Introduction: The meaning of "like cures like," simply put, is a method of nourishing the body with animal organs. It originates from the dietary therapy in traditional Chinese medicine, which was recorded in the "Tang Shen Lun" of the Shang Dynasty, and the "Shennong Ben Cao Jing" further elaborated on its effects and applications.
Tang Dynasty medical scientist Sun Simiao discovered that animal and human organs are very similar in terms of tissue, morphology, and function. Through long-term clinical practice, he proposed the academic viewpoints of "treating organs with organs" and "nourishing organs with organs." This is a very important rule in dietary therapy of traditional Chinese medicine, "like cures like," commonly known as "like nourishes like."
Modern science and technology also process pig gastric mucosa into gastric mucin, which can protect human gastric mucosa and treat gastric or duodenal ulcers. Testicular tablets made from animal testes can treat sexual dysfunction. Embryo tablets made from the placentas of pigs, cattle, and sheep are suitable for people with neurasthenia and developmental issues. However, this does not mean that everyone with a stomachache should eat pork stomach, those with heart disease should eat pork heart, or those with sexual dysfunction should eat certain types of animal genitalia... Different situations should be treated differently.
Eating liver to nourish the liver is not suitable for patients with liver disease.
>The liver is the largest detoxification organ in humans and animals. Various toxins in the animal body mostly pass through the liver for processing. Most animal livers bought from the market hide various toxins. Patients with liver disease have impaired liver function and cannot decompose these toxins in time, which will加重 the burden on the liver and affect the recovery of liver disease. The liver is also an important immune organ and "chemical processing plant" that can produce various hormones, antibodies, and immune cells. Animal liver also contains a high amount of copper, and patients with liver disease will undoubtedly be harmed by these substances after consumption. Therefore, patients with liver disease cannot eat liver to nourish the liver, and it is best to eat less liver in their daily diet.Eating brain to nourish the brain is not suitable for the elderly.
>Elderly friends often have varying degrees of forgetfulness. Traditional Chinese medicine believes this is mostly because kidney qi gradually becomes deficient and cannot nourish the brain. According to the theory of "nourishing organs with organs," pig brain can play a role in nourishing the brain. Therefore, many elderly people are keen on "eating brain to nourish the brain." In fact, this is incorrect. Pig brain is a high-cholesterol food, and the elderly often have varying degrees of high blood lipids, arteriosclerosis, and other problems. Eating too much high-cholesterol food will worsen the condition and even induce diseases such as stroke. Therefore, when nourishing the brain, elderly friends might as well choose foods like walnuts, black sesame, and fish to replace pig brain.Eating blood to nourish the blood is suitable for both the old and young.
>Blood is one of the most important substances for maintaining the basic physiological activities of the human body. Folklore often uses various animal blood to treat anemia or blood deficiency, which is a dietary therapy method worth promoting. Iron is an essential trace element for the human body, mainly found in hemoglobin. Animal blood is rich in iron, and it is heme iron that is easily absorbed by the human body. Although foods like black fungus, kelp, and sesame also have a high iron content, the iron they contain is non-heme iron, with an absorption rate mostly below 10%. Compared with ox blood and sheep blood, pig blood has the highest iron content, with 44.9 mg of iron per 100 grams of pig blood, making it a good dietary product for patients with iron-deficiency anemia. In addition, the protein content in pig blood is also very high, and the proportion of amino acids is close to that of the human body, making it very easy for the body to use. It is especially suitable for the elderly and children with weaker digestive functions.In addition, sayings like "eating heart to nourish the heart," "eating kidneys to nourish the kidneys," and "eating lungs to moisten the lungs" have been clinically proven to be effective in some patients, but in specific use, it still varies from person to person. For example, pig kidney has the effect of nourishing the kidney, but patients with kidney stones should not eat it; on the contrary, they need to limit their intake of animal offal.