Los nutracéuticos deben ser sometidos a rigurosos estudios preclínicos y clínicos para caracterizar sus propiedades biológicas y los mecanismos de acción a través de los cuales despliegan su acción preventiva y/o terapéutica. "En resumen, hablamos de alimentos con efectos beneficiosos para la salud a los que se les ha dotado de una forma farmacéutica y que, en consecuencia, aportan propiedades medicinales claras, objetivas y científicamente demostrables", destaca la Dra. Lucía Fernández-Novoa, de la Sociedad Española de Nutracéutica Médica (SENM). Y añade: "El objetivo principal de los nutracéuticos es la prevención, uno de los puntos débiles del sistema de salud".

The importance of nutraceuticals in the health of the elderly is more than relevant. At this age, the body begins to have difficulty absorbing and processing certain nutrients, which can be made worse by certain medications. The consequences of this condition usually lead to vitamin or calcium deficiencies, which is associated with diseases such as osteoporosis and other diseases associated with age, such as macular degeneration (which causes loss of vision), heart attacks to cause of the aging of the arteries (arteriosclerosis), or the narrowing produced by fatty plaques such as cholesterol (atherosclerosis).

Nutraceuticals can be defined as a food or a part of food that helps alter and maintain normal physiological functions in humans. Most nutraceuticals possess multiple therapeutic benefits and are claimed to have physiological benefits or provide protection against various diseases.

The term NUTRACEUTICAL was coined from "nutrition" and "pharmacist" in 1989 by Dr. Stephen DeFelice, President of the Foundation for Innovation in Medicine (FIM), in Cranford, New Jersey, United States. Dr. DeFelice defined Nutraceuticals as "a food or part of a food that provides medical or health benefits, including the prevention and / or treatment of disease."