Thanks to those of you who have voiced your concerns about the restriction of nutritional supplements in the past, our government has established a new office for the specific purpose of creating a new category for nutritional products. This new category is “Nutraceuticals.” This category became affective October of 1996, and opened an entirely new area of nutritional support for people, one which will improve the quality and effectiveness of nutritionals.

Nutraceuticals are predicted to become a multi-billion dollar industry. But just what separates a nutraceutical product from the tens of thousands of basic nutritional products? According to the proposed guidelines of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), a nutraceutical is any non-toxic food component that has scientifically proven health benefits, including disease treatment or prevention. This functional component of the food must be standardized in the nutraceutical product and manufactured under “Good Manufacturing Practices” (GMP). A product label then may be permitted to describe the “Role of this functional food component intended to affect the structure of functions in humans” and characterize “the documented mechanism by which this component acts to maintain such structure or function.”

For those who are seriously interested in improving their health using the best, whole food products, moving away from the traditional “fractionated” vitamin supplements is a smart idea. Whole food nutritionals are a complete complex of important elements which work together to improve health. Having only a partial vitamin complex creates deficiencies within the body because your body must supply the missing “cofactors” necessary for the nutrients to be completely functional and to be absorbed. Don’t harm your health by accepting poor quality supplementation or substitutes!