Functional foods

Hippocrates, the father of medicine, had said 2500 years ago, ‘Let food be thy medicine and medicine thy food’. Food being considered as medicine is not a new concept. Hence, food scientists came up with a term called, ‘Functional Foods’.

Functional foods are those foods or food ingredients, that other than meeting nutritional needs, also provide health benefits to the body. These foods contain bioactive or physiologically active components, like, nutrients (vitamins, minerals) and non-nutrients (phytochemicals, prebiotics) that improve overall health, reduce disease risk, and/or improve disease outcomes. All foods do not come under this category.

In addition, nowadays, many branded foods are made ‘functional’ by enriching or fortifying them with certain ingredients. Hence, as per definition, scientific bodies around the world consider both, conventional foods and modified foods, as functional foods.

SOME COMMON FUNCTIONAL FOODS

Let’s look at some of the conventional functional foods that we have been consuming for many years and were not aware of their health benefits.

TOMATOES

These contain bioactive compounds like lycopene, a phytochemical that gives it the red colour, plus nutrients like B carotene, Vitamin C and potassium that all work together in supporting cardiovascular health, reducing the risk of certain cancers plus work as great immunity boosters. Interestingly, cooked or steamed tomatoes increase the content of the antioxidant lycopene, although Vitamin C gets compromised.

CRUCIFEROUS VEGETABLES, MAINLY BROCCOLI

These contain bioactive compounds like carotenoids and glucosinolates and nutrients like Vitamin C, K, folate, manganese, and potassium, which provide immunity, improve heart health and help in reducing risks for certain types of cancer. Again, steaming and boiling are preferred methods as they enhance the carotenoid content.

CARROTS

A great source of B carotene, vitamins and phytochemicals, like polyphenols glucosinolates, that protect the heart, and brain, and keep skin and eyes healthy. Research indicates that boiling carrots increases the carotenoid content and also retains some vitamins.

WHOLE GRAINS

A food which is considered a staple in many regions is truly a functional food. Most of the nutrients, like, B vitamins, fibre and minerals in trace amounts are in the outer layer, while the germ contains phytochemicals like lignan and polyphenols, and the inside part contains carbs and proteins. Hence, all these bioactive components work together in supporting gut and heart health.

Include more plant-based foods in your diet n Go more for conventional foods than

processed or modified foods. n Choose a variety of foods and do not

stick to one food. n Go for coloured foods as natural colours in foods indicate the presence of phytochemicals. n Tossing and mixing different foods not only brings colour to your plate but also variety in taste and texture.

The above are just a few of the functional foods that have been discussed. However, there are many, like, nuts, seeds, berries, green leafy veggies, and exotic fruits that come under this category. Remember, different compounds present in each of these foods, most often work together synergistically to alter one or more physiological processes in the body. Hence, variety and moderation are the key to making the most of these foods.