摘要
中國醫藥之理論乃源自中國飲食科學之經驗，問此人們常云「中國醫學乃屬經驗醫學」。我們的老祖先由日常食物攝取中，親自體驗出各種食物對人體健康具有某些有用性，提供人們食用，確具有療效後，再經前人纂文記載，將數千年累積之經驗，演化出一套治病之原則藥物。食物之味即利用味覺來判別食物之味道，亦即所謂之辛、酸、甘、苦、鹹等五味，此乃經由生活中的嘗試將食物分成五種不同之味道，而味道之不同確證具有不同之作用。辛味食物，食用後具有行氣發散作用；酸味食物有收斂作用；甘味食物有調補、緩和作用；苦味食物有燥濕、退火、降瀉作用；鹹味食物有潤下、軟堅作用；其他尚有淡而無味之食物則有滲濕利尿作用。這些性質於「神農本草經」中均有詳細記載，該書記載之食物及中藥材計有365種並分成上品、中品及下品三大類。其中之上品乃指無毒，久服可輕身、延年、而無害，這也是迄今我們日常中國飲食健康藥膳中常吃到之人參雞、桂圓茶、當歸鴨等均屬之。詳細之各種中藥飲食養生之道將於大會中作詳細之報導。
關鍵字
無資料並列摘要
For the history of Chinese food science, there are as many original theories as there are for Chinese herbal medicine. Chinese medicine is one of the experiential sciences of the world. In ancient history, people found foods to have various effects on the body. They thus accumulated several thousand years' experience and developed some traditional medicines remedy diseases. When we eat any food, the five tastes are activated. These are pungent, sweet, sour, bitter and salty. The tastes of foods are as different as their properties, e.g., most of the carminatives are pungent, tonifying foods are usually sweet in taste, and sour foods have the property of astringency. In Chinese medicine, foods of different flavours have different effects even though they maybe of the same property, and vice versa. Shennong Bencao jing (神農本草經), is the earliest materia medica, believed to be product of the 1st century B.C., with its authorship attributed to the ancient emperor and ＂Divine Peasant＂ Shennong, in which 365 items are divided into three classes of high, medium and low grade medicinal properties. The high grade tonics, which are supposed to be non-toxic. possessing rejuvenating properties and which can be taken frequently and for long periods of time without harm, have been commonly used by the Chinese for ancillary health-care. This paper examines the health properties of such high-grad e medical foods as, Ginseng chicken soup(人參雞湯), longan Tea(桂圓茶), Dan-gui duck soup (當歸鴨) and some other health foods.