• The Journal of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.26 no.2 s.62
• /
• pp.152-165
• /
• 2005

Background: The use of herbal preparations as remedies for various medical conditions has continuously increased in Korea Large proportions of Korean patients use herbal medicinal products, folk remedies, and food supplements. However, studies on the safety of herbal products arc conducted on a less than sufficient basis even in the countries like Korea where herbal medicine is being used extensively. Some of the reports on the safety of herbs were done by the doctors of western medicine but lack of knowledge and misclassification led to misunderstandings. Objecitves: This study aims to review the recent evidences on hepatotoxic events associated with the use of herbal medicinal products, folk remedy, and food supplements. In the process, this review will grasp trends in this field of studies and will direct further researches into the right direction. Methods: Systematic literature searches were performed on MedRic and MEDLIS in Korea. Screening and selection of the articles and the extraction of data were performed independently by two of authors. There were no restrictions regarding the published date. In order to avoid bias, the articles written by medical doctors, not by oriental doctors were selected. 43 journals were chosen for the review. Results: Analyzing the number of journals, studies on the drug-induced liver injury were increased after the year 2000. The proportion of herbal and folk remedy associated hepatotoxic injuries in all drug-induced liver injury was $21.0\%-30.0\%$. But criterion for herbal medicine is rather vague and limited objective data hindered objectiveness. Few of single medicinal herbs and combination preparations were associated with hepatotoxic injuries. But because of lack of objectivity, further researches must be conducted to yield more concrete results. Conclusions: yield more concrete results. Incidence figures are largely unknown, and in most cases a causal attribution is not established. The challenge for the future is to systematically research this area, educate all parties involved, and minimize patient risks.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
• /
• v.57 no.2
• /
• pp.261-274
• /
• 2024

Purpose: Recently, high-protein diets have become highly popular, and the market for protein products has steadily increased in Korea together with the development of various types of such products. However, there is limited information on the consumption of protein supplements (PS) or protein-fortified foods (PF). Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the use of PS/PF among young adults in Jeju. Methods: A total of 350 adults (140 men and 210 women) aged 19-39 years voluntarily participated in this study from June 2022 to May 2023. PS/PF use was measured using a questionnaire. Dietary intake was assessed using a 24-hour dietary recall. Results: Approximately 31.4% of the participants (n = 110) had consumed PS/PF for more than 2 weeks during the past year and 71.8% of them (n = 79) were still consuming these products (PS/PF consumers). The PS/PF consumers tended to be male and physically active (p < 0.05 for all). The most frequent reason for PS/PF use was muscle gain (59.5%), followed by protein supplementation (19.0%) and body fat loss (13.9%), and the most frequent type of PS/PF consumed was powders (70.6%), followed by drinks (17.7%) and bars (8.8%). The PS/PF consumers tended to consume a high-protein low-carbohydrate diet compared to the non-consumers. The prevalence of consuming dietary protein less than the estimated average requirement (EAR) was significantly lower in PS/PF consumers (13.9%) compared to non-consumers (25.4%; p = 0.0316). Conclusion: These findings indicate that the necessity of protein supplementation should be determined based on the current dietary protein intake and individual requirements. The study also provides the basic information for establishing guidelines for appropriate protein intake.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
• /
• v.7 no.3
• /
• pp.199-206
• /
• 2013

This study was performed to compare the dietary food and nutrient intakes according to supplement use in pregnant and lactating women in Seoul. The subjects were composed of 201 pregnant and 104 lactating women, and their dietary food intake was assessed using the 24-h recall method. General information on demographic and socioeconomic factors, as well as health-related behaviors, including the use of dietary supplements, were collected. About 88% and 60% of the pregnant and lactating women took dietary supplements, respectively. The proportion of dietary supplements used was higher in pregnant women with a higher level of education. After adjusting for potential confounders, among the pregnant women, supplement users were found to consume 45% more vegetables, and those among the lactating women were found to consume 96% more beans and 58% more vegetables. The intakes of dietary fiber and ${\beta}$-carotene among supplement users were higher than those of non-users, by 23% and 39%, respectively. Among pregnant women, the proportion of women with an intake of vitamin C (from diet alone) below the estimated average requirements (EAR) was lower among supplement users [users (44%) vs. non-users (68%)], and the proportion of lactating women with intakes of iron (from diet alone) below the EAR was lower among supplement users [usesr (17%) vs. non-users (38%)]. These results suggest that among pregnant and lactating women, those who do not use dietary supplements tend to have a lower intake of healthy foods, such as beans and vegetables, as well as a lower intake of dietary fiber and ${\beta}$-carotene, which are abundant in these foods, and non-users are more likely than users to have inadequate intake of micro-nutrient such as vitamin C and iron.

