How to distinguish between functional foods and drugs – Don't get confused!
“Functional foods are NOT drugs and do NOT have the effect of replacing drugs” – This is a theory that everyone knows. However, because the dosage forms are relatively similar and are often sold in pharmacies, consumers often have difficulty distinguishing them. So is there any way to distinguish functional foods from drugs?
Distinguishing each product line will help you use them more effectively. Don't forget to refer to the article below by NanoFrance!
I. Correct understanding of functional foods and drugs
To be able to distinguish them, we need to have a correct view of functional foods and drugs. We have compared some aspects so that you can see the difference between each drug and functional food.
| Medicine | Functional food | |
| Ingredient |
– Pharmaceutical ingredient (Active ingredient) – Medicine |
– Medicine – Excipients – Some additional essences – Capsule shell |
| Dosage form | Tablets, capsules, liquid, granules – powder… | |
| Product line |
– Medicines – Preventive medicine – Treatment support drugs – Diagnostic and investigational drugs – Nutritional supplements, physical strength enhancement |
– Dietary supplements with vitamins and minerals – Dietary supplement with Protein, Amino Acids, Fatty Acids – Dietary supplements containing Probiotics – Nutritional supplements for athletes – Dietary supplements with natural extracts, concentrates, extracts of plants and herbs |
| Effect | Prevention – Treatment – Treatment support – Disease investigation | Prevention – Support treatment and health improvement |
Help you distinguish the difference between disease prevention principles when using drugs and functional foods:
→ For drugs : Vaccines are a typical “medicine” that prevents diseases. They contain weakened “versions” of viruses or virus-like substances (called antigens). They stimulate the immune system to produce antibodies. These antibodies will protect the body when exposed to future viruses.
→ For functional foods : Functional foods will supplement ingredients and herbal extracts that are highly effective in protecting the function of a specific part of the body. Thereby, helping to prevent diseases.
In the following part of this article, NanoFrance will guide you in detail on how to distinguish between functional foods and drugs. Don't forget to refer to it!
II. How to distinguish between functional foods and drugs
You can rely on the 3 "signs" below to distinguish between dietary supplements and drugs:
1. Direct product management unit
Drugs circulating on the market are all licensed and strictly managed by the Drug Administration. Meanwhile, dietary supplements need to be declared in accordance with food safety regulations and registered with the Ministry of Health (specifically the Food Safety Department) before reaching consumers.
2. Prescription or non-prescription – How to distinguish between functional foods and drugs
Since dietary supplements are not drugs, they do not require a prescription. Users only need to take the correct dosage as stated on the packaging. In contrast, drugs require a prescription and must be taken as directed by a doctor. However, there are also some types of drugs that do not require a prescription, such as those that help strengthen the body.
3. Based on the information printed on the packaging
The information printed on medicine boxes and functional food boxes also has big differences. Specifically:
With medicine box
The product packaging must be printed with a circulation number issued by the Ministry of Health. In addition to the box, they can be printed on the aluminum blister pack, at the end of the instruction sheet. Some common symbols:
- Domestically produced drugs: VD-…-yy
- Medicines manufactured abroad and imported to Vietnam: VN-….-yy/ VN2-….-yy/ VN3-….-yy
- Medicines from domestically produced medicinal herbs: V…-H12-yy
- Domestically produced external medicines: VS-….-yy
- Pharmaceutical processing: GC-…-yy
- Specially managed drugs: QLDB-….-yy
- For some biological products such as drugs containing probiotics, biological drugs: QLSP-…-yy
- Vaccine: QLVX-….-yy
In which: 'yy' is the year of registration number. For prescription drugs, there will be an additional symbol 'Rx'.
Information on functional food packaging
For functional foods, the registration number printed on the functional food packaging is the standard declaration number (SCBTC) according to the form: Issued number / year of issue / YT-CNTC.
Hopefully, the above suggestions on how to distinguish between functional foods and drugs will help you find the right product - to treat your illness better. Remember to regularly follow the NanoFrance Website to update more information about Health and the latest Medicine!
