Amid growing health concerns over chronic conditions like diabetes and cardiovascular disease, modern researchers are increasingly looking to the past for innovative solutions. A new study examines what a 14th-century text reveals about 'food as medicine'.

A team of Chinese and Mongolian researchers has examined a work known as Yinshan Zhengyao, written in 1330 by Hu Sihui, the Yuan Dynasty’s Imperial Dietician. This extraordinary text, which the researchers dub “the first nutritional science treatise in the world,” offers a philosophy on managing one’s diet for preventive health. It is followed by over 200 recipes for soups and elixirs and details 232 foods and 174 medicinal plants, highlighting their usefulness and benefits to well-being. Hu Sihui incorporated a wide variety of dietary and medical knowledge from Chinese, Mongol, and Arab sources for his work.

The researchers hope that this medieval source can offer new insights into the ancient concept of using food to treat ailments, bolstered by modern knowledge of genetics and metabolism to bring the teachings of Yinshan Zhengyao back into the public eye.