Nutraceuticals are products derived from foods that provide extra health benefits beyond basic nutrition. They are concentrated forms of food components with scientifically proven health benefits.
What are Nutraceuticals?
The term combines “nutrient” – a nourishing food component – and “pharmaceutical” – a medical drug. It was coined in 1989 by Stephen DeFelice, founder of the Foundation for Innovation in Medicine. The philosophy is to focus on prevention with food as medicine.
Definitions depend on the source. Nutraceuticals can be classified by natural source, pharmacological condition, or chemical constitution.
Examples are antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and fortified dairy. Top nutraceuticals are Garcinia Cambogia and raspberry ketones.
They have beneficial effects including disease prevention and treatment. Consuming them expands the benefits of meals. Nutraceuticals are in everyday foods, making them easy to add to your diet.
In America, terms are defined by consultants and marketers based on consumer trends, not regulations. Many nutraceuticals originate from plants as defenses against infection. Foods used include dietary fiber, probiotics, oils, and herbs.
Nutraceuticals improve health, delay aging, prevent disease, increase life expectancy, or support the body’s structure/function. They differ from supplements in proven clinical efficacy for health conditions. Nutraceuticals restore vital micronutrients, aiding disease prevention.
Example of a Nutraceutical
A nutraceutical is a product isolated or purified from foods that is generally sold in medicinal forms not usually associated with food. It is “beyond the diet, before the drugs”, a concentrated form of a nutrient that may prevent the onset of an asymptomatic prolonged pathological condition.
Supplements vs. Nutraceuticals
Food supplements have added micronutrients, which can supplement the required nutrition of the body. For example, Ipriflavone is the concentrated form of soy protein derived from isoflavone daidzein and is marketed as a nutraceutical, whereas soy protein is a dietary supplement.
Nutraceuticals often inhabit a gray area between food and pharmaceutical regulation. If a product is marketed to treat, prevent, or cure a specific disease or condition, it would be regulated as a drug.
Nutraceuticals and functional foods both offer health benefits beyond basic nutrition. However, nutraceuticals are often used as dietary supplements and can take forms like pills, capsules, or powders.