A Beginner's Guide to Supplementation for Modern Individuals: Scientifically Differentiating Between Medicinal and Dietary Supplements and Mastering the Core Principles of Targeted Supplementation

Tonics can be broadly categorized into medicinal tonics and dietary tonics. Further subdivisions include single-herb tonics, tonifying formulas, tonifying prepared Chinese medicines, single-herb dietary tonics, tonifying porridges, tonifying wines, and tonifying medicinal meals. Single-herb tonics refer to single tonifying herbs, such as ginseng, deer antler, and cordyceps, which have tonifying effects when used alone. Tonifying formulas have mostly undergone long-term clinical application, are reliable in their effects, and have rigorous formulations, representing the essence of medicinal tonics. Examples include Ginseng Nourishing Decoction, Ten-Ingredient Tonic Decoction, and Shengmai Powder, suitable for those with a single deficiency syndrome or two deficiency syndromes simultaneously. The composition of tonifying formulas can be adjusted according to individual conditions, and generally requires diagnosis and prescription by a physician. Furthermore, tonifying formulas need to be decocted before consumption. Tonifying Chinese patent medicines are based on tonifying formulas, with ancient and modern famous prescriptions made into pills, tablets, powders, pastes, elixirs, or syrups for easy administration. Their effects are slightly slower but longer-lasting than tonifying formulas, such as Liuwei Dihuang Wan, Shiquan Dabu Gao, and Huangqi Shengmai Yin. Single-ingredient food supplements offer more obvious and specific tonifying effects, combining the benefits of both medicine and food, making them popular. Examples include crucian carp, mutton, and chicken, which are generally considered effective. Tonifying porridge, made by cooking common tonifying foods or herbs with rice, also offers the advantage of combining medicine and food. Tonifying wines are made by soaking or brewing tonics in wine; for heavy drinkers, they can satisfy cravings while also tonifying the body, promoting blood circulation, and strengthening the body. Tonifying medicinal cuisine involves cooking tonics with food, combining medicinal and culinary benefits, and is popular due to its exquisite preparation, appealing color, aroma, and taste.

In life, many patients, especially those with chronic illnesses, are always worried about the side effects of medication and readily believe advertisements for health supplements that never mention side effects. They believe that these supplements can "cure illnesses and improve health," and with relatives, friends, children, and grandchildren often giving them as gifts during holidays, they try to avoid medication altogether, opting instead for a variety of health supplements. These so-called health supplements, also known as "functional foods," do indeed have the effect of helping the body improve tolerance, enhance resistance, boost immunity, and regulate certain bodily functions with long-term use, thus relatively improving symptoms such as dizziness, tinnitus, insomnia, irritability, and fatigue. However, many doctors point out that no health supplement can replace medication; health supplements can only serve as an adjunct to treatment, playing a supporting role in the body's metabolism. While some health supplements are composed of traditional Chinese medicine or extracts of traditional Chinese medicine, these formulas are designed from a health maintenance perspective, not for treating disease. Therefore, when ill, one should still take medication regularly under the guidance of a doctor and never treat health supplements as medicine. Otherwise, it will not only delay treatment time, but may also make the condition worse.

Generally speaking, healthy people can ensure a reasonable diet and absorb balanced nutrition every day, and do not need special tonics. However, if the body is weak or in special weather conditions, it is not unreasonable to supplement the body. However, it is crucial to ensure that supplementation is tailored to the individual's needs. Because everyone's constitution is different, and the climate and region vary, medications and diets should also vary according to the person, the time, and the place. Only what suits you best is truly the best, which is what traditional Chinese medicine refers to as "supplementing what is deficient, supplementing according to symptoms, supplementing according to the time, and supplementing according to the individual." Regarding the tonic dishes and medicinal hot pots that many restaurants are now offering, experts point out that according to traditional Chinese medicine theory, tonics are divided into tonifying qi, blood, yin, and yang. In winter, the yin and cold are more pronounced, so medicinal diets should focus on preventing cold and dryness. It is advisable to eat more yin-nourishing and fluid-generating dishes, such as sesame, pears, and duck; to dispel cold, one can eat some dog meat and mutton. If you frequently eat tonic dishes, it is best to learn some basic science or consult a doctor first to determine your constitution and then supplement accordingly.

Winter tonics are a folk custom in my country with a long history. The Chinese medicine book "Suwen Zhijie" says: "All things are born in spring, grow in summer, are harvested in autumn, and are stored in winter. Humans should also follow this." The ancients believed that the three months of winter are the season when "life force is hidden and yang energy is stored internally". It is important to pay attention to "the way of nourishing and storing". In other words, winter is the stage of maintenance and accumulation in the four seasons. In winter, people's appetite increases and the spleen and stomach function becomes stronger. At this time, tonics can play a better role. It can be said that the investment is small and the effect is quick. The main function of tonics is to "replenish deficiency and benefit loss". "Deficiency" is divided into four types: qi deficiency, blood deficiency, yin deficiency and yang deficiency, each with different methods of replenishment. (1) Common symptoms of qi deficiency include mental fatigue, weak voice, easy sweating, pale tongue with white coating, weak pulse, etc. Qi deficiency should be replenished. Ginseng royal jelly, Buzhong Yiqi pills, American ginseng, astragalus, codonopsis, yam, etc. can be used for this condition. (2) Common symptoms of blood deficiency include sallow complexion, pale lips and nails, dizziness, palpitations, forgetfulness, insomnia, numbness in the hands and feet, pale tongue, and weak pulse. Blood deficiency should be treated by replenishing blood. For this condition, you can choose blood-replenishing dew, ten-ingredient tonic pills, Guipi pills, angelica, donkey-hide gelatin, longan pulp, etc. (3) Common symptoms of yin deficiency include hot flashes and night sweats, burning sensation in the palms, soles, and chest, dry mouth and throat, dry cough with little phlegm, dry eyes, red tongue with little coating, etc. Yin deficiency should be treated by nourishing yin. For this condition, you can choose yin-nourishing pills, ginseng and wolfberry royal jelly, Liuwei Dihuang pills, tremella, turtle shell, ophiopogon japonicus, glehnia littoralis, black sesame, etc. (4) Common symptoms of yang deficiency include pale complexion, cold limbs, impotence and premature ejaculation, poor appetite and loose stools, pale and tender tongue, and weak pulse, etc. For Yang deficiency, tonifying Yang is recommended. Commonly used medications include Jin Kui Shen Qi Wan (Kidney Qi Pill from the Golden Cabinet), deer antler oral liquid, Gui Ling Gao (Tortoise Shell Paste), deer antler, placenta, gecko, cordyceps, and eucommia. When taking tonifying medications, attention must be paid to the spleen and stomach's digestive function. For example, those with weak spleen and stomach, poor appetite, and chest and abdominal fullness should add spleen-invigorating and liver-strengthening medications, such as tangerine peel, cardamom, costus root, medicated leaven, and germinated barley, to invigorate the spleen and aid digestion. Furthermore, if the patient has external pathogens (such as a cold), it is generally advisable to clear them before tonifying, to avoid aggravating or retaining the pathogens.