Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food. Just about everyone has jumped on the nutraceutical bandwagon, including the pharmaceutical industry, conventional medical doctors, nutritionists, and respected medical journals. Likewise, Elizabeth Sloan of Food Technology concludes that marketing food products for health promotion and disease prevention will be commonplace in the year 2020. To put these predictions in perspective, think back to the 1970s decade with its health food movement. Yogurt, whole grains, herbs and sprouts were the foods on the edge of acceptability.
Consumers appear quite comfortable with the concept of nutraceuticals and functional foods.
Yet, a study based on focus groups with dietitians and family physicians, conducted by the International Food Information Council in Washington, D.C., revealed that many health professionals believe that consumers are taking the easy way out. Instead, medical professionals state, people should take the time to learn the overall health benefits of basic foods. While food may be more than just food, it is presumably not the magic bullet that many consumers seem to believe it is. The acceptance of nutraceuticals and functional foods by consumers is not puzzling considering the length of time they have been exposed to media-hype about the health positives and negatives of foods. Often based on conflicting research, current nutritional platitudes have crept into the medical world, creating even more confusion.