What Are Nutraceuticals?

While we all know that pharmaceuticals are prescription and non-prescription medications to treat illness and other health issues, many of us have never heard the term ‘nutraceutical.’ Actually, it is a compound blend of the words nutrition and pharmaceutical. And, blending the definitions of those two words it can be understood that the term nutraceutical refers to a nutritive substance that is used to prevent or treat an illness or health related condition.

In days gone by we referred to many nutraceuticals as ‘homeopathic’ or ‘naturopathic’ remedies. For instance, grandma used to give you warm water with honey and lemon when you had a sore throat or a cough. We always thought it was simply to soothe because the lemon cut the phlegm and honey coats the throat. But, recent research has shown that lemon has amazing properties that actually are healing as well! It is high in Vitamins C, B6 and B12. It acts as a tonic to the liver and flushes toxins and unhealthy bacteria out of the system.

Many people are reluctant to treat illnesses with pharmaceuticals because of the very real dangers of toxicity and long-term negative side effects. Consequently, a lot of emphasis is being placed on using nutraceuticals whenever possible because of the reduced risks involved.

Then, there is a whole school of thought that nutraceuticals are actually preventative as opposed to curative. Individuals will still treat many ailments with natural, nutritional supplements, but they ALSO aim to prevent those illnesses with proper diet and supplementation. Nutraceuticals, therefore, are used for both prevention and cure.

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