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Functional foods and their impact on health

  • Review Article
  • Published: 08 July 2021
  • Volume 60 , pages 820–834, ( 2023 )

Cite this article

  • Musthafa Mohamed Essa 1 , 2 , 10 ,
  • Muhammed Bishir 3 , 4 ,
  • Abid Bhat 3 , 4 ,
  • Saravana Babu Chidambaram 3 , 4 ,
  • Buthaina Al-Balushi 1 ,
  • Hamdan Hamdan 5 , 6 ,
  • Nagamaniammai Govindarajan 7 ,
  • Robert P. Freidland 8 &
  • M. Walid Qoronfleh 9  

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Functional foods play an important role in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and reducing the risk factors of various diseases. Most foods have a functional element which is responsible for improving the healthy state. All food substances such as fruits, vegetables, cereals, meat, fish, dairy contain functional ingredients. A wide range of naturally occurring substances from plant and animal sources having active components which play a role in physiological actions deserve attention for their optimal use in maintaining health. The market for functional food is keep on expanding, and the global market is projected to reach a value of at least 91 billion USD soon. Overwhelming evidence from preclinical ( in vitro and in vivo ) and clinical studies have shown that intake of functional foods could have an impact on the prevention of chronic diseases, especially cancer, cardiovascular diseases, gastrointestinal tract disorders and neurological diseases. Extensive research needs to be done to determine the potential health benefits for the proper application of these foods to improve health state and combat chronic disease progression. The aim of this review is to conduct a thorough literature survey, to understand the various classification of functional foods and their health benefits.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank their institutions for continued support. The language and technical editing support provided by The Editing Refinery, MD, USA is highly acknowledged. The financial support in the form of internal grant from SQU Oman to MME is highly acknowledged. The project was also supported by Alfaisal university by INTERNAL RESEARCH GRANTS IRG20314.

MME highly acknowledge the funding support provided by SQU, Oman in the form of Internal Grant. The support provided to HH by Al-Faisal university, KSA as INTERNAL RESEARCH GRANTS IRG20314 is highly acknowledged.

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Department of Food Science and Nutrition, CAMS, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman

Musthafa Mohamed Essa & Buthaina Al-Balushi

Ageing and Dementia Research Group, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman

Musthafa Mohamed Essa

Dept. of Pharmacology, JSS College of Pharmacy, JSS Academy of Higher Education & Research, Mysuru, India

Muhammed Bishir, Abid Bhat & Saravana Babu Chidambaram

Centre for Experimental Pharmacology and Toxicology, Central Animal Facility, JSS Academy of Higher Education & Research, Mysuru, India

Department of Physiology, Al Faisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Hamdan Hamdan

Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

Department of Food Process Engineering, College of Engineering and Technology, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, Chengalpettu, Tamil Nadu, India

Nagamaniammai Govindarajan

Department of Neurology, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY, 40202, USA

Robert P. Freidland

Q3CG Research Institute (QRI), Research and Policy Division, 7227 Rachel Drive, Ypsilanti, MI, 48917, USA

M. Walid Qoronfleh

College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O 34, Al-Khoud, Muscat, 123, Sultanate of Oman

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MB, and AB performed literature research, gathered and analyzed information, and generated short preliminary write-ups. SBC, BB, HH and NG provided research insight, content examination and supported wide ranging aspects of the manuscript development process. MME, RPF and MWQ conceptual work, framework, final draft write-up, critical reading and editing. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Essa, M.M., Bishir, M., Bhat, A. et al. Functional foods and their impact on health. J Food Sci Technol 60 , 820–834 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13197-021-05193-3

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Revised : 23 June 2021

Accepted : 25 June 2021

Published : 08 July 2021

Issue Date : March 2023

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s13197-021-05193-3

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  • v.334(7602); 2007 May 19

Functional foods

Centre for Food Policy, City University, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB

Their long term impact and marketing need to be monitored

Functional foods, also known as “nutraceuticals” or “designer foods” are foods containing supplements that are intended to improve health, and they are slowly emerging on supermarket shelves worldwide. The market is divided into two main categories. Firstly, breakfast cereals fortified with fibre and sometimes vitamins and, secondly, dairy or yoghurt drinks and yoghurts with probiotic bacteria. Manufacturers of foods, soft drinks, and drugs have invested heavily in this sector to create a market that aims to cover 5% of the value of food sales worldwide. 1 By 2005, global sales were an estimated $73.5bn (£36.9bn; €54.3bn) and, although slowing, still on target to reach $167bn after 2010. 2 In this week's BMJ , de Jong and colleagues 3 discuss various aspects of functional foods—their effectiveness, long term safety and marketing.

