抄録
Experimental results indicate that the magnitude of the pharmacological actions of health foods is small. Therefore, it is hard to think that health foods may play an important role in maintaining and improving the health of people. In contrast, many people realize the effects of health foods and continue to use them. This discrepancy may be due to the fact that some health foods have not only pharmacological effects but also placebo effects. If so, health foods with a placebo effect are considered to be highly valuable. In order to utilize the placebo effect, it is important to disseminate the correct knowledge of the placebo effect. By making full use of the placebo effect, health foods may help to maintain and promote human health.
