Functional Foods: Components, health benefits, challenges, and major projects

Abstract

Certain food components play a vital part in the benefit of our health and wellness. These foods, also known as “Functional Foods,” help in reducing or minimizing the risk of certain diseases and other conditions apart from providing fundamental nutrition. These foods include fortified foods, beverages, some nutritional supplements, fruits, vegetables, and whole grams etc. Many traditional foods with functional characteristics have been discovered, examined, and developed into beneficial components of new foods. By knowing which food is capable of providing specific health benefits, individuals can choose food and drink to improve their health

Sustainable Food Systems: The Case of Functional Compounds towards the Development of Clean Label Food Products

“…These compounds occur naturally as plant and/or microbial metabolites. They are part of the food chain, eliciting essential or non-essential properties [ 13 , 16 ]. The interest for functional compounds is constantly flourishing as an equally increasing number of studies proves or highlights their benefits to human health.…”

“…Their biological role is to assist the plant’s growth and its reproduction and to offer it protection against pathogens and ultraviolet radiation [ 30 ]. A great number of studies highlight the need to include phenolic-rich foods in human’s diet, as their consumption has been positively correlated with the reduced risk of plenty of chronic diseases such as different cancer types, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes, to name a few [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 13 ]. Phenolics owe their antioxidant activity to their ability to donate hydrogen and therefore stop free radical production.…”

“…Some microorganisms (e.g., lactobacilli, bifidobacteria, etc.) constitute well-known probiotics, as they promote physiological gut functioning, among other health benefits [ 13 ]. This practice ensures resource efficiency and meets the consumers’ demand for healthier products, as is signified by the thriving demand for “functional foods”.…”

Neuronutrición: repercusiones de los excesos y de las deficiencias nutricionales

“…Es así como diversas evidencias proponen que la nutrición está implicada en el comportamiento, estado de ánimo, patología y tratamiento de las diferentes enfermedades neurodegenerativas y trastornos mentales, de las cuales en esta revisión solo se mencionan alguna; por tanto, es conveniente considerar que ciertos componentes de diferentes alimentos tienen beneficios para la salud y el bienestar de los humanos, de ahí que se conozcan como alimentos funcionales, ya que ayudan a reducir o minimizar el riesgo de algunas enfermedades y otras afecciones, además de proporcionar nutrición fundamental. Así, al saber qué alimentos proporcionan beneficios específicos para la salud, es posible elegirlos y evitar aquellos que se sabe tendrán efectos tóxicos a mediano y largo plazo para la salud y el bienestar (97) .…”

Determining the medical and biological safety of meat-containing polycomponent products based on regional raw materials

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painful conditions of the person [1]. Research in nutrition has improved understanding of how to maintain the health of a group of people living under different dietary conditions [2,3]. Healthy food is an integral part of a healthy

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