Nutraceuticals, Bioactive Compounds and Functional Foods: Their Role in Chronic Diseases

In recent years, the intersection of nutrition, health, and disease prevention has garnered increasing attention from scholars and practitioners. As life expectancy increases globally, so does the burden of noncommunicable diseases, also known as chronic diseases. This underscores the urgent need to implement strategies to reduce their occurrence and negative impacts. Among the primary chronic diseases are cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases. The advent of nutraceuticals, bioactive compounds, and functional foods represents a promising frontier in combating chronic diseases. Nutraceuticals, characterized by their therapeutic properties, offer a novel approach to complementing traditional healthcare practices. Similarly, bioactive compounds found abundantly in various natural sources possess remarkable potential in modulating biological processes implicated in chronic diseases. Moreover, functional foods fortified with specific nutrients or bioactive ingredients present a convenient and accessible means of promoting health and wellbeing.