Nutraceuticals and functional foods, a strategy to empower women’s health

Abstract

While healthy, balanced, and natural food meets the nutritional requirements of any healthy person, there are people, particularly women who need to be provided with supplements. Pregnant and lactating women, those with pre and post-menopause issues, and women with special dietary needs like sportswomen, models, etc., fall in this category. There is also a major issue of malnutrition endemic among a vast section of the society which, on account of the prevalent social mores and practices, impacts women more profoundly than the menfolk. On account of various sociological and economic factors, the special nutritional needs of women cannot be properly addressed through the normal consumption habits and nutraceuticals come as an effective solution to address this issue. Though not acknowledged to the extent it deserves, the nutraceuticals do play a decisive role in combating many life-threatening diseases like Cardio Vascular Diseases, Obesity, Hypertension, Arthritis, etc., both as an effective prophylactic as well as a curative aid to the mainline treatment. Known benefits of a carefully calibrated regimen of nutraceuticals are general performance enhancement, stress relief, increase in memory, immunity boosting, etc., Considering that women shoulder more than their share of family responsibility, women stand to be the main beneficiaries of such a health regimen, and in this sense, the nutraceuticals contribute to a considerable extent to the empowerment of women.