Nutraceuticals offer health and medical benefits

Nutraceuticals are products more than just food but less than complex pharmaceuticals. The term ‘Nutraceuticals’ was derived from ‘Nutrition’ (food component or source) and ‘Pharmaceuticals’ (a medical drug). Nutraceuticals are processed to meet particular dietary requirements and provide health benefits. Because of the versatility, they are used in various industries, including food & beverages, pharmaceuticals, animal feed additives, and personal healthcare.

According to the Journal of Agronomy, it is estimated that approximately 815 million people in the world suffer from hunger and malnutrition due to the shortage of food. To overcome the crisis, consumers are looking for alternatives, and various products are gaining importance at the interface between food and medicines. Moreover, two-thirds of the world’s (approximately 6.1 billion) population depends on the alleviating power of plant-based materials for numerous reasons such as affordability, availability, safety, or belief in traditional cures.

Recently, food manufacturers have taken a step in developing “functional foods” that are defined as food products with an added positive health benefit. While some functional ingredient benefits are anticipated to enhance short-term well-being, many such benefits concern the long-term alleviation of certain diseases. When functional food aids in the prevention or treatment of diseases or certain disorders, they fall under nutraceuticals. For example:

• Dietary Supplements include nutrients, phytochemicals, herbals, probiotics, and dietary fiber

• Functional foods constitute fortified food with certain vitamins and minerals. For example, milk fortified with Vit D, vegetable oil fortified with Vit A

• Medicinal foods that are designed for the specific dietary management of a particular disease condition

It should be noted that the term nutraceutical has no regulatory definition. Thus, nutraceuticals and dietary supplements differ in the following aspects:

• Nutraceuticals should not just supplement a diet but should also aim at preventing various diseases or disorders

• Nutraceuticals are used as conventional foods or as sole items of a meal or diet. Dietary components play beneficial roles beyond essential nutrition, leading to the development of the functional food concept and nutraceuticals.

It is assumed that more than 50% of the food market includes foods used for supplemental reasons by consumers. It is accepted that dietary supplements, herbal products, sugar substitutes, fat substitutes, probiotics, vegetables, fiber-enriched foods, skim milk, fatless meat, low-calorie food, and other products like these on the supermarket aisle are consumed for health or medical reasons. The daily intake of dietary supplements makes it very evident that an enormous foundation for an established nutraceutical market already exists in the food industry.

Nutrients, dietary supplements, and herbal products are significant constituents of nutraceuticals that make them influential in maintaining health, preventing various disease conditions, and promoting the quality of life.

Understanding the functional diversity of food and nutraceutical composition will allow this industry to supply consumers with many new products that can be developed into specialized markets. As the food market shows elevated demands, consumers constantly look for new products that positively impact their health.

It has been observed that there is a growing interest in nutraceuticals that provide specific health benefits within our diet and which may be an alternative to traditional medicine in the future. Using nutraceuticals might reduce the need for conventional drugs and also decrease the adverse effects of conventional foods. Nutraceuticals give physiological benefits or protect against chronic diseases and play a beneficial role in various diseases and disorders.

Food and pharmaceutical firms are engaged in the development of functional foods and nutraceuticals. Nutraceuticals in the food industry and food supplement markets will soon grow all over the world. They also demonstrate that a scientific base for the efficacy of these products combined with good marketing might lead to better acceptance within the urban population, mainly the millennials.

Deepthi Devatha is a business executive at Nutrify Today