總論
中國藥膳不是食物與中藥的簡單相加，而是在中醫辯證配膳理論指導下，由藥物、食物和調料三者精製而成的一種既有藥物功效，又有食品美味，用以防病治病、強身益壽的特殊食品。
源流
中國藥膳原遠流長。古代關於“神農嘗百草”的傳說，反映了早在遠古時代中華民族就在開始探索食物和藥物的功用，故有“醫食同源”之說。公元前一千多年的周朝，宮廷醫生
分為四科，其中的“食醫”，即通過調配膳食為帝王的養生、保健服務。約成書於戰國時期的中醫經典著作《黃帝內經》，載藥膳方數則。約成書於秦漢時期、我國現存最早的藥學專著《神農本草經》，記載了許多既是藥物又是食物的品種，如大棗、芝麻、山藥、葡萄、核桃、百合、生薑、薏以仁等。東漢醫聖張仲景在《傷寒雜病論》中，亦載有一些藥膳名方，如當歸生薑羊肉湯、百合雞子黃湯、豬膚湯等，至今仍有實用價值。唐代名醫孫思邈的《備急千金要方》和《千金翼方》專列有“食治”、“養老食療”等門，藥膳方藥十分豐富。據史書記載，至隋唐時期，我國已有食療專著約六十餘種，惜多散佚。唐代孟詵所著《食療本草》是我國現存最早的食療專著，對後世影響較大。
至宋代，王懷隱等編輯的《太平聖惠方》論述了許多疾病的藥膳療法；陳直的《養老壽親書》是我國現存的早期老年醫學專著，在其所載的方劑中，藥膳方約占70%。該書強調：“凡老人之患，宜先以食治，食治未愈，然後命藥。”元代御醫忽思慧所著的藥膳專書《飲膳正要》，藥膳方和食療藥十分豐富，並有任娠食忌、乳母食忌、飲酒避忌等內容。至明代，李時珍在《本草綱目》中收載了許多藥膳方，僅藥粥、藥酒就各有數十則；明代高濂的養生學專著《遵生八箋》，也載有不少養生保健藥膳。清代的藥膳專著各有特色，如王士雄的《隨息居飲食譜》介紹了藥用食物七門三百餘種，章穆的《調疾飲食辯》所涉及的藥用食物更多，袁枚的《隨園食單》介紹了多種藥膳的烹調原理和方法，曹庭棟的《老老恆言》（又名《養生隨筆》）中則列出老年保健藥粥百種。
藥膳的品種在傳統工藝的基礎上正在不為增加，如藥膳罐頭、藥膳糖果等。結合現代科研成果製成的具有治療作用的食品、飲料，品種繁多，各具特色。既有適合糖尿病、肥胖者和心血管疾病患者服食的藥膳食品，也有適合運動員、演員和礦工等服食的保健飲料，還有促進兒童健康發育或用於老人延年益壽的保健食品或藥膳。
中國藥膳開始走向世界，不少藥膳罐頭和中藥保健飲料、藥酒等已銷往國際市場。有的國家已經開設藥膳餐廳。國際上一些學術界和工商界人士十分關注中國藥膳這一特殊食品，希望能開展這方面的學術交流與技術合作。中國藥膳將為世界人民的健康做出貢獻。
特點
中國藥膳具有以下特點：
1.注重整體，辯證施食
所謂“注重整體”、“辯證施食”，即在運用藥膳時，首先要全面分析患者的體質、健康狀況、患病性質、季節時令、地理環境等多方面情況，判斷其基本證型；然後再確定相應的食療原則，給予適當的藥膳治療。如慢性胃炎患者，若證屬胃寒者，宜服良附粥；證屬胃陰虛者，則服玉石梅楂飲等。
2.防治兼宜，效果顯著
藥膳既可治病，又可強身防病，這是有別於藥物治療的特點之一。藥膳盡這多是平和之品，但其防冶疾病和健身養生的效果卻是比較顯著的。如山東中醫學院根據古代食療和清宮保健經驗研製而成的“八珍食品”，含有山藥、蓮子、山楂等8種食用中藥，幼兒食用30天后食慾增加者占97%，生長發育也有改善；再如，萊陽梨香菇補精，是由萊陽梨汁和香菇、銀耳提取物製成，中老年慢性閂病患者服後不僅能顯著改善各種症狀，而且可使高脂血症者血脂下降，並可使免疫功能得到改善。
3.良藥可口，服食方便
由於中藥湯劑多有苦味，故民間有“良藥苦口”之說。有些人，特別是兒童多畏其苦而拒絕服藥。而藥膳使用的多為藥、食兩用之品，且有食品的色、香、味等特性；即使加入了部分藥材，由於注意了藥物性味的選擇，並通過與食物的調配及精細的烹調，仍可製成美味可口的藥膳，故謂“良藥可口，服食方便”。
general introduction
chinese medicated diet is not a simple combination of food and chinese drugs, but a special highly finished diet made from chinese drugs, food and condiments under the theoretical guidance of diet preparation based on differentiation of symptoms and signs of traditional chinese medicine
(tcm).
