"Man is what he eats." The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates in his famous quotation, written about the 5th century BC, basically had in mind nutraceuticals. Portmanteau from the words "nutrition" and "pharmaceutics" was coined in 1989 by Stephen L. Deferis, founder and chairman of the Foundation for Innovative Medicine.
Nutraceuticals are any substance considered to be food or a part of it that, in addition to its normal nutritional value, provides health benefits, including disease prevention or health promotion. Nutraceuticals do not have a regulatory definition. It should be a non-toxic food component with scientifically proven health benefits.
Many ancient civilizations, such as the Indian, Egyptian, Chinese and Sumerian cultures have extensively studied the healing properties of various foods. Ayurveda, the old Indian discipline of health science, also mentioned the use and benefits of food for therapeutic purposes. The modern nutraceutical industry, which is flourishing nowadays, began to develop in Japan in the 1980s.
Nutraceuticals are often labeled as designer foods, healthy foods, fortified foods, medicines, functional foods and dietary supplements. The term "Nutraceutical" is a terminology that includes isolated nutrients, nutritional supplements and diets, genetically engineered design products, herbal products and processed foods.
In August 2017, developed Carlson Curcumin, an improved form of curcumin, which has a higher bioavailability and is a powerful antioxidant protection. Increased bioavailability has been a constant focus of research and development in the nutraceutical sector, since the amount of functional ingredients does not have a beneficial effect if they are not adequate for human ingestion into the bloodstream. Moreover, the expanded form of functional ingredients is easily absorbed by a person who suffers from an immune system.
Multivitamins were a popular form of supplementation, thanks to a wide range of health benefits, which collectively consist of different vitamins. Mixing the active vitamin with inactive to improve health benefits is a significant innovation.
The report of the research firm estimates a healthy growth rate of 6.3% for the fast growing global nutraceutical market compared to 2017-2022, and by the end of 2022 the market is estimated at $ 294.79 billion.
Developed countries invest heavily in research and development related to the general well-being of their fellow citizens, along with a sharp increase in medical expenses, to combat chronic diseases. A preventive approach to health is a tendency to grow globally when developing countries achieve their public health goals and consistently increase the share of GDP allocated to the health sector.
Nutraceuticals are increasingly becoming part of the daily diet, due to the increasing incidence of diseases, improved living standards and malnutrition - a lack of balanced diets. Increasing the mortality rate in developing countries due to malnutrition makes nutraceuticals an indispensable component in the daily diet.
Nutraceuticals are widely divided into food additives and functional foods and drinks. The latter occupies about 60% of the market share worldwide, due to its ease of availability and natural presence in most diets consumed worldwide.
It is expected that the world trend towards a healthy image, the growing demand for organic and natural products, a sedentary lifestyle, an increase in the prevalence of chronic diseases will lead to an increase in the world market of nutraceuticals.