What are functional foods?

The relationship between diet and health has been known since ancient times. Hippocrates in the Classical Greece of the 5^th Century B.C, already used food for medicinal purpose.

However, it was not until the mid-1980s that the term “functional food” was first used, in Japan specifically.

“Let your medicine be your food, and your food your medicine.” Hippocrates of Cos, Father of medicine

A food may be considered functional if it has been shown to have a beneficial effect on one or more functions in the body.”

It is in that decade that health food for a specific use (Foshu) began to be promoted by the Japanese government. “Foshu” is a term used in Japan to designate “a food with a specific effect on health”, which enjoys great popularity among the population; the longest-living in the world.

Functional foods should be part of our normal eating patterns.”

In 1999, the concept of functional food was disseminated in the consensus document: Functional Food Science in Europe (FUFOSE) by the International Life Science Institute (ILSI) Europe.

The Foshu logo, a category that Japan applies to certified healthy foods.

According to the ILSI, food can be considered functional if it has been shown satisfactorily to have a beneficial effect on one or more specific functions in the body, beyond the usual nutritional effects, as this is relevant for improving health and Well-being and / or reducing the risk of illness.

We have to differentiate between enriched food and functional food.”

“It should be noted that functional food refer specifically to food; therefore, it should not be in the format of capsules, pills or other types of industrial processing.

It is also important to understand that in this respect results demonstrated must use quantities consumed normally in one´s diet, since, as the food must be part of normal feeding patterns.

Functional foods refer expressly to food; not capsules, pills or other formats.

Functional foods are not substitutes for a usual diet and should not be considered a panacea. If incorporated into everyday eating and combined with a healthy lifestyle, they can contribute positively to improving the health and well-being of the individual.

According to the ILSI, a functional food can be:

A natural food.
A food where the nature of one or more of its components has been varied.
A food to which a component has been added or removed through technology or biotechnology.
A food in which the bioavailability of one or more of its components has been modified.
Combinations of the possibilities mentioned.

Keys to understanding this type of food

Functional foods should not be conceived as innovative products, since they are generally traditional foods, which have been consumed since ancient times.

The consumption of functional foods is proposed as one of the possible solutions to compensating the lack of nutrients derived from the imbalances in the industrial diet, common today.

Organic Moringa leaves, functional food.

The biggest challenge in this case, according to experts in the field, is the studying of the relationship between a food item, or one of its components, and any improvement in health or defenses against falling ill.

Although no European legislation per se exists with regard to functional foods, the issue is already addressed in current EU regulations.”

Owing to a widespread lack of knowledge on the part of the general population, it is vital to provide consumers with scientifically validated information on the health benefits of functional foods.