinal diets have benefits as an adjunct therapy, but the prerequisite is that they must be guided by someone who is knowledgeable. Not to mention the various taboos in the compatibility of traditional Chinese medicine, but judging by the principle of tonifying according to the season alone, one can see that the nourishing dishes offered by many restaurants have some issues. For example, the focus in summer should be on light tonification. If some restaurants still recommend warming soups like black-bone chicken or old hen soup, it will have the opposite effect. Instead, duck soup or pigeon soup should be chosen. If a woman is naturally robust in her vital energy and blood yet often consumes medicinal soups that replenish qi and invigorate blood, she is also heading in the wrong direction. Therefore, medicinal cuisine restaurants should employ professional medicinal dietitians to provide personalized guidance.
In conclusion, medicinal diets and nourishing soups are not for everyone. The general principle for consuming them is to apply dietetic therapy based on syndrome differentiation. Below are some simple principles for consuming medicinal diets.
First is the "Five Nourishments for the Five Seasons": tonifying the liver in spring, strengthening the heart and spleen in summer, moistening the lungs in autumn, and nourishing the kidneys in winter. As long as this principle is followed, one is unlikely to go wrong. Secondly, for out-of-season foods, one must learn to balance their thermal nature. For example, when eating hotpot with mutton in summer, it is best to add some cooling ingredients or side dishes to neutralize the warming nature of the mutton. Lastly, traditional Chinese food therapy emphasizes balance. It's not just about the balance of a single dish, but the balance of an entire meal. Ensure food diversity; it's best to eat a little bit of everything, but not too much of anything, to avoid the counterproductive effects of excess.