What Is Nutraceuticals?
Nutraceuticals, a portmanteau of “nutrition” and “pharmaceuticals”, is the method of rebalancing the body through the daily intake of specific foods to prevent, control, and/or improve health conditions. The term nutraceuticals is used throughout both human and veterinary medicines to describe a class of drugs that provide both medicinal properties and also nutritive ones. In veterinary medicine, nutraceuticals are refered by the types of foods or ingredients that are believed or proven to have other health benefits.
The Indians, Egyptians, Chinese, and Sumerians are just a few civilizations that have provided evidence suggesting that foods can be effectively used as medicine to treat and prevent disease. Ayurveda, the 5,000 year old ancient Indian health science, have mentioned benefits of food for therapeutic purpose. Documents hint that the medicinal benefits of food have been explored for thousands of years. Hippocrates, considered by some to be the father of Western medicine, said that people should “Let food be thy medicine.”
With more than 40% of the American population using alternative medical therapies including nutraceuticals, pet parents are encouraged to do the same for their pets. Plus, consumers who are dissatisfied with the high cost of drugs and conventional healthcare and have poor or failed therapeutic outcomes, have turned to alternative methods for medical treatments. Since nutraceuticals are made from herbal or botanical raw materials and are considered by the population to be safer, it’s no wonder why pet parents are moving to alternative medical therapies.
Nutraceuticals can be broken down into the categories such as functional foods or “food therapy”, cleansing & detoxifying, and dietary additives or supplements. All of these methods use food as a tool of purging, rebalancing, or boosting bodily functions.
As Members of the International Society for Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods (ISNFF), we believe that “Food is medicine” and we do our best to assist you with absolutely anything and everything related to nutrition. As far as we know, we are the first & only holistic nutraceutical center for pets in the US.
What are Functional Foods?
Functional Foods are simply foods in their most natural form with a function or purpose within the body. At PUPtection we practice “Food Therapy “or the use of functional foods, which is the process of letting the body, over a specified period of time, naturally extract vitamins, minerals, and enzymes from food.
The most common examples of food therapy are present in raw, vegan, vegetarian, and alkaline diets. As well as, juice cleansing and fasting. All of these therapies use dietary changes to naturally alkaline and boost the immune system. This process is very important in preventing common and chronic illnesses because it stops yeast and allergen build up as well as lowers bodily acidity.
Alkaline/acidic or PH levels stand for how healthy the body is and how easily it can fight off viruses, bacteria, and disease. If the body is alkaline, it will have a high immunity to disease, very little to no heavy metal toxicity or nutrient deficiencies, and all organs (heart, liver, colon, kidneys, skin, etc.) will be balanced and functioning properly. If the body is acidic, it will have a low immunity to disease, high presents of heavy metal toxicity or nutrient deficiencies, and organs will be imbalanced resulting in poor digestion or loose stools, joint or muscle pain, skin allergies, food intolerances, and cancers.
Using daily meals as medicine is nothing new. Many ancient civilizations were recorded using exotic fruits, vegetables, plants, and even dirt with medicinal properties as highly effective and very safe forms of healing.
Nutraceutical Food Therapy is great for improving:
- Allergies—Food & Skin
- Arthritis / Joints
- Behavioral Disorders
- Bladder Health
- Cancer
- Diabetes
- Digestive Problems
- Gum Disease / Tartar / Bad Breath
- Heart Conditions
- Kidney Problems
- Liver Disease
- Mobility Problems
- Skin & Coat Conditions
- Stress / Recovery / Healing
- Urinary Tract Disease
- Weight Control
- And more!