supplements

nutraceutical

Definition

Coined in 1989 by Stephen L. DeFelice (founder and president of "The Foundation for Innovation in Medicine"), the term nutraceutical is composed of the two substantives "nutrition" and "pharmaceutical".

The word can refer to various types of products, including isolated nutrients, food supplements, herbal products, substitute meals and even processed foods (such as cereals, soups and some drinks).

Nutraceuticals: What are they?

Nutraceutical products are food derivatives to which, in addition to the basic nutritional value, one or more additional benefits are attributed.

Depending on the jurisdiction, nutraceutical products can be defined as "preventive of chronic diseases, health improvements, retarding the aging process, favoring longevity or supporters of certain body systems or functions". Let's analyze the two main categories: Dietary Supplements and Functional Foods.

  1. Dietary supplements: these are real food supplements. In Italy, 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 minerals, or other substances having a nutritional or physiological effect, in particular, but not exclusively, amino acids, essential fatty acids, fiber and extracts of vegetable origin, both single-component and multi-compound, in pre-dosed forms "(cit. www.salute.gov.it).

In Italy, food supplements must be approved by the Ministry of Health and mentioned in the appropriate register; in America, on the other hand, they do not necessarily have to be approved by the "Food and Drug Administration (FDA)", which only carries out plant monitoring.

With a few exceptions, food supplements are marketed to support the structure or certain bodily functions, without mentioning or suggesting that they can cure diseases or morbid conditions. Even the label must meet some very specific requirements; first of all those of the European Union and secondly the nationals.

  1. Functional foods are "designed" to allow consumers to introduce foods rich in useful molecules (however close to the natural state) rather than supplements manufactured in liquid or capsule form etc. Functional foods can therefore be enriched or fortified, a process also called "nutrification". This practice increases and restores the content of certain elements to reach the levels prior to processing. Sometimes, additional complementary nutrients are added (for example, vitamin D in milk).

The "Health Canada" (Canadian Health Ministry) defines functional foods as "ordinary foods added to other components or ingredients aimed at rendering a specific medical or physiological benefit, other than a purely nutritional effect".

In Japan, all functional foods should meet three very specific requirements:

  1. natural form, not capsules, tablets, powders or other extracts
  2. they can be consumed in the diet on a daily basis
  3. they must regulate a biological process with the aim of preventing or controlling certain diseases.

The global vision of nutraceuticals is therefore more or less uniform, with some minor differences with regards to regulation and protection in commerce (see next paragraph).

In Italy, some very famous nutraceutical products are: goji berries, raw green coffee, Ganoderma lucidum (reishi), fermented red rice, krill oil, etc.

World Regulation of Nutraceuticals

Nutraceutical products are classified differently from the various national jurisdictions.

In Italy, as in the entire European community, the term nutraceutical is not defined by any legislative body and the products that fall into this category are part of the so-called food supplements.

According to Canadian law, a nutraceutical product can be marketed both as a food and as a drug. In fact, the terms "nutraceutical" and "functional food" have no legal distinction; both refer to "an isolated or purified product, obtained from one or more food ingredients, generally sold under a medicinal form and not associated with food, whose physiological or beneficial effect against certain chronic diseases is scientifically demonstrated".

In US law, however, as in Europe, the term nutraceutical has no legislative meaning. On the contrary, based on the ingredients and terms with which it is marketed, a product is regulated as a drug (a natural product that contains active pharmacological ingredients), a food supplement, a food ingredient or a food proper.

Problems

On the global market there are many complications regarding the quality of the products in circulation. In fact, while it is true that some nutraceutical manufacturers use only safe and high quality ingredients, others exploit the lack of specific regulations and inexorably compromise both the safety and the effectiveness of their products. In particular, in an attempt to obtain a large profit margin, certain companies aim to produce low-quality or ineffective nutraceuticals, to be marketed in countries that do not have specific regulations.

Background

Indians, Egyptians, Chinese and Sumerians; these are just some of the civilizations that have used food as medicine since ancient times. Hippocrates, considered by many to be the founding father of Western medicine, advised "Let food be your medicine".

The modern nutraceutical market began to develop first in Japan in the 1980s.

In contrast to the naturalness of herbs and spices used for centuries as a popular medicine in Asia, the modern nutraceutical industry has also grown thanks to the expansion and exploration of technology.

The market

A 2012 market research indicates that, by 2018, the global market of "Food Supplements (vitamins, minerals, herbal, non-herbal and other), Food and Functional Beverages", and therefore also of nutraceuticals, will reach as much as 250 billion dollars .