We’ve been manufacturing nutraceutical products for over 25 years now and although we use the word ‘nutraceutical’ leisurely in our communications (it’s even in the name of our company), it’s come to our attention that one of the most asked questions on the internet within our industry is ‘what actually are nutraceutical products?’
So building upon our years of experience we thought we’d use our latest blog to answer.
Nutraceuticals are products derived from food sources that have health benefits in addition to the existing nutritional value found in foods.
The name ‘Nutraceutical’ combines the words ‘nutrient’, the nourishing food component and “pharmaceutical” the medical drug element. Nutraceutical products are used to improve health, prevent chronic diseases, delay the ageing process or support the structure and function of the body.
Key Areas of Nutraceuticals
Most often Nutraceuticals are grouped into the two key areas which are dietary supplements and, functional foods.
Dietary Supplements
Here at Redrose we specialise in the manufacture of dietary supplements and offer a range of off-the-shelf formulations in tablet, capsule or softgel form.
Our supplements, once distributed by our customers, are mainly used by the end-user to add to their diet and help make sure that they get enough of the vital nutrients the body needs to function.
These supplements could contain vitamins, minerals, fibre, amino acids and herbs or other plants and they come in many forms. To see a selection of our supplement products, click here.
Functional Foods
Functional foods deliver additional or enhanced benefits over and above the basic nutritional value. Some are generated around a particular ingredient eg. foods containing probiotics and prebiotics to promote intestinal health.
Functional foods can also include foods fortified with nutrients that do not naturally occur in the food in order to improve nutrition and add health benefits. For example, milk is often fortified with Vitamin D and calcium may be added to fruit juices.
Summary
All of the products listed above come under the band of nutraceuticals. As mentioned in our previous blog featuring our trend report, nutraceuticals have become more popular in recent years due to their potential nutritional, safety and therapeutic effects.
The whole philosophy behind nutraceuticals is to focus on prevention and human nutrition, using food as ‘medicine’. This is becoming more popular as the correlation between diet and disease becomes widely recognised worldwide.
Here at Redrose Nutraceutical Manufacturing, we’re specialists in developing nutraceutical supplements for our customers to take to market.
We’ve been manufacturing products for over 25 years now and the market shows no signs of slowing down.
If you want to know more about nutraceutical supplements, have a look through the pages of our website, or if you’re interested in developing your own nutraceutical product line with us, head to our contact page here.
