中醫自古以來提倡:「藥食同源」,中藥有寒、涼、平、溫、熱五種不同的屬性,食物亦有,四性是從藥物對機體作用所發生的反應中概括出來的,我們嘗試著依據古人經驗,來探索現代食物與營養成分的關係。本研究利用統計學,透過變異數分析(ANOVA,Analysis of Variance)去個別探討在衛生福利部食品藥物管理署的臺灣地區食品營養成分資料庫中,寒、涼、平、溫、熱性食物與各營養成分的相關性並加以檢定彼此間的差異性。結果顯示在不同的營養成分中,寒、涼、平、溫、熱性食物會有不同的差異,像是偏寒涼的食物,在水分含量上較溫熱食物高,且統計學上有顯著意義。相對的,溫熱屬性的食物則是在熱量、蛋白質、脂質、醣類、磷等營養成分上,含量會比寒涼食物要來的高。因此我們或許可以推論食物的四性與營養成分的相關性非常高。未來的研究也期望能夠找出科學方式定義出食物屬性。
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, herbal medicines have several different attributes: cold, cool, warm, and hot. Foods have several different attributes too. The ancients defined herbal medicines' and foods' attributes by their experience or reaction after taking herbal medicines or foods. We want to explore the relationship of food and nutrition by the ancients' experience. In this study, we used Analysis of Variance to probe the relationship between foods of different attributes (cold, cool, warm, and hot) and nutrients. The results are displayed in different nutritional ingredients, cold, cold, warm, hot foods have differences. The cold and cool attributes' foods have more water content in than warm and hot attributes' foods. In contrast, the hot and warm attributes' foods have more calories, proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and phosphorus contents than the cold and cool attributes' foods. So, we perhaps can deduce that the food attributes and nutrition component of the correlation is very high. We also expect to be able to define food attributes scientifically in future research.