Functional foods are foods that provide health benefits beyond basic nutrition. They are intended to be consumed as part of a normal diet and have nutritional, dietary, metabolic or therapeutic roles. Functional foods may contain ingredients that naturally occur in foods or are added during processing to boost levels of compounds and increase their health-promoting activity. Examples include bread enriched with omega-3s and probiotic yogurt.
2. • described them as similar in appearance to
conventional foods and intended to be consumed as
part of a normal diet, but modified to serve
physiological roles beyond the provision of
simple nutrient requirements.Scientists have
defined them as foods which have nutritional,
dietary, metabolic or therapeutic roles and also
potentially have disease prevention, mitigation
and control roles, over and above the
traditional nutritional sustenance provided.In
Japan, functional foods (FOSHU) are defined as
processed foods containing ingredients that aid
specific bodily functions, in addition to being
nutritious.The emphasis in all of these
definitions is on food that has a positive impact
on a consumers health, either curative or
preventative, in addition to its nutritive value.
- Aust. Food Grocery Council Fact Sheet
3. • Put simply
• functional foods are foods that provide health
benefits beyond basic nutrition
• - Aus Food and Grocery Council Fact Sheet
4. • How to make foods functionalIngredients may be
• naturally occurring in these foods
• eg the soluble fibre found in oat bran.
• processing may boost their levels, increasing
their activity
• be added to foods during processing
5. • Thus traditional foods can have functionality.
However,the future of food development is in
novel designer foods and meals
6. • Examples of functional foods
Bread enriched with Omega 3s
• 3 main functional components
• Probiotics
• milk lipids eg. Omega 3s
• milk proteins and peptides
• Minor components include
• Range of peptides
• Potential health benefits
• anti-hypertension action- ACE inhibitor
• antimocrobial action and wound healing,
• probiotic action in the gut and control of gut
microflora,
• anti-inflammatory action
• iron transport
7. • Soy- why is it good for you?Soybean have 3 potential ways they can
improve
heart health
• Soy proteins
• Isoflavones
• Low GI
• Soy has other benefits
• controlling hormonal mood swings
• Improved cognitive function
8. • What are Probiotics?dietary supplements containing potentially
beneficial bacteria such as Lactobacillus and
Bifidobacterium or yeasts
• probiotics means for life
• Why do we need probiotics?Flora Out of Balance
• antiboitics
• drugs
• excessive alcohol
• disease
• toxic substances
9. • Where do probiotics fit into digestion?body contains a miniature
ecology of microbes,
collectively known gut flora
• balanced they work together for health digestion
but sometimes out of balance
• Use probiotic bacteria work to decrease
competitor bacteria harmful to our health
10. • How do probiotics work?Probiotic bacterial cultures assist gut flora
• Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) most used by
• converting sugars including lactose and other
carbohydrates into lactic acid
• acts as a preservative by lowering pH and
creating fewer opportunities for spoilage
organisms
• characteristic sour taste of fermented dairy
foods such as yogurt
11. • Current Research Opinionstest-tube experimentation rather than on
clinical
trials in human subjects
• The basic concept of probiotics is based on a
misunderstanding of the role of microflora in the
human digestive tract.
• difficult to understand how bacteria taken by
mouth survive human digestion, though research
shows that they do survive