it has not only the efficiency of medicine but also the delicacy of food, and can be used to prevent and cure diseases, build up one's health and prolong one's life.
origin and development
chinese medicated diet has a long history. the ancient legend "shennong tastes a hundred grasses "shows that early in remote antiquity the chinese nation began to explore the function of food and medicaments, hence the saying "traditional chinese medicine and diet both originate from the practice and experience in daily life."
in the zhou dynasty, one thousand or more years b. c. , royal doctors were divided into four kinds. one of them was dietetic doctors who were in charge of the emperor's health care and health preservation, preparing diets for him.
in the yellow emperor's internal classic, a medical classic in tcm which appeared approximately in the warring states period, several medicated diet prescriptions were recorded. in shennong's herbal classic, which was published approximately in about the qin and han periods and is the extant earliest monograph on materia medica, many sorts of medicaments which are both drugs and food were recorded, such as chinese-date (fructus ziziphi jujubae),sesame seed (semen sesami), chinese yam (rhizoma dioscoreae), grape (vitis), walnut kernel (semen fuglandis), lily bulb (bulbus lilii) , fresh ginger (rhizoma zingiberis recens), job's-tears seed (semen coicis), etc. in the book treatise on febrile and miscellaneous diseases written by zhang zhongjing, a noted medical man, in the east han dynasty, some noted medicated diet recipes were recorded, such as soup of chinese angelica root, fresh ginger and mutton (danggui shengjiang yangrou tang ), decoction of pig-skin(zhufu tang), etc., all of which now still have important values. sun simiao, a well-known doctor in the tang dynasty, listed and discussed such questions as dietetic treatment, dietetic treatment for senile health care and health preservation, etc. in his books prescriptions worth a thousand gold for emergencies and a supplement to essential prescriptions worth a thousand gold for emergencies. these two books were substantial in medicated diet prescriptions.
according to history books, up to the period of the sui and tang dynasties about more than sixty kinds of books on dietetic treatment had been published. but unfortunately most of them are lost. the book dietotherapy of materia medica by meng xian in the tang dynasty has a great influence on later generations. it is the extant and earliest monograph on dietetic treatment.
in the song dynasty, wang huaiyin and some others wrote peaceful holy benevolent prescriptions, in which they discussed medicated diet treatment for many diseases. a book on how to help the old to preserve health and your kith and kin to prolong their lives by chen zhi is an extant early monograph on gerontology in china. of all the prescriptions recorded in it, 70% are about medicated diet. it is emphasized in this book that "dietetic therapy should go first for any senile diseases, and then followed by medicine if they are not cured. " in the book principles of correct diet, a monograph on medicated diet, by hu sihui, a royal doctor in the yuan dynasty, oceans of medicated diet prescriptions and dietetic drugs were recorded; in addition, some questions, such as diet contraindication in pregnancy, diet contraindication for wet nurse, contraindication for drinking, etc. were also discussed in this book. in the ming dynasty, li shizhen collected and recorded in his compendium of materia medica many medicated diet prescriptions, dozens of which were about medicated gruel alone, and another dozens of which touched on nothing other than medicated wine. ineight essays on life preservation, a monograph on health preserving in the ming dynasty, many medicated diets on health preserving and health care were recorded too. monographs on medicated diet treatment in the qing dynasty varied in characteristics: in recipe of suixiju by wang shixiong, over 300 species belonging to 7 phyla of medicated food and drink were introduced; in analysis of food and drink for treatment of diseases by zhang mu, more medicated foods were touched upon; in cookbook of suiyuan cooking principles and methods were dealt with; while in common saying for senile health preservation, also known as jottings on health preservation, by cao tingdong, about 100 medicated gruel prescriptions for gerocomy were listed.
