What is "nutraceutical"

n. A nutrient or food believed to have cure properties. A food used as a drug.

Nutraceutical, a portmanteau of the words “ nutrition” and “ pharmaceutical”, was coined in 1989 by Stephen L. DeFelice, founder and chairman of the Foundation of Innovation Medicine. The term is applied to products that range from isolated nutrients, dietary supplements and herbal products, specific diets and processed foods such as cereals, soups, and beverages.