What is a medical food?

Medical food is a nutritional product designed to address the medical and eating needs of an individual caused by a specific disease or health condition. Medical foods should not be confused with nutritional supplements or nutritionally enriched foods. Instead, medical foods that contribute to the management of the disease are formulated, not just to offer nutritional supplements and must be administered on the recommendation and under the supervision of a doctor. Medical foods can be formulated to consume orally or as liquid nutrition administered by the tube feed. The definition and regulation of medical food may vary according to jurisdiction and the use of the term can be regulated by government agencies such as Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States.

There are some health conditions that can be alleviated or treated through diet control that may include medical food consumption. In the United States of TFDA requires food products referred to as medical sweatThe ravines were formulated with additives that have been proven through admitted scientific methods and medical knowledge to deal with nutritional needs and in some cases help in the treatment of health. The FDA also requires that such a designation should only be applied to specially formulated and processed foods that are part of the care plan and administration of the doctor for a particular patient.

One known type of medical food is infant nutrition, which is specially designed to suit the needs of children affected by phenylketonuria (PKU), which is a condition that prevents them from properly metabolizing phenylalanine, amino acid. This can cause serious developmental disability in disabled children, but these consequences can be avoided by appropriate control of the diet, including the use of special infant nutrition, which is low -fenylalanine. Other types of medical food include wording for LiDI with diabetes, gastrointestinal blockages and severe allergies.

While many health insurance and health care plans do not cover the cost of nutritional supplements or natural medicines, some reimburse the costs of medical food depending on the laws in jurisdiction, where the health care or health insurance plan is offered. In such cases, medical food may be considered medical equipment or medicines and its costs are at least partially covered by the plan. Such coverage is usually provided only if the doctor is actually prescribed by a doctor and the doctor oversees its use.