What does "nutraceutical" mean
Nutraceutical is a term that was only coined in the late 1980s . We are therefore talking about a young sector, which owes its conception to Dr. Stephen De Felice, in 1989. And this cannot be otherwise, since a definition of nutraceutical cannot disregard a certain technology . In fact, what is the modern nutraceutical market experienced its development in Japan during the 1980s, contrasting, albeit only in form, the traditional natural herbs.
The nutraceutical studies the extracts of plants, animals, minerals and microorganisms united by a beneficial function on human health. By nutraceutical we mean a product isolated from the food from which it is extracted, often packaged as a pill or a medicine. But are there nutraceutical foods ?
Functional and nutraceutical foods
Before talking about nutraceutical foods, let's define the so-called " functional foods ". Let us first say that the terminology in this field is wasted.
The Institute of Medicine of the US National Academy of Sciences defines functional foods as " those foods that, in addition to their basic nutritional values, contain regulatory substances on some vital functions that can bring physiological benefits to those who consume them ".
A functional food must meet specific requirements . Basically, it must be available, conventional, daily use, included in a usual diet. In addition to this, it must obviously have a level of "beneficial" natural component that is normally absent or minimal in other foods. Finally, this component must have a scientifically verifiable positive effect.
Among the foods with functional characteristics, from which nutraceuticals are derived, there are first of all the famous probiotics, live bacteria present in yogurt or in similar products, capable of balancing the intestinal microflora. But we also have prebiotics, including fructo-oligosaccharides, responsible for influencing the activity of bacterial species of the intestinal flora already present in our body.
Among the foods related to nutraceuticals, in addition to yogurt, there is above all fruit and vegetables, rich in antioxidants . Leutin, useful for sight, is found in spinach, cabbage, broccoli and eggs. Curcumin in the curry and yellow saffron pigment. In legumes we have isoflavones . Brewer's yeast contains amino acids, carbohydrates, proteins, mineral salts and vitamins. In the bark of the maritime pine we find the pycnogenol, useful for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases and dermal diseases. Resveratol is used in the grape skin and wine, among the famous polyphenols . In tea, theanine and theine . Like polyphenols, carotenoids, folic acid, vitamins, mineral salts, melatonin, carnitine and Omega-3 are known .
In conclusion, a nutraceutical food is a food substance with proven beneficial and protective characteristics for both the physical and psychological health of the individual. These are substances or foods that contain these concentrated substances, having preventive, rebalancing, therapeutic and protective characteristics at a psycho-physiological level
