Previously, we have reported that some consumers who are using Food for Specified Health Uses (FOSHU) to treat underlying diseases concomitantly use medicines for which similar health benefits are claimed. Therefore, it is possible that inappropriate usage of FOSHU might cause health problems under these circumstances. To clarify this situation in detail, we conducted a questionnaire investigation of FOSHU users who also take medicines concomitantly. The proportion of consumers using FOSHU to treat their diseases was found to increase with age, and was significantly higher among attending patients than among individuals not seeking medical attention. Although only 14.6% of individuals using FOSHU and medicines concomitantly disclosed this to their physicians, 10.3% of them suffered from health problems such as diarrhea, astriction, or abdominal pain. As most FOSHU have the form of common food, the possibility of their interaction with medicines might appear to be low. However, consumers who take medicines need to disclose their use of FOSHU to physicians in order to avoid any health problems resulting from such concomitant use.

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[Objective] This study examined the effects of 12-week supplementation of cystine and cysteine peptide yeast extract on the skin of 22 Japanese women. [Method] This study was a double-blind, randomized controlled trial. Each of the 22 women was administered either cystine and cysteine peptide yeast extract or placebo for 12 weeks, and their skin conditions were evaluated every 4 weeks. [Result] Compared with the placebo group, the cystine and cysteine peptide yeast extract group (CC group) showed a significant reduction in skin redness (area Lv3) at week 4 relative to the baseline (p = 0.021) . [Conclusion] It is suggested that intake of cystine and cysteine peptide yeast extract has an ameliorative effect on skin redness. This study was approved by the institutional ethics committee and registered in the clinical trial registration system UMIN-CTR (UMIN000013167) .

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Hospitals or facilities for the elderly have a number of departments, but the nutritional department is one of the most essential, and is staffed by many specialists such as registered dietitians, dietitians, and licensed cooked. In order for a nutritional department to operate effectively, registered dietitians are expected to exert a degree of leadership. However, little information on the kind of leadership required for registered dietitians has been available. We investigated 134 registered dietitian or staff belonging to food service facilities in 17 institutions. Their leadership qualities were evaluated using two indices. One was the PM theory of leadership, in which leadership quality is evaluated in terms of parameters: performance (P) and maintenance (M) . The other was the least preferred co-worker (LPC) , reflecting the leader’s orientation with regard to human relations. Fifteen questions were prepared so that the study subjects could self-report aspects of their facility, the quality of food service, or their own performance. These scores were not related to the type or size of the facility or individual working duration. Higher M scores and higher LPC scores were associated with higher evaluation of the facility and individual performance. This suggests that registered dietitians need to be good leaders in order to organize a food service department, and are expected to have M type behavior, i.e. high maintenance ability.

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