‘Food and medicine continuum’ in the East and West: Old tradition and current regulation

Food-medicine products are important materials for daily health management and are increasingly popular in the global healthy food market.However,because of the biocultural difference,food-medicine knowledge may differ among regions,which hinders the global sharing of such health strategies.Aim at bridging the food-medicine knowledge in the East and West,this study traced the historical roots of food and medicine continuum of the East and West,which was followed by a cross-cultural assessment on the importance of food-medicine products of China,thereafter,the current legislative terms for foodmedicine products were studied using an international survey.The results show that the food and medicine continuum in the East and West have their historical roots in the traditional medicines since antiquity,and the food-medicine knowledge in the East and West differs substantially;although the foodmedicine products have common properties,their legislative terms are diverse globally;with proofs of traditional uses and scientific evidence,food-medicine products are possible for cross-cultural communication.Finally,we recommend facilitating the cross-cultural communication of the food-medicine knowledge in the East and West,thus to make the best use of the traditional health wisdom in the globe.

Food-medicine can promote cross-culture communication between East and West

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China(CPC),the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has set an action plan for the Construction of a Healthy China Program,insisting on putting people’s health in the strategic position of prioritizing development.As an important part of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)culture in China,food-medicines,the stuff consumed both as food and medicine,are one of the material foundations to prevent and treat chronic diseases and manage health ahead of sick,and an important carrier for China to promote the Belt and Road Initiative(BRI)and participate in global health governance.To enrich the knowledge system of food-medicine through cross-cultural exchanges between the East and the West,and to promote the research progress of food-medicine are of critical importance in the context of the current global pandemic of COVID-19,since it is a profound understanding of the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech and a practice of giving priority to people’s health in the strategic position of development,which helps to provide strong support for the comprehensive promotion of the Healthy China strategy and human well-being(Huang et al.,2022).

‘Food and medicine continuum’–Why we should promote cross-cultural communication between the global East and West

It is estimated that by 2030 one sixth of the global population will be aged over 60(WHO,2021).Aging leads to functional decline,which triggers many chronic diseases and geriatrics.It is reported that the elderly often suffer from geriatric syndromes such as frailty,sarcopenia,weight loss and dementia(Sanford et al.,2020);for those aged over 85,conditions of hearing and vision loss,decline in immune function,cardiovascular diseases,osteoporosis and dementia are in high prevalence(Jaul&Barron,2017).Therefore,aging has been an important risk for chronic diseases and geriatrics globally.