Nutraceuticals & Bioactives

The Gene Smart Team8955 Views325 Comments

Nutraceuticals & Bioactives 101

Bioactives are specific compounds that are present in food that have health promoting benefits. When foods contain health promoting bioactives, they are sometimes called nutraceutcials. The right bioactives at the correct “dosage” can have powerful benefits to our health. Consuming specific bioactives each day at certain levels is a major focus of the Gene Smart Anti Inflammatory Diet & Exercise Program.

Bioactives vs. Nutrients

Bioactives aren’t nutrients in the classical sense; that is, bioactives are usually not essential for life, but emerging research suggests that they are essential for good health. Essentially, the bioactives are Mother Nature’s pharmacy, making ordinary foods into natural nutraceuticals. They are potent and have terrific efficacy, even in very small quantities. And they are much safer, because unlike pharmaceuticals, bioactives have developed along with our bodies to be used by them. More precisely, in the right dosages, bioactives interact directly with the master health regulators that control our genes.

Our new understanding of bioactives, together with advances in the field of gene-based nutrition, will revolutionize how we think about food and medicine. We are one step closer to understanding how the foods we eat, and those we avoid, can help to treat and prevent many of the most devastating chronic diseases affecting humankind.

What are Bioactives?

Bioactives typically occur in small amounts in foods.

Bioactives are not nutrients, in the classical sense; that is, they typically are not essential for life, a fundamental criterion for a nutrient
Bioactives influence physiological or cellular activities, usually resulting in a beneficial health effect
Bioactives modify disease risk, rather than preventing deficiency diseases
Bioactives act as inducers and inhibitors of enzymes, inhibitors of receptor activity, and inducers and inhibitors of gene expression
Bioactives can mimic an adaptive stress response in animals and humans

A Note About the Omega 3 Bioactives

One of the definitions of the bioactives is that technically, we don’t need them. That’s not really true about the omega fatty acids known as long-chain omegas – including the Omega 3s EPA and DHA. We do need them, and not getting enough of them in our diets leads to a deficiency. These omega fats do have a powerful impact on gene expression, though. So for the purpose of the program, they are classified as bioactives. In fact, these bioactives are so important to our health that Gene Smart pioneered the first Omega 3 Home Blood Test to empower individuals with personal information to make important choices about their diet to impact their Omega 3 Index and Omega 6 to Omega 3 Ratio.

Bioactives & The Gene Smart Diet Principles

The Gene Smart Diet Principles focuses on three particular types of bioactives: fiber, polyphenols and omegas. The foods that contain these bioactives are called nutraceuticals. We strongly encourage individuals to get their bioactives through foods, and have created handy guides to help you make smart choices about which foods to choose: High Fiber Foods, Omega 3 Levels of Fish, and High Polyphenol Foods.

While we strongly encourage individuals to get their bioactives through foods, in some cases, this can be difficult or impractical due to changes to our modern food supply, diets and lifestyles. For these instances, we developed three supplements that contain specific types and levels of bioactives to support the Gene Smart Diet Principles, a high quality concentrated Omega 3 Fish Oil, Borage Oil, and a unique polyphenol blend of Pomegranate & Green Tea Extract. Add Omegas & Polyphenols Monthly Delivery Program to help ensure you get your bioactives every day.