Be careful with 'exaggerated' advertisements about the benefits of functional foods

According to the Department of Food Safety (Ministry of Health), currently on media and social networks, especially Facebook, TikTok, Shopee..., TikTokers, KOLs, KOCs and Influencers participate in introducing products with "miraculous" promises such as helping to lose weight quickly, beautify the skin instantly or improve health..., including advertisements for functional foods and health protection foods with introductions such as "cure all diseases", "replace medicine", "instant effect"...

Many consumers have believed these advertisements and bought the products, but the results were not as expected and could even have negative effects on their health.

According to the regulations of the Ministry of Health, functional foods or health protection foods only have the effect of supporting and supplementing nutrition but do not have the ability to cure diseases. However, many businesses take advantage of consumers' psychology of wanting to recover quickly to advertise falsely, even using celebrities to increase credibility.

Advertisements like "complete cure", "quick effect after just a few days", "100% natural traditional medicine"... are all signs of exaggerated advertising.

Worryingly, not all of these claims are scientifically based or verified by authorities. In many cases, influential figures on social media have "exaggerated" the effects of functional foods, misleading consumers about the true capabilities of the product. In reality, such results are difficult to achieve based on just one single product.

The consequences of these hype are not only disappointment when the product does not meet expectations, but also potential health risks. Consumers may arbitrarily use functional foods without consulting experts, leading to side effects or other serious problems.

Not to mention, many of these over-advertised products may be counterfeit, fake, or of unknown origin, putting users at even greater risk.

According to the Food Safety Department, when consumers believe in false advertisements, they can also lose money because these products are often sold at high prices but do not bring the expected results.

Many patients believe in functional foods, ignoring the doctor's treatment regimen, leading to a more serious illness and missing the opportunity for proper treatment. Some products of unknown origin may contain banned substances, causing dangerous side effects that are harmful to health.

Therefore, to avoid being deceived by false advertisements, the Food Safety Department recommends that people carefully research product information and consider whether the product has been certified for circulation by competent authorities.

People should not believe in exaggerated advertisements, no product can "cure all diseases" or bring miraculous results in a few days; before using functional foods, you should consult a doctor or medical expert to ensure that it is suitable for your health; choose to buy products from reputable sources, avoid buying floating products online, especially products of unknown origin, without full labels.