The Advantages of Nutraceuticals: Learn What These Supplements Are And Why They May Be Better For Your Health

The Advantages of Nutraceuticals: Learn What These Supplements Are And Why They May Be Better For Your Health
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What Are Nutraceuticals?

Nutraceuticals, sometimes called the incredible shrinking foods, are becoming more popular as nutritional supplements. Take a look at the vitamins and minerals being sold at your grocery store or your local health food stores and you may start seeing more and more of these supplements as time goes on.

So, what are nutraceuticals? It sounds like it should be something pretty complicated but really it isn’t. Vitamin and mineral supplements contain isolated nutrients or a combination of nutrients. Nutraceutical supplements contain the compounds that are actually extracted from the whole foods. After they are extracted, they are concentrated and turned into pills or capsules. It is possible to find pills containing broccoli, spinach, mixed vegetables and many other foods on the shelves now with many more to come.

The Benefits of Nutraceuticals

The advantages of these nutraceuticals is that rather than just containing one or two vitamins or minerals, they contain all the natural compounds that occur in the food that is used to make it. While they are probably not as beneficial as the real food itself, they can be a huge difference to someone that has problems eating the way that they like to on a regular basis or in the case of someone who would benefit from the food but just can’t bring themselves to eat it. Broccoli and Brussels sprouts are perfect examples of this. They are both extremely high in nutrients but lots of people are just not willing to eat broccoli or Brussels sprouts.

Be sure to read the labels carefully before purchasing nutraceuticals to be sure they contain a variety of nutrients. Some of them labeled as nutraceuticals may only contain one or a few extracts which may be of no benefit whatsoever. Also, many of them lose their fiber content which may make it difficult to utilize the nutrients properly.

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