What are health care drugs?

Health medicine is also called health food. Health food has different concepts in many countries. For example, it is called functional food in Japan, emphasizing the regulation of human function as the main purpose. There have been various definitions in China, and some even confuse health food with medicine, which once caused confusion in China. 65438-0996 The Ministry of Health issued the Measures for the Administration of Health Food, which standardized the concept of health food. Chapter 1, Article 2 of the Measures for the Administration of Health Foods points out that the health foods mentioned in these Measures refer to foods with specific health care functions, that is, foods that are suitable for specific people to eat, have the function of regulating the body, and are not aimed at treating diseases. Therefore, the characteristic of health food lies in its regulation of human function, not in the treatment of diseases. It is a nutritional supplement for people with normal physiological function who want to keep healthy or prevent diseases; For people with abnormal physiological function, it is a food for regulating physiological function and enhancing immune function.

Health food is not only food, but also common food. First of all, health food must be food, non-toxic and harmless, which meets the basic requirements of ordinary food, that is, it can provide one or more nutrients, be digested and absorbed by the human body, and be safe and harmless. Secondly, health food should have specific health care functions, which can be objectively verified by scientific experimental methods and meet the adjustment needs of special physiological functions of some special people; At the same time, it can not replace normal dietary intake and the need for various essential nutrients. Thirdly, health food is a special food suitable for specific people, and it is a special food to solve the special needs of some special people. Its target audience and consumption are limited, so it is not suitable for everyone. In addition, although health food can meet the special needs of some special people, it only participates in the physiological regulation of the body with a small amount of food, and promotes the transformation of the body from unstable or induced state to normal state, so it has a slow effect and cannot replace the therapeutic effect of drugs on patients when they are sick. Therefore, health food should not and cannot be eaten as medicine. It can't be used to treat diseases. Only by adjusting the physiological functions of the body through certain channels can we meet the requirements of the human body.