The Quick Answer:

Functional Food: A food that has been enhanced or fortified to provide a specific health benefit beyond basic nutrition. It looks and is consumed like a regular food (e.g., vitamin D-fortified milk, probiotic yogurt).

Health Supplement: A concentrated source of nutrients or other substances with a nutritional or physiological effect. It is presented in a dose form (e.g., pill, capsule, powder, liquid) and is meant to supplement the diet, not replace it.

Blurring the Lines: The Gray Area

The line is constantly blurring due to innovative marketing and product development:

• Supplement-like Foods: Products like energy gels, meal replacement shakes (e.g., Ensure), or protein bars are consumed as food but are highly fortified and targeted for specific benefits, making them behave like supplements.

• Food-like Supplements: Gummy vitamins are a prime example. They are formulated to look, taste, and feel like candy (a food), but they are regulated and dosed as dietary supplements.

Key Takeaway:

The core difference lies in form and intent:

• If you eat or drink it as part of your meal and it provides an extra health benefit, it's a functional food.

• If you take it in a measured dose (like a pill) to complement your diet, it's a health supplement.

When choosing between them, consider your diet, health goals, and always consult with a healthcare professional, especially for supplements, as they can interact with medications and are not always rigorously tested for safety and efficacy.

Now, what about Nutraceutical:

The term is a combo of "nutrition" and "pharmaceutical." It was coined in 1989 by Dr. Stephen DeFelice.

• Concept: It refers to a food, or part of a food, that provides medical or health benefits, including the prevention and treatment of disease.

• Key Idea: The claim is that these products have a drug-like effect in preventing or managing health conditions, but they are derived from food sources.

How It Compares to Functional Foods and Supplements

The easiest way to understand "nutraceutical" is that it's more about the intended use and the evidence behind the claim than a specific product category.

Both functional food & health supplement could be called a Nutraceutical if it's proven to treat a condition with strong scientific evidence for its therapeutic effect.