Don't spend big on supplements, herbal tonic pastes (膏方) or tonic products to “balance the body”

Cost

From a few hundred CNY to over 10,000 CNY. Once packed as a gift set, the price often multiplies several times.

What you get

What you get back is the money saved. The reasons are in the first 6 items of this section: the most common supplement ingredients, multivitamins, fish oil, vitamin D, antioxidants, glucosamine and vitamin C, were each tested in randomized controlled trials and none showed the expected benefit; their numbers are in the benefit field of those 6 items. A regulation only tells you what a product may claim and cannot be taken as evidence that it does nothing. The State Administration for Market Regulation (国家市场监管总局) requires that the front of a health food package carry the sentence “health foods are not drugs and cannot replace drug treatment of disease” in an area of no less than 20% of the face. The same regulation also confines the use of health foods to the scope of “supplementing dietary nutrients, maintaining or improving the state of the body's health, or lowering risk factors for disease.” It looks like a good deal because “it doesn't treat disease, it just balances the body” is never wrong however you put it, and nobody can prove it false. And when the money is spent on a gift, it relies on social obligation, not evidence

Notes

The conclusion is “no evidence supports it,” not “proven ineffective,” so it gets only a grade of C. For a product with clearly listed ingredients, check the matching studies in the earlier items. People found to be truly deficient in a nutrient, and people being treated for an illness, should follow their doctor. What is being ruled out is the product, not the thoughtfulness. If an older person has already bought it and is taking it, as long as it is not replacing the medicine they are on and has caused no problem, there is no need to go to their door and argue; getting the right vaccines and screenings arranged matters more. The same money can go to the following, each of which has a source in this book. Go with them for the yearly flu shot, see §1.20. The shingles vaccine after 50, see §1.21. The pneumococcal vaccine at 65 and over, see §1.22. Buy a blood pressure monitor, make sure they take their blood pressure drugs as prescribed and bring the pressure down to target, see §1.7. Fix up the bathroom and stairs at home, and go with them on balance and leg strength training, see §1.13. Cancer screenings once they reach the age, go with them for one, see §1.17, §1.18, §1.19. For an older person who is already bedridden long term, pressure-sore care and long-term care insurance, see §17.7, §17.8. If you are bringing something to their door, fruit, rice and flour, or something they like to eat is more practical than a herbal paste. The two kinds that really should be stopped are investment-style retirement schemes where you pay first, and products that replace medicine; see §17.5

Evidence grade

C : The author's experience or common practice, without direct literature.

Sources

1. 国家市场监督管理总局 (2019). 市场监管总局就《保健食品标注警示用语指南》和《保健食品原料目录与保健功能目录管理办法》有关情况举办专题新闻发布会. https://www.samr.gov.cn/tssps/sjdt/tpxw/art/2023/art_4b658b824b1b4b0ba57c09a56cc93aad.html

Translated from the Chinese original. Original book, section 6, tip 10. Content may be out of date and rules differ by place. When you actually deal with an agency, a doctor or a court, follow what local officials, doctors and lawyers tell you. Disclaimer