Alimentos Funcionales

El término "Nutraceútico"
Fuente: www.bccresearch.com.

The term nutraceutical was coined by Stephen DeFelice, founder of Foundation for
Innovation in Medicine, in 1989. He defined a nutraceutical as a food, dietary supplement, or
medical food that has a medical or health benefit, including the prevention and treatment of
disease. Today, the term nutraceutical is often used interchangeably with functional food. Since
1989, the nutraceutical or functional food industry has evolved into a market worth $20.2 billion
in 2002.
The industry, which is still relatively young, has seen its share of product launch
successes and failures. And although there are still blurry lines between conventional foods and
dietary supplements, legislative bodies have made strides to regulate both the functional food
and dietary supplement markets (see sidebars on pages xx and xx). One thing is clear though, the
functional food industry can be a lucrative market and is seemingly here to stay for the long
term.