Ill see a doctor: health food is not a drug

China has made clear provisions for the management of health foods, emphasizing that the labels and instructions of health foods should contain the functional ingredients and their contents, and must not involve diseases prevention or treatment functions. Gao Qinwei, director of the Center for Food and Drug Law at the Central University of Finance and Economics Law School, believes that such regulations are conducive to rectifying chaos in the illegal production, illegal operation, illegal addition, and illegal publicity of health foods.

Concerning the misunderstanding of confounding health foods and drugs that existed among consumers, Ma Yiyou, a health expert from the “Happiness Engineering Public Welfare Presentation Group” stressed: “If you have a medical problem, health food is not a drug, and health care products and drugs are in a world of difference.”

Experts emphasized that the definition of health foods in China is very clear, referring to foods with specific health functions, suitable for specific groups of people to eat, with the function of regulating the body, not to treat diseases for the purpose of food. Therefore, health products are not used for treatment and are used only for disease prevention and adjuvant treatment, so it is not possible to achieve rapid and significant effects. Consumers should be sensible when buying, and do not blindly listen to advertisements and pay attention to taboos.

Ma Youyou told reporters: “A lot of elderly people take deep-sea fish oil to help reduce blood fat, but they stop taking lipid-lowering drugs. There are old people taking garlic oil to help lower blood pressure and stop taking antihypertensive drugs. They also said that it was a drug three-point poison. The health products are foods that are neither hurt nor buck. These are very dangerous misunderstandings."

Experts reminded that health products are not suitable for all, and they should consult a professional doctor before taking the supplements. Especially young people, pregnant women, etc., take care of taking health care products. Some people who are suffering from diseases themselves and taking medicines should pay attention to whether they are in conflict with the drugs they are taking in order to avoid adverse effects on their own condition.

In addition, nutritional supplements to human health supplements cannot be used as a substitute for food. Some elderly people eat less food and vegetables, but at the same time, they eat several or even dozens of health products at the same time. Some people have malnutrition, and some also have mental dependence on health products. "Rational diet and scientific health care are the keys to disease prevention. Health care products work on the basis of a normal diet. If you don't eat only normal health foods, you will lose sesame seeds and lose watermelon." Ma Yiyou from hundreds of health talks emphasized that many people do not know that food is a good medicine. It is very important to use proper foods for food therapy and food health.