From changes in nutrition education over the past few decades, a new term has emerged. That term is functional foods, according to LSU AgCenter nutritionist Dr. Heli Roy.
"Functional foods are foods that have health-enhancing properties beyond the traditional nutrients they contain," the LSU AgCenter nutritionist explains.
"There has been a tremendous gain in the nutritional status of people in the developed countries and knowledge gained about nutritional sciences in the past century," Roy says, adding, "In the past, at the turn of the 20th century and early decades through the 1950s, nutrition was concerned about adequacy: Are people getting enough of the particular nutrients and energy?"
Now, with the prevalence of chronic diseases and plentiful food, we are no longer concerned about the adequacy of food or nutrients, but diseases brought about by excess food or wrong types of food. We also have gained a tremendous amount of information about diet and its relationship to health through the numerous studies that continue to be done by many institutions and research centers.
"The discovery that the fat content of diet was related to heart disease began in the 1960s and continues through today," Roy says, noting, "Through these studies and the accumulating knowledge, it became clear that not only is total amount of fat in the diet important in the development of heart disease, but the kind as well." She says unsaturated fats were found to have a beneficial effect over saturated fats, and omega 3 fats from cold water seafood had the most profound beneficial effect.
Today, we know that conjugated fatty acids have a suppressive effect on tumor development. And conjugated fatty acids are mainly obtained from beef. "So, we have come full circle," Roy says.
The health benefits of soy were studied through the 1980s and continue today. Soy is not just used as an animal protein replacement, but as a food to fight heart disease, menopause symptoms and osteoporosis, to name a few.
With the increasing numbers of aging baby boomers, and the prevalence of chronic disease, many nutrition studies started to look at individual components of foods and their impact on health. The cholesterol-lowering effects of beta glucan in oatmeal were studied, and now oatmeal can post on the package a health claim that it lowers cholesterol.
Soy has many therapeutic properties such as lowering cholesterol, reducing the risk for osteoporosis, alleviating menopausal symptoms and reducing cancer risk. Flaxseed has both omega 3 fatty acids and lignans, fiber that is thought to mimic estrogen and may play a role in reducing estrogen-related cancers.
Lycopene in tomatoes has been found to reduce cancer risk, particularly from prostate cancer. Garlic has chemopreventive, antibiotic, antihypertensive and cholesterol-lowering properties. Broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables contain glucosinolates that are cancer preventive. Citrus fruit are protective against cancers. Cranberry juice alleviates urinary tract infections. Tea has polyphenols that are cancer preventive. These are just some examples of functions these foods have beyond their basic nutrition.
Some foods in the market have nutrients added to them for additional health benefit: orange juice with calcium to prevent osteoporosis, margarine with plant sterols for lowering cholesterol, folic acid in cereals to prevent neural tube defects and sugar alcohols in candy and gums to prevent tooth decay.
Functional foods are a $30 billion business and continue to be a leading trend in the U.S. food industry. Because of the prevalence of chronic diseases, research monies will be directed at studying those diseases and will result in greater numbers of food ingredients identified as having therapeutic potential. In the future, food will not be considered only for its satiating and energy-yielding properties, but for its health-renewing properties.
When selecting and consuming functional foods, as with anything, use moderation, Roy advises. As certain ingredients and nutrients are concentrated and offered in several different forms in a variety of products, and in vitamin, mineral supplements, it is possible that one may overload on a particular nutrient, she cautions. Make sure you remain within the recommended level in total daily intake for that nutrient to avoid toxicity.
The LSU AgCenter nutritionist recommends contacting an extension agent in your parish LSU AgCenter office to learn more about functional foods.