The new lifestyle adopted by people today has changed the basic food habits. Consumption of junk food has increased manifold leading to a number of diseases caused due to improper nutrition. Obesity is now recognized as a global issue. Heart disease continues to be a primary cause of death in most countries, followed by cancer, osteoporosis, arthritis, and many others. So now the world and health gurus are talking about Nutraceuticals.
Now that people are cautious about what they eat, the Nutraceuticals market is in the bigger picture. “Nutraceutical” which is the hybrid of ‘nutrition’ and ‘pharmaceutical’.
Nutraceuticals, in broad, are food or part of food playing a significant role in modifying and maintaining normal physiological function that maintains healthy human beings.
The principal reasons for the growth of the nutraceutical market worldwide are the current population and health trends. The food products used as nutraceuticals can be categorized as dietary fiber, prebiotics, probiotics, polyunsaturated fatty acids, antioxidants, and other different types of foods.
These nutraceuticals help in combating some of the major health problems of the century. Such as obesity, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, osteoporosis, arthritis, diabetes, cholesterol, etc.
Here majorly Probiotics and Prebiotics is discussed:
Probiotics
The history of probiotics dates back as far as the first intake of fermented milk, over 2,000 years ago. The scientific interest in this area boosted from the work to transform the toxic flora of the large intestine into a host-friendly colony of Bacillus bulgaricus .
A probiotic can be defined as a live microbial feed supplement, which when administered in adequate amounts beneficially affects the host animal by improving its intestinal microbial balance. Probiotics generally include the following categories of bacteria: –
- Lactobacilli such as L. acidophilus, L.casei, L.delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, L.brevis, L.cellobiosus.
- Gram-positive cocci such as Lactococcus lactis, Streptococcus salivarius subsp. thermophilus, Enterococcus faecium
- Bifidobacteria such as B.bifidun, B.adolescentis, B.infantis, B.longum, B. thermophilum.
Probiotics are available in various forms as powder form, a liquid form, gel or paste or granule forms, capsule forms, etc. Specific probiotics are generally used to treat gastrointestinal (GI) conditions such as lactose intolerance, acute diarrhea, and antibiotic-associated GI side effects.
Probiotic agents possess the properties of non-pathogenic, non-toxic, resistance to gastric acid, adherence to gut epithelial tissues producing antibacterial substances. There are shreds of evidence that the administration of probiotics decreases the risk of systemic conditions, such as allergy, asthma, cancer, and several other infections of the ear, urinary tract.
Prebiotics
Prebiotics are dietary ingredients that beneficially affect the host by selectively altering the composition or metabolism of the gut microbiota. These are short-chain polysaccharides that have unique chemical structures that are not digested by humans; in particular, fructose-based oligosaccharides that exist naturally in food or are added in the food. The prebiotic consumption generally promotes the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria grow in the gut, thus helping in metabolism. Vegetables like chicory roots, banana, tomato, alliums are rich in fructooligosaccharides. Some other examples of these oligosaccharides are raffinose and stachyose, found in beans and peas.
The health benefits of the prebiotics include improved lactose tolerance, antitumor properties, neutralization of toxins, and stimulation of the intestinal immune system, reduction of constipation, blood lipids, and blood cholesterol levels. A daily intake of 5–20 g of insulin and oligosaccharides will promote the growth of bifidobacteria. Again, the consumption of large amounts of such oligosaccharides can cause diarrhea, abdominal distension, and flatulence.
End Note
However, an individual’s susceptibility to any particular disease predominantly depends upon genetic predisposition and lifestyle disorders like smoking, high alcohol consumption. So the response of nutraceuticals can vary from person to person. Nutraceuticals have proven health benefits and their consumption (within their acceptable Recommended Dietary Intakes) will keep diseases at bay and allow humans to maintain an overall good health.
“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”
One life. Live Boundless
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