Foods for health, foods for medicine: A comparative study of health strategies used by Chinese and Taiwanese immigrants in metro-Atlanta

Ethnobotanical studies concerning the use of plants by migrant populations are of great relevance to public health. Traditional health strategies, which incorporate plants as medicines, foods, or both – can play an important role in individual well-being. In this study, we examined medicinal food and health strategies used by Chinese and Taiwanese immigrants in metro-Atlanta. We used snowball sampling techniques to recruit 100 informants who were interviewed about their preference for and usage of the yin/yang system, Chinese herbs and medicinal foods, Eastern and Western medicines, and gardening for medicinal foods. Comparison of the two groups demonstrated a remarkable difference in health strategies concerning medicinal plant use, including statistically significant differences in beliefs concerning yin and yang, uses of Eastern versus Western medicine, and gardening for medicinal foods. Domestic health strategies in the form of medicinal foods played an important role in local health practices, especially among the Taiwanese participants.