In this article, I would like to talk about the concept and precautions of taking Chinese herbal medicine, health supplements and dietary supplements as a countermeasure against unmet medical needs.

The concept and precautions of taking Chinese herbal medicine

Chinese herbal medicine originated in China, and the basic idea is to prescribe Chinese herbal medicine that is expected to be effective in treating physical discomfort, symptoms, and diseases.

However, if the symptoms do not improve after two weeks to a month of taking the herbal medicine, the administration of the herbal medicine will be discontinued.

In Japan, Kampo medicine is recognized by health insurance and is treated as a relatively safe medicine. However, there are some points you should be aware of.

As an extreme example, there is a Kampo medicine called Sho-saiko-to that is expected to be effective for the initial symptoms of a cold. There have been quite a few people who have died from pulmonary fibrosis, a complication of hardening of the lungs, as a result of taking this medicine continuously for years.

As you can see from this case study, the fact is that Kampo medicines have not undergone any of the three tests that are required for other medicines: safety tests, side effect tests, and efficacy tests.

This is because when Kampo medicines were introduced to Japan, they were allowed to be prescribed by health insurance without these safety, side effect, and efficacy tests because “it’s a medicine that has been used in China for a long time, so why not?”

For this reason, I have never prescribed Chinese herbal medicine to patients myself during my years as a clinician from 1982 to 2006.

When taking Kampo medicine, I would like to caution you that if your symptoms do not improve after two weeks to a month of taking it, you should stop taking it and consult a specialist. Even if your symptoms do improve, I recommend that you do not make a personal decision to continue taking it, but consult a specialized medical institution.

The concept and caution of taking supplements

Next is supplements. To begin with, the word “supplement” means “extra” or “appendix” in English.

In other words, the basic idea behind supplements is that if you are getting enough nutrients, calories, vitamins, and other ingredients that your body needs from your diet, then you don’t need them.

On the other hand, supplements can be very effective for people who do not get enough nutrition in their diet or have poor nutritional status.

However, there are not many dietary supplements that have been proven to be effective or have proper evidence.

If the company selling the supplement says, “The more you take, the better it works,” you should be careful.

For example, there is an ingredient called “vitamin C” that you may be familiar with. This “vitamin C” has effects on beauty, whitening, and lowering oxidative stress.

When experiments were conducted to measure the concentration of this vitamin C and its antioxidant power, it was found that as the concentration of vitamin C was increased from a small amount to a larger and larger amount, it went up and up in proportion to the concentration. However, when the concentration peaked at a certain point, the antioxidant power decreased in the opposite direction.

In other words, there is a specific point at which vitamin C is most effective. For the average adult, the amount of vitamin C that has the highest antioxidant power is about a little less than 1 gram.

Therefore, products that claim to contain 3,000 milligrams of vitamin C are not effective in terms of antioxidant power.

Although supplements can be used to replenish nutrients that are lacking in the regular diet, we recommend that you choose supplements that have proper evidence of effectiveness and that disclose information on the most effective dosage and ingredients.

Finally

When using Chinese herbal medicines or supplements for health and longevity, do not rely on the product’s advertising claims or word of mouth. If you have any concerns, please contact the company that sells the product.

Furthermore, if you feel any discomfort after taking the product or if your symptoms do not improve, please consult a specialized medical institution.