Supriya Yadav, Microbiologist at Vital Neutraceuticals Pvt. Ltd.
“When diet is wrong, medicine is of no use; when diet is correct, medicine is of no need”;an ancient Ayurvedic proverb that tells you the importance of nutritious and healthy eatinghabits which is quite relevant in 2020; the year of pandemic.Are you searching for physicians, weight loss centres or health supplements in 2020? Well, your search should come to and end now becausein this blog you will come to know why nutraceutical is the best nutritional supplement that will keep up your health as aholistic medicine with essential nutrients at your home itself ! Whether you’re a newbie or seasoned veteran in the field of fitness, diet or healthcare centres; chances are you’ve heard of creatine, collagen powder, whey protein/protein powder, protein shakes, meal replacement, weight loss nutrition food, growth supplements and all such related health products that are part of nutraceuticals. Ifyou aren’t aware of these terms yet,then youcan explore more about it from this blog.
Key Highlights:
- Nutraceutical has advantage over the pharmaceutical medicine because they avoid side effects, have 100% natural and pure extracts from authentic sources.
- The most rapidly growing segments of the industry are dietary supplements (19.5% per year) and natural/herbal products (11.6% per year).
- Annual growth of nutraceuticals market (25%) is higher than the annual growth of pharmaceuticals.
The term 'nutraceutical' was coined in 1989 by a man named Stephen DeFelice, who was the chairman and founder of a medical organization in New Jersey called the 'Foundation for Innovation in Medicine’.A nutraceutical product may be defined as a substance, which has physiological benefit or provides protection against chronic disease. Nutraceuticals may be used to improve health, delay the ageing process, prevent chronic diseases, increase life expectancy, physical health or support the structure or function of the body. Nowadays,nutraceuticals have received considerable interest due to potential nutritional, safety and therapeuticeffects.
Following are the key factors that prove why nutraceutical is the best nutritional supplement:
- 1. Pure Natural extracts with no side effects.
- 2. Capacity to keep you away from medicine.
- 3. Possibility of Customized Nutritional Supplements due to systematic classification of nutraceuticals.
- 4. Trustworthy certifications and regulatory frameworks.
- 5. Emerging and fast-moving sector in the market.
Nutraceuticals such as natural herbs, vitamins and minerals are natural health supplements andhavebenefits over the pharmaceutical medicine because they avoid side effects asyou get 100% natural, pure extracts from authentic sources which are also the source ofrecommended dietary supplement. The major advantage of nutraceuticalthat makes it best for your consumptionis increased health benefits with natural dietary supplement; so,you do not have any unpleasant side effects. It increases the health value, diet capacity and improves medical condition of humans. It is easily available as well as economically affordable.
Nutraceuticals are food or parts of your food that provide medical or health benefits including the prevention and/or treatment of a disease. Nutraceuticalsare nutritional supplements like vitamins and minerals for both men and women and many more which are used for health purposes as alternative medicine other than nutrition. Nutraceutical medicine is a nutritional therapy for healing your system using dietary therapeutics or nutraceuticals as a complementary therapy. Hence, they are considered as healthy sources of your health promotion to avoid the consumption of medicinal drugs, especially for prevention of life-threatening diseases such as diabetes, infection, renal, and gastrointestinal disorders. Did you know? Probiotic, the part of nutraceutical whichis present in curd and fermented foods like idli, dhokla batter is of utmost importance to maintain your gut health.
Nutraceuticals or functional foods can be classified based on their natural sources, pharmacological conditions, or as per chemical constitution of the products that gives it a vast distribution. The main classification is as food supplement, minerals and vitamins, protein supplements, functional foods, herbals products, nutraceuticals, pro and pre-biotic foodstuff, and food for special medical uses. Such classification gives the free hand to customise the product as per the need of the condition. Thus, this gives the advantage that it may be consumed anytime to prevent the disease, unlike pharmaceutical drugs that is consumed to treat disease. For e.g., nowadays in this pandemic situation, there is a lot of use of combination of medicinal herbs and nutrients to protect and boost our immunity.
Initially there was a generalised Act that governed the nutraceutical field and it was called as “Prevention of Food Adulteration Act”. In 2006, the Indian government passed Food Safety and Standard Act to integrate and streamline the many regulations covering nutraceuticals, foods, and dietary supplements. The act calls for the creation of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in 2011.The benefits of implementation of FSSAI regulations for nutraceuticals are steps to harmonization, alignment of international regulations, science-based standards, clarity and uniformity on novel food areas, and decrease in corruption.
The nutraceutical industry lies under three main segments which include functional foods, dietary supplements, and herbal/natural products. Annual growth of nutraceuticals market (25%) is higher than the annual growth of pharmaceuticals.As a concept, “Nutraceuticals” is still in its stage of infancy in India. But now a days the academic interest in field of nutraceutical has been growing at a rapid pace which is engaging the youth into this field. With a greater number of people, the competition is high which is ultimately leading to better offerings as products. Thus,the Indian market has been growing much faster than global rates at CAGR of 18% for the last 3 years driven by functional food and beverages categories. The most rapidly growing segments of the industry were dietary supplements (19.5 percent per year) and natural/herbal products (11.6 percent per year).Study reports suggest that the nutraceutical ingredients market is estimated to be valued at $162.1 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach $227.5 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of seven per cent from 2020 to 2025.
“The Doctor of The Future Will No Longer Treat the Human Frame with Drugs, But Rather Will Cure and Prevent Disease with Nutrition” a saying by Thomas Edison has rightly suggested that the twenty-first century has adopted this new term, 'nutraceutical', as a part and parcel of their healthy life. The consumption of nutraceuticals has increased specially in the COVID-19 situation, especially the herbs/ botanicals, nutrients that provide the best boost to the immunity to fight against this deadly disease. Nutraceuticals have the potential to compete shoulder to shoulder with pharmaceutical drugs for safety and effectiveness.Well, now is the time for you to step up to the plate and change your life and discover lifelong health and happiness. So, before you eat your food think of what are the other benefits you are getting out of it apart from being a good nutrient source and what are the nutraceutical ingredients that you are using in your daily life that you didn’t look at as nutraceuticals?