• Journal of Korean Medicine for Obesity Research
• /
• v.7 no.1
• /
• pp.23-29
• /
• 2007

Background : Mahuang (Ephedra sinica) has been used widely to treat respiratory disease in traditional medicine for over thousands years. Mahuang preparations contain approximately $0.75{\sim}1%$ ephedrine alkaloids. Recently in North America, the Eephedra alkaloids has aroused a controversy due to its adverse effects in those using whole extracts as "dietary supplements" for weight loss or athletic performance enhancement. Objective : To discuss the need for clinical practice guidelines on the use of Mahuang. Results and Conclusion : It is widely assumed that Mahuang is one of the useful medicines and is safe for human body. Most of scientific literatures support that the safety of Mahuang prescription in common dosage. However, it has been claimed that there were some warnings and apprehensions about the harmfulness of Mahuang as dietary supplements. This article does not negate the fact that it is necessary to pay more attention for use of Mahuang in clinical situations. We assert that the establishment of clinical practice guideline on the use of Mahuang, which is based on scientific materials and consensus, is required in traditional medicine.

• Journal of Digestive Cancer Research
• /
• v.1 no.2
• /
• pp.82-88
• /
• 2013

Cancer is the first leading cause of death in Korea and the second leading cause of death in the USA. There is extensive research into prevention of cancer and the support of oncology patients with diet or dietary supplements. In vitro and in vivo animal studies have indicated that antioxidants, including beta-carotene, alpha-tocopherol, and ascorbic acid, can yield anti-cancer effects in addition to providing protection against oxidative damage. Although many observational studies have shown that consuming fruits and vegetables can reduce the risk of some cancers, the results of several large-scale human intervention trials testing the benefits of a single or combined higher-dose of individual micronutrients have been inconsistent. Cancer can cause profound metabolic and physiological changes which may affect patients' nutrient requirements. Although the optimal route of nutrient delivery is through diet, cancer patients often suffer symptoms that disrupt their food intake, including anorexia, premature satiety, altered taste and smell, and changes in bowel mobility. In particular, micronutrient deficits can slow postoperative healing, contribute to depression symptoms, and decrease immune competence. Cancer patients are generally motivated to take dietary supplements to improve responses to treatment and quality of life. The Physician's Health Study II (PHS II) randomized controlled trial reported recently that daily multivitamin supplementation significantly, albeit modestly, reduced the risk of total cancer. Although evidence of multivitamin use benefits is limited in cancer patients, taking dietary supplements with constituents in the range of the recommended daily allowance according to the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) recommendation is generally considered to be safe.

• 한국체육학회지인문사회과학편
• /
• v.51 no.3
• /
• pp.427-435
• /
• 2012

The purpose of this review study is to examine current status of dietary supplement use to enhance athletic performance capacity in elite athletes based upon anti-doping education, sports type, athletic performance capacity, gender, and age. Several previous review studies have focused on the biochemistry characteristics and intake incidence of dietary supplements and those studies have not showed enough evidence of the reason why elite athletes usually take dietary supplements. Anti-doping education may increase the incidence of dietary supplement use in elite athletes because of increasing expertise of dietary supplements. It would be expected that increased incidence of long-term dietary supplement use may induce positive effects on the body having potential effects on athletic performance capacity, although a trace of nutrients may not directly effect on the outcome of the game. Moreover, it seems that the difference of dietary supplement use based upon gender and age may come from sports type and the difference of dietary supplement intake reason may come from health and body condition maintenance rather than athletic performance capacity when considering dietary supplement use items based upon intake reasons. Most elite athletes consume at least over 2 dietary supplement items in a long period of time rather than 1 dietary supplement item in a short period of time; however, the scientific evidence of dietary supplement use seems to be insufficient. Therefore, further experimental approach studies concerning dietary supplement effects would be needed.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
• /
• v.5 no.2
• /
• pp.193-200
• /
• 2000

This study examined the experience and intention of health food use regarding the different type of health foods among 201 middle-aged Korean men form urban areas. Based upon the results of a prestudy, health foods were classified into 4 groups including Chinese medicine(CM), toner foods(TF), vitamin or mineral supplements(VMS), and other manufactured heath food supplements(MHFS). compared with the4 case of health food experience, the similar proportion of the subjects were intended to use CM( 70%) and MHFS( 40%), yet the smaller proportion of them had the intention for TF(46%) and VMS(52%). Our subjects mainly obtained information on CM and TF from social networks, such as families, relatives, friends and neighbors and VMS and MHFS from mass media. Expected effects of health food consumption were different by the type of health food. The most positive expected effects were found in CM, followed by VMS. However, there was weak evidence for the positive effects of the TF and MHFS. Upon the consumption of health foods, our subject appeared to expect to their body energy to increased and body functions to be improved in general. Multivariate analyses indicated the importance of expected effects of health food consumption and aging symptoms as determinants of future health food use. Experience was rarely associated with intention in health food use. This study suggests that educated middle-aged Korean men may have a rational attitude toward health food use. Regarding different attitudes and behavior toward the different type of health foods, further research should consider the nature of each type of health foods. The limitations of this study are also discussed.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
• /
• v.33 no.1
• /
• pp.51-61
• /
• 2023

