Green Options

Our children went back to school and brought home viruses. We have had enough sniffles, sneezes, runny noses, and earaches to fulfill our annual quota. Now Mommy has pink eye (otherwise known as conjunctivitis). Thanks kids.

Several years ago I learned that pink eye can arrive from multiple reasons. One is bacterial, which isn’t the most common, but does require antibiotics the majority of the time. A much more frequent cause is a virus. That’s right, that cold settles into your eye(s). This can easily be treated at home or just waited out. If you are like me, the discomfort requires attention.

If you’re Japanese, European or heavily involved in natural foods, nutraceuticals may be a regular item on your shopping list. But for the average American, nutraceuticals or functional foods are virtually unknown. That’s about to change.

A new report, 2008 Culinary Trend Mapping Report on Emerging Health & Wellness, from Packaged Facts based on research from the Center for Culinary Development finds that have nutraceuticals have reached a tipping point in North America. That is, the adoption curve is speeding up and we can expect increased interest in this category from both retailers and consumers…soon.