health food

American

noun

any natural food popularly believed to promote or sustain good health, as by containing vital nutrients, being grown without the use of pesticides, or having a low sodium or fat content.

health food British

noun

1. vegetarian food organically grown and with no additives, eaten for its dietary value and benefit to health
2. ( as modifier )
  
  a health-food shop

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of health food

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Their activism faced a commercial test as the brand moved from health food aisles into the mainstream.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

Beth Krietsch is a writer specializing in health, food, and wellness.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 23, 2026

He’d found a job at a health food store, but couldn’t keep it.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 6, 2025

Soon after, the musician was placed under a conservatorship, with his family saying he was "unable to properly provide for his own personal needs for physical health, food, clothing, or shelter".

From BBC • Jun. 11, 2025

Bobby asked him to bring bottles of fresh-squeezed carrot juice from Yggdrasil; if the health food store didn’t have it available, Olafsson was to buy juice imported from Germany.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023