Nutraceuticals, what are they?

We always hear about nutraceuticals or supplements, but what are they really?

Indians, Egyptians, Chinese, and Sumerians are just some of the civilizations that have used food as medicine since ancient times. Hippocrates, one of the first "Western physicians," advised, "Let food be thy medicine."

Nutraceuticals is a term coined in 1989 by Stephen L. DeFelice (founder and president of “The Foundation for Innovation in Medicine”), and is composed of the two nouns “nutrition” and “pharmaceutical”.
Nutraceuticals are those nutrients found in foods that have beneficial effects on health. They are found in nature.

Nutraceuticals can be extracted, used for food supplements, or added to foods; they are also commonly referred to as functional foods, pharma foods, or pharmaceuticals.

Depending on the jurisdiction, nutraceutical products may be defined as “preventing chronic diseases, improving health, delaying the aging process, or supporting certain body systems or functions.”

Food supplements are defined as: “food products intended to supplement the common diet and which constitute a concentrated source of nutrients, such as vitamins and mineral salts, or other substances having a nutritional or physiological effect, in particular, but not exclusively, amino acids, essential fatty acids, fibre and extracts of plant origin in pre-dosed forms” (cit. www.salute.gov.it).

Functional foods are useful for introducing foods rich in beneficial molecules aimed at providing a specific medical or physiological benefit, different from a purely nutritional effect.

An example are: Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids, krill oil, probiotics, prebiotics, EPA, DHA, vitamins, antioxidants

They are important at any stage of life, in any condition (pathological or otherwise).

We always add them to our homemade diets!