Nutraceuticals: A Path to Wellness Having supplements or nutraceuticals is becoming the easiest way to prevent chronic illness and ensure wellness. The Father of medicine, Hippocrates, would definitely not have approved of the way our modern lifestyle approaches health and well being. His advice was to let ‘food be our medicine’. Wholesome, nutritious food in adequate quantities to ensure good health. He also recommended fasts and cleanses to bring wellness to a sick body. All ancient civilizations followed this healthy system – especially the Egyptians, Sumerians and the Chinese. Ayurveda, the Indian wellness system also advises specific food regimen for therapeutic purposes. But our diets today are totally inadequate when it comes to providing the body with the right ingredients to lay the foundation of wellness. Our food is overcooked, has all the wrong oils, and is loaded with additives, preservatives, colorings and everything else that points to bad news. What makes it worse is that with bad farming practices and changes in the environment, many trace elements that are essential to the good functioning of this machine we call the body, are totally missing. But the good news is that there is a whole new way for us to get back to good health. Enter Nutraceuticals. These are products that bring a host of medical-health benefit and safeguard against diseases. The term was coined in the late 1980s by Stephen DeFelice, M.D., who was the founder and chairman of the Foundation for Innovation in Medicine. Also referred to as ‘functional foods’, nutraceuticals provide our bodies with the natural building blocks that we need to restore and rejuvenate our inner functioning. A combination of ‘nutrition’ and ‘pharmaceutical’, nutraceutical products are usually sourced from Nature, and are said to bring all of the benefits of the herb or preparation with least hassle. The products that the industry currently sells may be focused on specific nutrients (like a Tulsi or Neem capsule); could be dietary supplements (Alfalfa extract, Calcium, B Vitamins etc.); or herbal products.
Posted on: Fri, 07 Jun 2013 09:06:28 +0000
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