Nutraceuticals

Nutraceutical is a term commonly used to refer to a variety of foods, beverages, dietary supplements, herbal supplements, and other substances that are to be ingested with the purpose of improving health, or treating or reducing risk of disease. There is no legal or medical definition of the term, although some industry proponents use nutraceutical to refer to food products taken in the form of pills, capsules, liquids, and so on, and use functional foods to refer to food products that are consumed in food form. This entry will use the term nutraceutical throughout, but the following information applies to both terms.

According to industry sources, the market for nutraceuticals is booming (http://www.nutraceuticalsworld.com/issues/2013-01/view_editorials/top-10-trends-for-2013/). Sales of fortified breakfast cereals, energy drinks, and yogurt products have all increased ...