There are two broad positions on functional foods. Proponents argue that they are a consumer friendly way to improve diets and fulfil the aim of nutrition as a source of preventing ill health. They see them in the forefront of “personalised medicine” and health through consumer choice. Sceptics argue that the market for functional foods is corporate and driven by the need to diversify and create niche sectors in saturated food markets. They also argue that functional foods are affordable and appealing only to the “worried well,” or worse, could be an extra burden on poor people's finances.

Functional foods were developed and first regulated in Japan in the 1980s, 4 then spread to North Europe and North America, also affluent consumer markets. 5 The expansion was shaped by these regions' particular consumer cultures and health sensitivities, not least their experience of food scandals. 6 7 Consumer organisations have lobbied for controls on health claims, sound verification, and accurate labelling. Companies have concurred, but their main concern has been safety. Twenty years after bovine spongiform encephalopathy, no company wants to risk its reputation or share price on unsafe products.

Regulators and policymakers are right to keep a watchful eye on functional foods. The European Union, the world's largest single consumer market, introduced a regulation on the use of nutrition and health claims for such foods in December 2006. 8 Companies and scientists have worked with relevant regulatory bodies and organisations at different levels of governance from the United Nations to EU to national governments. 9 10

Now that functional foods are in the market place—with more emerging aimed at “mental performance” and sports, for example—the arguments given by de Jong and colleagues for postlaunch monitoring are sound. 3 Such monitoring could take a second look at need and synergistic effects, a research direction raised by the impact of food colourings, for example, which are used extensively in food and soft drinks. 11

If evidence is robust that these products improve health, then what was wrong with people's diets in the first place? 12 Attention to global nutrition has historically been on underconsumption, but more recently the reliance on preprocessed foods in industrialised society means that obesity has also become a problem. 13 So where do functional foods fit? Are they the first phase of fine tuning the consequences of the industrialised diet and lifestyle? 14 Or are they part of the wider struggle to improve diet in populations, which the WHO and Food and Agriculture Organization championed in 2004? 15

Proponents argue that functional foods and drinks allow people to eat and drink more healthily without radically changing their diet. 2 Certainly, big changes in diet are needed. 13 Functional foods and drinks may be legal, make money, and reshape the way we think about food and drink. However, at best they are likely to be technical fixes, and at worst, another confounding factor that nutritional epidemiologists will have to unravel for years to come.

Competing interests: TL is chair of the UK Co-operative Group's Responsible Retailing Advisory Group.

Provenance and peer review: Commissioned; not externally peer reviewed.

IMAGES

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COMMENTS

  1. (PDF) Functional Food

    The functional foods include foods containing Freely Available Online www.openaccesspub.org | IJN CC - license DOI : 10.14302/issn.2379 - 7835.ijn - 19 - 2615 Vol - 3 Issue 3 Pg. no. - 9

  2. The Role of Functional Foods, Nutraceuticals, and Food Supplements in

    3. Functional Foods. Functional foods are similar in appearance to conventional foods; the former being consumed as part of the normal diet. In contrast to conventional foods, functional foods, however, have demonstrated physiological benefits and can reduce the risk of chronic disease beyond basic nutritional functions, including maintenance of gut health [].

  3. Functional Foods, Nutraceuticals and Probiotics: A Focus on Human

    Nutraceuticals, unlike conventional diets, have been described as foods (or part of a food) combining nutritional and pharmaceutical effects (i.e., providing medical or health benefits, including the prevention and/or treatment of a disease). Hence, nutraceuticals include any compound of natural origin that positively effects the human body ...

  4. Functional Foods: Benefits, Concerns and Challenges—A Position Paper

    Functional foods can be considered to be those whole, fortified, enriched or enhanced foods that provide health benefits beyond the provision of essential nutrients (e.g., vitamins and minerals), when they are consumed at efficacious levels as part of a varied diet on a regular basis. Linking the consumption of functional foods or food ingredients with health claims should be based on sound ...

  5. Re-thinking functional food development through a holistic approach

    The research interest towards functional food experienced a steep increase only in the 21st century (Fig. 1 a) and this globally growing attention has tremendously influenced their market (Kaur & Das, 2011), the size of which was estimated at USD 162 billion in 2018 and was projected to reach USD 280 billion by 2025 with an annual growth rate of around 8% (Grand View Research, 2019, Grand View ...

  6. Journal of Functional Foods

    Aims & Scope. JFF (Journal of Functional Foods) aims to bring together the results of fundamental and applied research into healthy foods and biologically active food ingredients. The Journal is centered in the specific area at the boundaries among food science, nutrition and health, welcoming papers having a good interdisciplinary approach.

  7. Functional Food—Consumer Motivations and Expectations

    This review provides insight into consumer attitudes toward functional food (FF), with the purpose of better understanding the needs and behavior regarding this kind of product. A total of 47 articles were selected for this paper. The available studies from last 20 years differ according to the focus (awareness, attitudes, motivations ...

