As life expectancy increases, modern people's interest in health has surged, leading to a shift in the health management paradigm from treatment-centered to prevention-centered approaches.
According to the 2023 Food Production Performance Report, the average annual growth rate of health functional foods over the past five years was 8.5%, which surpasses the gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 4.0% and demonstrates remarkable growth.
This indicates the continuous expansion of the health functional food market and shows that consumers are actively engaging in health management, suggesting that further growth is expected in the future.
The dictionary definition of health functional foods is foods manufactured in various forms such as tablets, capsules, or liquids using ingredients and components beneficial to the human body. In other words, they are functional dietary supplements.
However, some consumers mistakenly think of them as medicines for disease prevention or treatment, so it is necessary to reestablish accurate awareness of health functional foods.
Hwang Hyerim, Director of the Comprehensive Health Checkup Center at Daedong Hospital (specialist in family medicine), advised, "As interest in health has recently increased, health functional foods tend to become popular based on specific functions and then be replaced by other functions over time. However, you should avoid consuming them just because they are trendy. It is fundamental to check whether a function truly suits you, and since they only play a supplementary role and are different from pharmaceuticals, you must always consult with medical professionals before using them for disease prevention or treatment."
To maintain a healthy life, you should consider which supplementary function you need, such as digestive health, cardiovascular health, joint health, immunity, or anti-aging. If you decide to take health functional foods, make sure to take the time to learn about them properly.
Check whether the ingredients match your health condition by reviewing the product manual or the functional information and raw material details on the Food Safety Korea website operated by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and carefully check for allergies or side effects.
Products certified by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety display a certification mark on the packaging, so always check for this before purchasing.
Be sure to check and follow the recommended dosage, method of intake, storage instructions, and precautions. Taking multiple health functional foods together can cause ingredient conflicts or put a burden on your body, so avoid mixing them. If you are taking medication for treatment purposes, simultaneous intake with health functional foods may interfere with the efficacy of the medication, so always consult your primary physician before deciding to take them.
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