medicated diet has been developing greatly in assortment on the basis of traditional process, for example, medicated can, medicated sweets and so on. salutary food and drinks produced on the basis of achievements in scientific research and having the effect of curing diseases have a variety of sorts and vary in characteristics. there is medicated food suitable for patients suffering from diabetes, obesity and angiocardiopathy; there are health-care food and drinks suitable for athletes, actors, actresses and miners; there are also health- care food or medicated diets suitable for the promotion of children's health and growth, or for prolonging life of the aged.
chinese medicated diet has begun to go abroad. medicated cans, health-care drinks and medicated wine made from traditional chinese medicine have been sold at the international market. medicated diet dining- halls have been set up in some countries. personnel of academic, industrial and commercial circles abroad have paid close attention to chinese medited diet-a special food, hoping to develop academic exchanges and technical and economic cooperation in this respect. chinese medicated diet will make contributions to the health of the people all over the world.
characteristics
the characteristics of chinese medicated diet are as follows:
1. laying stress on the whole and selecting medicated diet on the basis of differential diagnosis
by " laying stress on the whole and selecting medicated diet on the basis of differential diagnosis ", we mean that when prescribing medicated diet, we should first make an overall analysis of the patient's physical and health condition, the nature of his illness, the season he got ill in and the geographical condition, etc, to form a judgment on the type of syndrome； then decide on corresponding principles for dietetic therapy and select suitable medicated diet. take a patient with chronic gastritis, as an example. he should take galangal and cyperus gruel (liangfu zhou) if he suffers from chronic gastritis of stomach-cold type, but he can take drink of fragrant solomonseal rhizome, dendrobium, black plam and hawthron fruit (yu shi mei zha yin) if he suffers from chronic gastritis due to deficiency of the stomach-yin.
2.suitable for both prevention and treatment, and outstanding in effect
medicated diet can be used either to treat diseases or for healthy people to build up their health and prevent diseases. this is one of the characteristics in which medicated diet is different from treatment by medicine. although medicated diet is something mild, it has a notable effect on the prevention and cure of diseases, health building -up and health preserving. here are some of the achievements in scientific research of shandong traditional chinese medicine college:
eight-ingredient food:it is prepared according to the experience in ancient dietetic treatment and health care of imperial court in the qing dynasty from eight dietetic chinese drugs including chinese yam (rhizoma dioscoreae), lotus seed (semen nelumbinis), hawthorn fruit (fructus crataegi). 997% of the children who took it for 30 days have whetted their appetite, and their growth has been improved too.
nourishing extract of laiyang pear and mushroom: it is made from the juice of laiyang pear (malum piri) and extract of mushrooms ( lentinus edodes) and tremella (tremella). if the middle-aged and senile patients suffering from chronic diseases take it, not only can the symptoms of their illness be alleviated, but their blood-fat can be brought down too when they are suffering from hyperlipemia, and their immunologic function can be improved.
3. good in taste and convenient for taking
there goes the saying "good medicine tastes bitter" among the people, because most of the decoctions of chinese drugs are bitter. some people , especially children, take an aversion to the bitterness of chinese drugs and refuse to take them. most of the drugs used in medicated diet are both edible and medicinal, and retain the properties of food: colour, sweet-smelling, flavor, and so on. even if part of them are chinese herbs, their nature and flavor are taken into consideration so that they are made into tasty medicated diet by mixing them with food and by careful cooking.