  8. Functional foods and their impact on health

    Functional foods play an important role in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and reducing the risk factors of various diseases. Most foods have a functional element which is responsible for improving the healthy state. All food substances such as fruits, vegetables, cereals, meat, fish, dairy contain functional ingredients. A wide range of naturally occurring substances from plant and animal ...

  9. Journal of Functional Foods

    Graphical abstract. Graphical abstract. In the present study, molecular weight, monosaccharide composition, FT-IR, molecular morphology of Potentilla anserina L polysaccharide were characterized. And then, ROS, MDA, SOD, and GSH-Px were evaluated after radiation damage by γ-rays in RAW264.7 cells.

  10. Full article: Advances in the concept of functional foods and feeds

    1. Introduction. Functional foods are defined as natural or industrially processed foods that, when consumed in sufficient quantities as part of a varied diet, may provide health benefits beyond essential nutrition (Granato et al. Citation 2020).According to Functional Food Science in Europe (FUFOSE), it is a food that has at least one positive effect on the human body in addition to its ...

  11. (PDF) Functional Foods: A Conceptual Definition

    Originality/value This paper is the first one, to our knowledge, that attempts to conceptually define the frontiers of the functional food universe and to provide a definition of functional food ...

  12. Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Functional Foods

    Functional food research holds many promises for improving the quality of life for consumers; however, to achieve such outcomes, scientific research must effectively establish the bioavailability and efficacy of these compounds at levels that are physiologically achievable under typical dietary patterns. ... Policy paper—Nutraceuticals ...

  13. Nutrients

    Functional foods contain biologically active ingredients associated with physiological health benefits for preventing and managing chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). ... Feature papers represent the most advanced research with significant potential for high impact in the field. A Feature Paper should be a substantial ...

  14. Editorial overview: Functional Foods and Nutrition: The science of

    In this way, this paper showcases the comprehensive scientific and technical expertise required to realize effective functional food therapies. The 2022 COFS — Functional Foods & Nutrition Special Issue captures the diversity of scientific pursuits along the agriculture-food-nutrition-health spectrum. There has been amazing progress in ...

  15. Journal of Functional Foods

    The advising behaviour of healthcare professionals; considerations of dieticians and general practitioners regarding dairy and probiotic interventions. A.M. van der Geest, J.J. Feddema, L.H.M. van de Burgwal, O.F.A. Larsen. Article 105558. View PDF. Article preview. Read the latest articles of Journal of Functional Foods at ScienceDirect.com ...

  16. (PDF) Peanuts as functional food: A review

    Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) stands as a pivotal oilseed crop on the global stage, boasting a lipid content of 48-50%, an easily digestible protein content ranging between 25-28%, and a ...

  17. Functional foods and their role in cancer prevention and health

    In the present paper, cancer prevention by functional foods is reviewed and the possible mechanisms of action are described. Keywords: Apoptosis, bioactive molecule, carotenoids, genistein, prostate cancer. Introduction. ... In one research article Hosokawa et al. has been shown fucoxanthin can induce apoptosis and increase the anti ...

  18. PDF Functional Food—Consumer Motivations and Expectations

    Functional food total 640 496 4670 2000-2022 599 477 4480 Functional food AND consumer total 26 5 94 2000-2022 26 5 80 * Automatic advanced search: only research papers. ** After advanced searching (years of publication, "functional food and consumer" in the title), research papers were manually chosen.

  19. Functional food relevance of whey protein: A review of recent findings

    The prospecting for nutrients has catapulted whey protein to the forefront of the functional food sector. This protein, filtered from cheese whey, has been characterized to contain a plethora of healthy components such as essential amino acids, bioactive peptides, antioxidants and immunomopotentiators.

  20. Molecules

    Functional foods improve the state of health and wellbeing and reduce the risk of disease. However, functional foods remain a food and are consumed as part of the normal diet. ... I would like to invite you to submit original research papers or review articles to this Special Issue that would address any research topic related to functional foods.

  21. Flaxseed—a potential functional food source

    Functional foods are an emerging field in food science due to their increasing popularity among health conscious consumers. Flaxseed is cultivated in many parts of world for fiber, oil as well as for medicinal purposes and also as nutritional product. ... But recent research findings indicated that mice are the only mammals possessing the ...

  22. Trends in functional beverages: Functional ingredients, processing

    1. Introduction. Functional food production has been the primary focus of recent food industry developments (Misra et al., 2021).The functional beverages market is expected to grow to $208.13 billion by 2024, with a projected Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)(2022-2027) of 7.5% (Kumar et al., 2023).Consumers recognize the importance of the correlation between diet and health to protect ...

  23. Functional foods

    Now that functional foods are in the market place—with more emerging aimed at "mental performance" and sports, for example—the arguments given by de Jong and colleagues for postlaunch monitoring are sound. 3 Such monitoring could take a second look at need and synergistic effects, a research direction raised by the impact of food ...