NUTRACEUTICALS, A TOOL FOR PSYCHOPHYSICAL WELL-BEING ALSO IN THE OCCUPATIONAL FIELD

In the original definition: "nutraceutical is a food or part of it, as well as a dietary supplement, which has a benefit on health or a disease condition". In the professional field, together with the specific risks responsible for occupational pathologies, there are additional factors, such as psychosocial and environmental ones, which are difficult to identify and interpret that contribute to the onset of organic and behavioral disorders. Therefore, the importance of nutrition for maintaining psychophysical well-being, and for the prevention of many diseases, appears to be fundamental. Foods contain not only the nutrients that provide energy to our body, but also substances that are beneficial for its proper functioning, and it is in this context that nutraceuticals are inserted in the occupational field. The advantages of taking these elements are essentially linked to the great anti-inflammatory and antioxidant power they possess. In this context it is therefore necessary to insert the possible use of nutraceuticals, which can be taken and prescribed in work activities in which the psychophysical effort is particularly evident, and which expose to particular specific risks. To do this, it appears necessary, therefore, that nutraceuticals acquire more and more scientific value.