Nutraceutical is a marketing term used to imply a pharmaceutical effect from a compound or food product that has not been scientifically confirmed or approved to have clinical benefits. In the United States, nutraceuticals are unregulated, existing in the same category as dietary supplements and food additives by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), under the authority of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
Dietary supplements, such as the vitamin B supplement shown above, are typically sold in pill form.
Considered a father of Western medicine, Hippocrates advocated the healing effects of food.
Food fortification or enrichment is the process of adding micronutrients to food. It can be carried out by food manufacturers, or by governments as a public health policy which aims to reduce the number of people with dietary deficiencies within a population. The predominant diet within a region can lack particular nutrients due to the local soil or from inherent deficiencies within the staple foods; the addition of micronutrients to staples and condiments can prevent large-scale deficiency diseases in these cases.
Manufacturers once proposed selling fortified junk food and beer, but USFDA policies of the time forbade it.
