Abstract
The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is increasing rapidly. CAM, as defined by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) in the USA, is a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not presently considered to be part of conventional Western medicine. NCCAM classifies CAM therapies into five categories, or domains; 1. Alternative Medical Systems (Traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurveda, Homeopathic medicine, Chiropractic, Naturopathic medicine, etc.), 2. Mind-Body Interventions (Meditation, Prayer, Mental healing, Art, Dance, Music therapy, etc.), 3. Biologically Based Therapies (Foods, Herbs, Vitamins, Dietary supplements, Aromatherapy, etc.), 4. Manipulative and Body-Based Methods (Chiropractic or Osteopathic manipulation, and Massage, etc.), and 5. Energy Therapies (Qi Gong, therapeutic touch, electromagnetic fields). In the USA, CAM use increased from 33.8% in 1990 to 42.1% in 1997. In Japan, 65.6% of adults used CAM. Furthermore, in the USA, 61.5% of the CAM users did not tell their doctors while 78.9% of the CAM users in Japan did not tell theirs. In Japan, the domain of dietary supplements is most important, followed by aromatherapy, traditional Chinese medicine (Kampo), Ayurveda, and electromagnetic fields. An Agaricus blazei Murill is the most popular dietary supplement. Many cancer patients take this mushroom. The aim of this paper is to determine the actual status of dietary supplements in Japan.
