Century-old nutrition and health concepts can be revived and applied in the modern age in the forms of newly developed menus, recipes, and lifestyle education. Current medical nutrition therapy concepts were first described in the Chosun Dynasty (1392-1897) in Korea based on the philosophy that food and medicine originate from the same source, which is known as ‘food as medicine’. Recognizing the importance of culture, tradition, local diet, and lifestyle on health and medical nutrition therapy, we tried to rediscover traditional Korean approaches towards food consumption and nutrition through systematic review of the literature and developed contemporary menus accordingly. The medical nutrition therapy prescriptions described in ‘Shikryochanyo’ (1460) by the Chosun Dynasty’s royal physician Soonyi Jeao cover 45 different diseases. In this project, we developed contemporary menus for those disease models that are most prevalent in modern society. Menus developed with foods that are readily available today were evaluated for their nutritional content and adequacy using a computer-aided nutritional analysis program (CAN pro 3.0, developed by the Korean Nutrition Society for comparison with RDA for Koreans). Therefore, century-old nutrition and health concepts can be revived and applied in modern society as newly developed menus recipes and lifestyle education.

The research studied the nutritional composition and health effects of the Giwongo with its efficacy in providing nourishment to blood, liver and kidney as well as being an aid to the mental stability. The Giwongo is made by boiling the same amounts of Lycium fructus and Longanae arillus. Giwongo was analyzed to measure proximate nutritional composition, mineral contents, free sugar content and polyphenol compound content. The DPPH scavenging activity and its antioxidative effectiveness were also analyzed. Giwongo was composed of 16.7% water, 4.9% crude protein, 3.7% crude fat, 3.8%, crude ash 70.9% carbohydrate with the content per 100 g of 336.5 kcal. The Giwongo mineral contents were potassium, sodium and calcium in sequence according to contents. Per 100 g Giwongo were found 9.62 g glucose, 4.67 g fructose and 18.00 g sugar. The Giwongo had 60.67% DPPH electron donating ability and 32.19 °Brix. The Giwongo made of Lycium fructus and Longanae arillus had effectiveness of tonify the liver and kidney, nourish blood, and psychologic stability. As such Giwongo may help prevent the symptoms of unbalanced health due to excessive stress and unhealthy diet.

This research was planned and executed to evaluate how the composition of Yack-sun tea can affect the health conditions of people who are suffering from diet-related such as being overweight, are obese and have hyperlipidemia, by taking Yack-sun tea in a form of a nutritional supplement with our daily meals. We produced Kangjieum with Lycium chinense Mill., Polygonum multflorum Thunb, Cassia tora L., Crataegus pinnatifida Bge and Salvia miltiorrhiza Bge. Thus, we approach of oriental diet therapy area research of Kangjieum and analysis proximate composition, water soluble antioxidant content. The content(%, dry basis) of total carbohydrate was 60.23%, crude protein was 18.18%, crude ash was 11.36% and crude fat was 10.23% in Kangjieum. Total water soluble antioxidant content was 1.027 ㎍/㎖ of Kangjieum. We think that scientific and objective evaluation was done on the components of the Kangjieum prescription. This basic data could help guide the application of oriental medicinal resources into other foods and serve as a stepping-stone for use of Kangjieum in the burgeoning field of nutraceutical foods. Last, the scientific effects of oriental medicinal foods developed according to oriental medicinal theory. This theory is believed to be essential for government policy development concerning validation of medicinal effects and assessment, with the aim of fostering systematic development and providing guidance to food development in the interest of national health.