The term functional foods were first introduced in Japan in the mid-1980s and refers to processed foods containing ingredients that aid specific bodily functions in addition to being nutritious. To date, Japan is the only country that has formulated a specific regulatory approval process for functional foods. Known as Foods for Specified Health Use (FOSHU), these foods are eligible to bear a seal of approval from the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare. In US and European countries functional foods are used in the different terms like nutraceuticals, designer foods, vita foods, pharma foods medicinal foods and foodicuticals. Overwhelming evidence from epidemiological, in vivo, in vitro, and clinical trial data indicates that a plant -based diet can reduce the risk of chronic diseases. In 1994, the US Institute of Medicine’s Food and Nutrition Board defined functional foods as “any food or food ingredient that may provide a health benefit beyond the traditional nutrients it contains”.
A food can be regarded as ‘functional’ if it is satisfactorily demonstrated to affect beneficially one or more target functions in the body, beyond adequate nutrition, in a way that improves health and well-being or reduces the risk of disease.
This definition suggests that a product must remain a food to be included within the category. On this basis a functional food can be:
- a natural food
- a food to which a positive component has been added, or from which a deleterious component has been removed
- a food where the nature of one or more components has been modified.
The idea of ‘functionality’ reflects a major shift in attitudes to the relationship between diet and health. Nutritionists have traditionally concentrated on identifying a ‘balanced’ diet, that is one ensuring adequate intakes of nutrients and avoiding certain dietary imbalances (for example, excessive consumption of fat, cholesterol and salt) which can contribute towards disease. It is important that this lies behind all sound nutritional principles and guidelines. However, the focus is now on achieving ‘optimised’ nutrition, maximising life expectancy and quality by identifying food ingredients which, when added to a ‘balanced’ diet, introduction improve the capacity to resist disease and enhance health.
Functional foods are divided into 5 main categories:
1. Upgrading (the addition of an already existing nutrient in the product. E.g., adding vitamin C to orange juice)
2. Substitution (whole or partial replacement of an ingredient with a healthier one. E.g.,saturated fat with fish oil)
3. Elimination (the removal of an undesirable ingredient. E.g., fat)
4. Enrichment (the addition of a nutrient that is not already existent in the product. E.g.,adding a vitamin to a soda)
5. Modification (chemical, psychical or biotechnological treatment of a product).
The most common ingredients in functional foods are:
1. Probiotics are milk acid bacteria that have a positive effect on the bowel function.
2. Prebiotics are natural carbohydrates that increase the growth of probiotic bacteria.
3. Dietary fibers contribute to a better bowel function.
4. Omega-3 is an essential fat acid that can reduce the risk of coronary and vascular diseases.
5. Minerals, for Example calcium and iron that are a part of the body’s production of bones and blood.
6. Vitamins, most commonly C, D, and E, that function as antioxidants and are beneficial for bone construction.
7. Fat replacements are ingredients that maintain richness while lowering the calorie amount.
There is a strong body of science underpinning health benefits from foods. Our challenge, therefore, is to develop effective synergies between science and food product development for the benefit of the consumer. Aspects of health linked with some of the most developed aspects of nutrition science include:
- better early development and growth;
- health maintenance (e.g., immune function, gastrointestinal health, mental health, health in ageing, physical performance);
- reduced risk of obesity;
- reduced risk of chronic diet-related diseases (e.g., cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and metabolic disease, musculoskeletal disease).
Conclusion
In recent years, functional foods have come up with a much-researched science. Together with a healthy lifestyle, functional foods can contribute to health and well-being. Studies are needed to clarify the interactive effect of functional foods with the usual diet, optimal dosing times, optimal dosages and efficacy in different populations. One of the most important things we have learned is that food is a fuel for the body and that it has to provide me with a number of substances to help the body work better and better. These foods are rich in specific minerals, vitamins, fatty acids, dietary fibre, antioxidants, prebiotics and probiotics that balance the diet so that the body is provided with all the nutrients.