Background: Mobile applications (apps) on dietary supplements can increase consumers' access to information. However, it can lead to indiscriminate use of dietary supplements. This study aims to systematically review dietary supplement apps released in English and Korean and evaluate the quality of those apps. Methods: Through the app stores, apps on dietary supplements were systemically searched and examined. Two independent evaluators evaluated the apps and presented a mean score using the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS). The correlation between MARS scores, user and evaluator ratings, and the number of secondary features of the apps were analyzed. Results: Of the 2,772 dietary supplement apps identified, 17 apps were included according to the selection criteria. The mean MARS score was 3.28 (standard deviation: 0.29) out of 5. Apps had higher scores in aesthetics and functionality dimensions, while engagement and information dimensions had lower scores. There was a positive correlation between the number of app downloads and information among MARS dimensions. The subjective evaluation also correlated with the information dimension. There was a positive correlation between the secondary features of the apps and MARS total score as well as the engagement dimension. Conclusion: The dietary supplement apps need to be managed at a higher level of quality to provide safe and reliable information to consumers. Especially, quality on information and engagement dimensions can be improved. Involvement of healthcare professionals in the app development, management with adequate referencing of information, and use of secondary features for enhanced user engagement can be helpful.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.197-205
• /
• 2013

Background: Many factors including drugs, dietary supplements, and food intake can affect the development and organ formation of fetuses. Because of this, subject tends to avoid consuming things like coffee, alcohol, or cigarettes due to the risks they pose during pregnancy. Therefore, analysis of drugs and favorite food consumption is needed and important to ensure safe health management for subject. Purpose: This study was conducted domestically to analyze these factors in South Korea. Method: The survey was conducted from pregnancy-related online communities for six days and the survey results were received via email for analysis. Result: A total of 127 subjects answered the questionnaire via email; the characteristics of subjects are widely varied in their ages, education levels, job statuses, and residences. The questionnaire included the intake of dietary supplements during pregnancy including vitamins and the result showed that the subjects took 2.23 different kinds of supplements on average. In order of highest frequency, 101 subjects took multivitamins; 79 subjects took an iron supplement; 30 subjects took analgesics; 20 subjects took prescribed antipyretic and medication for upper respiratory diseases; 12 subjects took antibiotics; 7 subjects took antiemetics. Their compliances were different in each medication categories. Only 8% of subjects answered that they had asked a pharmacist for medication information during pregnancy. In addition, 78% of subjects answered that they never counseled with anyone about pregnancy related medication use. Conclusion: In conclusion, many subjects took medication including dietary supplements. The role of pharmacists should be actively developed to improve subject care such as education about subject's medication uses and their food consumption behavior.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.161-170
• /
• 2011

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the feeding patterns, use of dietary supplements, and nutrient intake of Korean toddlers. Methods: We used data for 930 toddlers who participated in the 4th Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) from 2007 to 2009. Feeding patterns and use of dietary supplements were assessed using standardized questionnaires, and nutrition intake was assessed using the 24 hr recall method. Results: In 2007~2009, 48.7% of toddlers used dietary supplements. Most parents (95.4%) initiated a regime of dietary supplements for their children following the advice of friends or relatives. Only 0.4% of parents followed the advice given by their doctors for dietary supplements use. In the survey of nutrient intake for toddlers, the prevalence of inadequate calcium intake was 53.9% for subjects aged 1 year, 55.2% for 2 years and 65.6% for subjects aged 3 years. The prevalence of inadequate iron intake was 52.0% for subjects aged 1 year, 48.7% for 2 years and 48.4% for subjects aged 3 years. In the survey performed on feeding patterns of toddlers during the infant period, mixed feeding accounted for 57.4%, breast feeding for 32.2%,and formula feeding for 10.4%. Sixty-five percent of toddlers began weaning between 4 and 6 months. Conclusions: This study indicated that a number of toddlers were at risk of inadequate calcium and iron intake. The role of professionals in counseling for qualified dietary intake and dietary supplement use is therefore necessary for Korean toddlers.