Ashwagandha, Maca, Lion’s Mane, Reishi… the list goes on (and on). A litany of magical-sounding additives have become trendy ornaments embellishing elevated grocery fare, yet consumers tend to know very little about their history or science. This article aims to shed some light.

These additives are commercially known as ‘nutraceuticals’, a portmanteau of “nutrition” and “pharmaceutical,” which Merriam Webster defines as “foodstuffs that provide health benefits in addition to its basic nutritional value”.  When nutraceuticals are added to conventional foods it is common to designate the product as a “functional food.”  Definitions of these terms are hotly debated and will be discussed in more detail later.

The term ‘nutraceutical’ sounds modern and science-y, but the idea? Ancient. Imagine Hippocrates wandering around in a toga, proclaiming, “Let food be thy medicine!” Fast forward a few centuries, and here we are, trying to do just that, but with a lot more marketing and much higher prices.

Are nutraceuticals food or medicine (or neither or both)?  What is their history and, more broadly, what is the history of food-as-medicine? What is the reason for their popularity in food culture today? How do they work (if they work at all)?  In this multi-part post, we answer (or, at least, discuss) these questions and more to make you a better-informed consumer and, hopefully, come away with a deeper appreciation for these every-day delicacies.