Functional Foods for Health:
A Possible Pathway to Avoiding Disease

If you think about that doughnut you had for breakfast or the chips you ate for lunch, you may feel guilty about consuming “empty calories.” It is true that what we call junk food is not especially healthy, but it does have a function in the body. Even a cookie or a candy bar is functional, providing calories for energy and perhaps a little protein if there are peanuts in the mix. Within the field of health food manufacturing, however, functional foods are a completely different animal. The standard definition of functional foods for health is: foods or beverages that provide health benefits beyond what is needed for survival. To provide additional “function” to food, functional foods for health are fortified and designed to promote the best possible health effects while reducing the risk of disease.

Examples of functional foods for health can be found throughout the supermarket. Functional foods for health may be fortified, enriched, and enhanced with ingredients that provide specific health benefits. For example, antioxidants have become a major player in functional foods for health. Antioxidants come from plant foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Research has shown that antioxidants reverse the damaging effects of oxygen, or oxidation, on the body. (As a real-life comparison, oxidation is what causes rust on exposed metal.) Functional foods for health with antioxidants would isolate certain antioxidants that have been shown to prevent disease and, in some cases, add a concentrated form of the antioxidant to food. For instance, the deep red color in tomatoes comes from an antioxidant called lycopene, which is being studied for its promise in preventing heart disease and cancer.

One day, functional foods for health may be designed for individuals and groups to prevent illness in people with a disease-prone genetic makeup. In other words, functional foods for health in the future may be able to help you if you were born with a tendency to have certain diseases like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. You may also see functional foods for health that will give you increased energy and younger-looking skin. Perhaps then you won’t have to feel bad about eating antioxidant-rich dark chocolate or snack chips made from whole fruits and vegetables.