Earlier this month, a friend left a message on WeChat asking me to expose the exaggerated propaganda of noni juice, and I told her that she had been exposed and criticized many times, and it would not play much of a role unless strictly supervised by the competent government departments.
Finally, this past Saturday, we saw hope. Regulators began to strictly supervise the exaggerated publicity of such products, resulting in the United States noni juice manufacturer - Ranjian Global had to admit that there was exaggerated publicity and apologize to the majority of consumers. (See https://v.qq.com/x/page/l0829ln9ahn.html for the apology video)
Of course, clear-eyed people can see that the manufacturer threw the pot quite beautifully in the apology letter and pushed the responsibility for exaggerating publicity to a small number of members. For the majority of consumers and some members who have caused financial losses, can they really accept this apology calmly?
In fact, as early as 2014, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had a warning letter on the official website about noni juice advertising anti-cancer effects, which strictly pointed out that manufacturers exaggerated health care products as drugs that can prevent and treat diseases. This is an offence (full text link reference: https://www.fda.gov/iceci/enforcementactions/warningletters/2014/ucm405018.htm).
From QuanJian to Infinitus, from Infinitus to Ranjian and many other health care products, they not only have similar effects in product publicity, but even mislead consumers to be deceived by the same routine, are exaggerated health care products into "cure all diseases" drugs, resulting in consumers to eat them as "magic medicine", not only can not cure the disease, but also lost a lot of money.
If you understand the definition of health care products and the way to identify health care products, you can completely avoid these pits.
Definition of health food
According to the definition of the State Food and Drug Administration, the full name of health care products is health food, which is essentially food, not medicine. Whether domestic or foreign, the definition of health food by the competent authorities mainly includes the following two categories:
1. Health food refers to food that claims to have specific health functions or is intended to supplement vitamins and minerals. Such as calcium tablets, multivitamins and so on.
2. It is suitable for consumption by specific groups of people, has the function of regulating the body, but is not for the purpose of treating diseases, and does not produce any acute, subacute or chronic harm to the human body. Coenzyme Q10, for example, is only suitable for the regulation of myocardial function in people with specific cardiovascular diseases, and cannot claim to have the effect of treating and preventing diseases. The American people also like CoQ10, which can be bought everywhere in American supermarkets, not a miracle drug. If you look at a photo I took last month in a supermarket in California, USA, the packaging will indicate the following sentence: This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
2. Selection and purchase of health food
The Spring Festival is approaching, and everyone always has to buy some health care products for the elders of the family to express filial piety. After knowing the definition of health care products and recognizing the food attributes of health care products, it is still possible to buy some health care products according to the physical condition of yourself and your family.
As long as you grasp the following three principles when choosing, you can effectively avoid the risk of being deceived.
1. Scientifically assess the needs of yourself and your family, and do not blindly follow the trend of purchase.
It is recommended to buy a copy of the "Dietary Nutrition Guidelines for Chinese Residents" issued by the Chinese Nutrition Society, refer to the above Reference Intake of Dietary Nutrients for Chinese Residents, and assess whether the intake of various vitamins and minerals is sufficient according to the dietary intake of themselves and their families, if insufficient, then purchase the corresponding supplements to supplement completely.
For example, if a healthy person does not usually eat dairy products at all, it may be necessary to eat calcium tablets, and if a healthy person drinks more than 500 ml of fresh milk every day, there is no need to follow the trend of eating calcium tablets.
2. I recommend buying health food in formal channels such as large shopping malls and supermarkets.
Products that can be sold in large shopping malls and supermarkets are usually products of manufacturers with guaranteed quality and good reputation, and usually the prices are also open and transparent. For example, when I went to the United States last month, a few friends asked me to buy health care products on my behalf, and I casually bought them in the supermarket in the shopping mall.
3. "Three kinds of not to buy"
Do not buy products that are only sold on the Website and can only be mailed;
Do not buy products that are sold by door-to-door sales, telemarketing, radio stations, or television stations;
Don't buy so-called self-pharmaceutical, ancestral secret recipes, royal medicines, etc., these products are usually exaggerated products
Finally, it is emphasized that, like ordinary foods, health foods can also provide essential nutrients for the human body, and for people with nutrient deficiencies and specific diseases, the existence of health foods has indeed contributed to the health of this part of the population.
But health food in the end is still food, it can not replace the role of drugs, does not have a clear effect on the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of any disease, for patients who need drugs to treat diseases, some health foods may also affect the role of drugs, if you want to take health food during medication, you must consult the professional advice of a doctor or pharmacist.
Biography of Ji Lianmei
Founder of Ask a Medicine Man
Bestseller: "Ji Lianmei Talks: Chinese Should Use Drugs This Way"
Master of Pharmacy, Peking Union Medical College, China. He has worked in Beijing International SOS Rescue Center, Walmart Chain Pharmacy in New Jersey, and Beijing United Family Hospital. He is good at medication guidance for children, pregnancy and lactation.