A practical guide for designing effective nutraceutical combinations in the form of foods, beverages, and dietary supplements against chronic degenerative diseases

Background: Chronic degenerative diseases (CDDs) are the leading causes of death worldwide. Nutraceuticals are compounds naturally found in foods that have preventive and therapeutic activities against CDDs. However, no single nutraceutical has been successful in preventing or curing CDDs. Consequently, a new research field has emerged: nutraceutical combinations that can work together for fighting CDDs more effectively. Scope and approach: This review is designed as a practical guide for researchers and food industries (including experts and non-experts in the field) to develop effective nutraceutical combinations (ENCs) in the form of foods, beverages, and dietary supplements against CDDs. It covers history of combination of compounds against CDDs, nutraceuticals (definition, chemistry, advantages and disadvantages), nutraceutical combinations (advantages, types of interactions and methods to determine them), factors to consider for designing ENCs, a protocol proposed by us to develop ENCs, and cancer as a case study where we exemplify the application of the protocol. Key findings and conclusions: To formulate ENCs against CDDs, several factors need to be considered, including doses, proportions, mechanisms, and bioavailability of the nutraceuticals in the ENC, as well as the raw material quality control, food matrix, processing, and post-production storage conditions used to develop the ENC. The protocol considers all these factors, and therefore can be used as a guide for designing ENCs against CDDs. More bioavailability, mechanistic, and clinical studies of individual and combined nutraceuticals are needed. Defeating CDDs could be just a matter of finding the right combination, along with a healthy lifestyle.