Nutraceutical
A varied and balanced diet is essential for a healthy lifestyle. In fact, an inadequate nutrition is one of the main risk factors for the onset of a great number of chronic illnesses, having also a negative impact on psychological and physical wellbeing.
The WHO estimates that approximately 1/3 of cardiovascular diseases and cancers could be prevented with a healthy and balanced diet.
The human body requires every kind of nutrients for its physiological functions: some of them are essential for meeting the energy requirements, others are needed for cell metabolism or for the physiological processes carrying out, while others have a protective role.
The term “nutraceuticals” refers to the study of a food’s bioactive components with proven curative properties:
micronutrients (vitamins and fatty acids) non-nutrients (phytochemicals and probiotics)
In any case, this term is not defined by the current EU legislation, so it would be more correct to use the terms “Diet Supplementation” or “Diet Supplements”.
The term “supplement” should be interpreted in a generic way, that is the opportunity of reverting a condition, which is incomplete or insufficient for a given function or activity, into a complete and optimal condition by adding diet supplements able to provide the required nutrient or compensate its insufficiency in the body.
It's noteworthy that a reduced intake or increased requirement for certain bioactive nutrients can be the cause of certain systemic and ocular illnesses related to age (cataract, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, etc).
