Health Food

The history of health foods in the United States is often intertwined with food faddism, defined as a prescription of foods with exaggerated and scientifically unproven health claims. Justifications for making statements about the health effects of specific foods or dietary regimes include divine inspiration, promoting public health, and capitalist profit. It is difficult for most consumers to separate the claims of the food faddist from the constantly changing and often contradictory nutritional and health information coming from the scientific community. The United States has had a colorful history of health reformers and food faddists, some of whom, such as herbalists and chiropractors, object to being labeled as faddist. They argue that the mainstream scientific and medical community is often too quick to pass judgment on health food claims and should reserve its opinions until more research has been done on holistic and alternative approaches to dietary therapy that may not conform to current scientific thinking.