Medicated diet is the diet of therapeutic function which is produced by cooking and processing the drugs and foods. It is the product of combination of Chinese traditional medical knowledge and cooking experiences. Medicated diet originated in the Spring and Autumn Period, and some materials about it were collected and arranged by doctors in Medical Classic of the Yellow Emperor, then it was gradually developed into the health practices with rich content, affirmative effect and far-reaching impact today.

Medicated diet enjoys a long history in China since the Chinese people always regard food as medicine. Medicated diet uses a large range of particular-applied materials with strict production, rich variety and unique flavor. The medicinal materials selected in medicated diet are most botanical raw materials, which must be pre-processed and then de-odored before use. The ingredients generally vary from person to person, and different medicines should be applied based on different physiological conditions of each person so as to achieve the function of body fitness and medical healing. The coordination of Chinese medicine with food can improve the medicine in taste and improve the food in effect, thus changing "good medicine tastes bitter" into "good medicine tastes better ". So medicated diet are delicacies with medicinal function, especially it can satisfy the people who by nature prefer food to medicine. It is easy to popularize, for its materials range widely and can be home-made. Therefore it is a special type of medicine favored by the people.