A rational definition for functional foods: A perspective

Many foods are described as “functional foods”. However, the term is poorly defined. A commonly used definition is that they contain substances that have positive effects on health “beyond basic nutrition”. However, there are several problems with this definition. In many cases, healthy foods are in...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Norman J. Temple
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2022-09-01
Series:Frontiers in Nutrition
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2022.957516/full
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author Norman J. Temple
author_facet Norman J. Temple
author_sort Norman J. Temple
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description Many foods are described as “functional foods”. However, the term is poorly defined. A commonly used definition is that they contain substances that have positive effects on health “beyond basic nutrition”. However, there are several problems with this definition. In many cases, healthy foods are included under the term functional foods. A new definition is proposed as follows. Functional foods are novel foods that have been formulated so that they contain substances or live microorganisms that have a possible health-enhancing or disease-preventing value, and at a concentration that is both safe and sufficiently high to achieve the intended benefit. The added ingredients may include nutrients, dietary fiber, phytochemicals, other substances, or probiotics.
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spelling doaj.art-8352730acfec40e78cfee44c2a88d5f92022-12-22T03:18:27ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Nutrition2296-861X2022-09-01910.3389/fnut.2022.957516957516A rational definition for functional foods: A perspectiveNorman J. TempleMany foods are described as “functional foods”. However, the term is poorly defined. A commonly used definition is that they contain substances that have positive effects on health “beyond basic nutrition”. However, there are several problems with this definition. In many cases, healthy foods are included under the term functional foods. A new definition is proposed as follows. Functional foods are novel foods that have been formulated so that they contain substances or live microorganisms that have a possible health-enhancing or disease-preventing value, and at a concentration that is both safe and sufficiently high to achieve the intended benefit. The added ingredients may include nutrients, dietary fiber, phytochemicals, other substances, or probiotics.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2022.957516/fullfunctional foodsbeyond basic nutritionnovel foodshealthy foodsphytochemicals
spellingShingle Norman J. Temple
A rational definition for functional foods: A perspective
Frontiers in Nutrition
functional foods
beyond basic nutrition
novel foods
healthy foods
phytochemicals
title A rational definition for functional foods: A perspective
title_full A rational definition for functional foods: A perspective
title_fullStr A rational definition for functional foods: A perspective
title_full_unstemmed A rational definition for functional foods: A perspective
title_short A rational definition for functional foods: A perspective
title_sort rational definition for functional foods a perspective
topic functional foods
beyond basic nutrition
novel foods
healthy foods
phytochemicals
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2022.957516/full
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