Nutritional Supplement Prescription Society: "Proper Intake Becomes More Important with Fractional Sales of Supplements"

If Individual Health Conditions Are Not Considered, Supplements Can Be Harmful

The Korean Society of Nutritional Supplement Prescription has expressed concerns about indiscriminate intake of nutritional supplements following the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety's announcement earlier this year permitting the fractional sale of supplements. The society emphasized the necessity of customized intake based on accurate information.

On the 17th, Kim Gapseong, president of the Korean Society of Nutritional Supplement Prescription, held a meeting at the 365 Days Family Medicine Clinic in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, explaining the necessity of proper customized nutritional supplement intake. Korean Society of Nutritional Supplement Prescription

On the 17th, Kim Gapseong, president of the Korean Society of Nutritional Supplement Prescription, held a meeting at the 365 Days Family Medicine Clinic in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, and stated, "With the opening of the path to appropriately combining and selling various nutrients in fractional amounts according to an individual's health status and needs, proper customized intake of nutritional supplements has become even more important."

The Korean Society of Nutritional Supplement Prescription is an organization founded in 2022 by physicians, pharmacists, and nutrition experts to promote scientific intake of nutritional supplements (health functional foods).

President Kim positively evaluated the allowance of fractional sales of supplements, but also stressed the importance of correct intake. He explained, "Nutritional supplements taken for health promotion can actually be harmful if individual circumstances are not considered. The decision to take supplements should not be based simply on famous brands or advertisements. It is necessary to spread awareness of this fact, provide customized guidance and education from experts, and establish a proper system for supplement intake."

He also pointed out that inappropriate intake of supplements can cause side effects. He said, "Nutritional supplements, like medicines, can cause side effects or interactions if not taken appropriately according to one's health status. Currently, 70 to 80 percent of people in the country are taking supplements based only on information from the internet or home shopping channels."

To address these concerns, he announced that the society will take the initiative in establishing an educational platform. President Kim said, "To ensure proper supplement intake among the public, we will first build an educational platform targeting not only physicians and pharmacists, but also those working in the health functional food industry." He added, "Through the publication of a health functional food prescription guide, we plan to standardize supplement prescriptions and introduce private certifications such as certified supplement prescribing physicians, supplement prescription masters, and level 1 and 2 food analysis specialists."

Meanwhile, on the 13th, the Korean Society of Nutritional Supplement Prescription held an academic conference at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital in Seocho-gu, Seoul, where they discussed topics such as 'Market changes following the implementation of fractional sales of health functional foods,' 'The necessity and practical application of customized supplement prescriptions,' and 'Legal and institutional requirements for fractional sales.'