Nutraceuticals are food derived products that provide health benefits beyond basic nutrition, blending both the fields of nutrition and pharmaceuticals. They have gained recent popularity as people increasingly turn to preventive healthcare and natural remedies. Example include probiotic yogurt, fortified cereals, oats, omega-3-fatty acids, curcumin from turmeric, green tea extract, etc. While they offer health benefits, they also come with potential risks due to limited regulation and scientific uncertainty.
Benefits of Nutraceuticals:
- Natural origin: Nutraceuticals are primarily of natural origin like omega-3-fatty acids from fish oil, curcumin from turmeric, etc, making them a holistic approach for health and wellness.
- Disease prevention: Some nutraceuticals like antioxidants, helps to reduce the risk of chronic conditions like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and some cancers.
- Enhance wellness: Nutraceuticals provides vitamins and minerals and helps to improve nutritional deficiencies and overall health.
- Support physiological functions: Nutraceuticals like probiotics aids with gut health, glucosamine with joint health, omega-3 and antioxidants with cognitive functions.
- Widely available and affordable: Nutraceuticals are widely available as over -the-counter in supermarkets, pharmacies and online stores, and are generally affordable.
Risks with Nutraceuticals:
- Lack of strict regulations: Unlike Pharmaceutical drugs, which undergo rigorous clinical trials and regulations for safety and efficacy, nutraceuticals are not subjected to the same regulations or scientific evidence.
- Variable quality: Due to lack of standardization and oversight, nutraceuticals vary in dosage, purity and quality between different brands or even between different batches of the same product.
- Adverse side effects: Nutraceuticals are generally considered safe, while high does or prolonged use can cause toxic effects, organ damage and other potential health problems.
- Drug-nutraceutical interactions: There is a high probability for interaction of nutraceuticals with prescription drugs, potentially reducing their efficacy or increasing the risk for side effects.
Are you familiar with nutraceuticals? Do you think it can be integrated with our medicinal system to manage diseases effectively, provided they are subjected to proper regulations and standardization?
MBH/AB