中医药文化传播系列:中医药文化概览

2. Medicine? Food? Both! Sometimes?I?don’t?like?some?vegetables?such as?carrots?and?celeries,?and my?grandpa?always tells?me?not?to?be?a?picky?eater.?He?tells?me?that a balanced?diet?is?very?important?for?our?bodies and?many?foods?actually?have?similar?effects?likemedicine.?I?asked?why?and?he?explained?in?this way. Chinese?medicine?and?food?are?closely?related according?to?traditional?Chinese?medical?theories. Chinese?medicine?mainly?comes?from?various herbs,?animals?and?minerals,?while?the?food?that people?have?every?day?also?comes?from?the?same things?in?nature.?It?can?be?said?that?Chinese medicine?and?food?have?the?same?origins.?And a?lot?of?herbs,?animals?and?some?minerals?can?be taken?both?as?medicine?and?food?since?they?can not?only?feed?people?but?also?have?curative?effects on?certain?diseases.?Like?Chinese?medicine,?each food?also?has?its?special?functions.?Therefore,?for thousands?of?years,?TCM?emphasized?a?balanced diet?and?adjustment?of?diet?according?to?the changing?of?physical?condition?of?individuals. How?wonderful?Chinese?medicine?is!?Do you?believe?that?many?foods?in?our?kitchen?and?on our?dining?tables?actually?have?curative?effects?just like?medicine??And?many?of?these?foods?are?even often?used?by?traditional?Chinese?doctors?to?treat their?patients.?In?our?daily?life,?if?properly?used, they?can?be?of?great?benefit?to?our?health.?The following?are?two?stories?that?I?once?experienced: “The ice-cream event” —ginger, mung beans and Chinese yam In?summer?when?it’s?extremely?hot,?I?am always?eager?to?have?something?cold?even?though my?grandpa?often?says?it’s?not?good?for?my?health. But?who?can?resist?the?temptation?of?cold?drinks and?ice-cream?on?a?hot summer?day??One?day I?played?soccer?with?my?friends,?and?when?I?got home?I?felt?so?hot?that?I?had?some?cold?coke?and then?much?ice-cream.?Therefore?at?night?I?had a?stomachache.?After?knowing?what?happened?to me,?my?grandpa?went?to?the?kitchen?and?twenty minutes?later,?he?came?out?with?a?bowl?of?strange soup.?He?told?me?to?drink?this?dark?red?soup.?I will?never?forget?its?special?taste—spicy?and?sweet. But?strangely,?after?drinking?it,?I?did?feel?much better.?Grandpa?said?this?soup?was?made?of?ginger and?brown?sugar.?Ginger?is?not?only?a?common ingredient?in?Chinese?diet,?but?also?a?useful medicine?as?it?can?be?refreshing?and?promote people’s?appetite.?Besides,?when?people?get?cold, ginger?soup?will?do?them?good?because?ginger?can dispel?the?coldness?in?the?human?body. After?that,?Grandpa?told?me?to?stop?having too?much?ice-cream?and?asked?me?to?drink?some green?soup?he?specially?made?for?me?when?the weather?was?hot.?The?soup?was?light?green,?with a?little?bit?bitter?and?sweet?taste.?I?wondered?why Grandpa?asked?me?to?drink?this?strange?soup,?but amazingly,?I?found?I?did?feel?cooler?after?drinking it?in?the?hot?summer?days.?Grandpa?told?me?the soup?was?made?of?mung?beans.?He?explained?to me?that?mung?beans?were?highly?praised?by?Li Shizhen?as?“a?good?grain?that?benefits?mankind”because?mung?beans?with?a?sweet?but?cold property?could?help?people?clear?heat?in?the?body. Therefore,?mung?bean?soup?which?can?help people?reduce?summer?heat?is?one?of?the?most popular?drinks?in?summer?for?Chinese?people.Besides,?the?pillows?stuffed?with?mung?bean?seed coat?can?improve?eyesight,?refresh?the?mind?and reduce?headache.?Why?don’t?you?also?try?some mung?bean?soup?when?it’s?hot?in?summer? On?one?weekend?after?the?ice-cream?event, I?accompanied?my?mother?to?buy?some?vegetables in?the?supermarket.?In?the?supermarket,?we?bought several?different?kinds?of?vegetables,?and?I?noticed my?mother?also?bought?something?strange.?They are?long,?thin,?brown?sticks?with?muds?and?lots of?hairs?on?the?outside.?Wow,?they?are?ugly,?and they?must?taste?terrible,?I?thought?secretly.?In?the evening,?when?my?mother?steamed?some?of?this strange?and?ugly?vegetable,?and?asked?me?to?have some,?I?was?amazed?by?its?good?taste.?It?tasted really?good?especially?when?being?taken?with?some sugar.?My?mother?told?me?she?had?bought?this vegetable?for?me.?I?asked?why.?She?said?this?special vegetable?was?Chinese?yam,?a?very?common vegetable?in?Chinese?diet.?It?can?be?steamed, boiled?in?porridge,?stir?fried,?or?made?into?various desserts.?However,?it?is?not?only?tasteful?but?also beneficial?for?people’s?health.?Many?traditional Chinese?doctors?consider?it?as?one?of?the?most important?medicines?to?make?people?stronger since?it?is?good?for?our?stomach?and?it’s?very nutritious.?Therefore,?my?mother?wanted?to?help me?improve?my?stomach?conditions.?So?why don’t?you?also?try?some?of?Chinese?yam?when?you have?some?stomach?problems??Though?it?benefits a?lot,?you?cannot?have?too?much?of?it,?as?having too?much?of?it?may?result?in?abdominal?distention.