There is no universal definition of nutrition functional food, but are known few working ones offered by various organizations worldwide. Experts are of the opinion that functional foods include those foods and food ingredients that provide besides essential nutrients, but also biologically active components with a beneficial effect on one or more functions.
They improve the health and tone, and reduce the risk of many diseases. They are also called super foods. The modern diet provokes increased morbidity. Not every processed food is bad food! Functional foods are new and promising direction in the food industry. Its purpose is to improve human health and prevention of common diseases.
Functional products help increase physical endurance, improve digestion and regulate appetite. Above all, these are foods fortified with dietary fiber, bifidobacteria and laktobakterii, vitamins, minerals and trace elements. They include also special foods for athletes dietary products for patients and a significant proportion of biologically active additives. Nutritionists have long argued that food enriched with etc. bifidobacteria is particularly valuable for health.
They are needed by the body to fight harmful microorganisms – “war” that the human body resulting from birth to death. And crying baby and child because of complaints of stomach pain can be caused by a weakening of beneficial microflora.
Poor health of the elderly are also often scarcity of bifidobacteria. Functional foods are beneficial for healthy people – prophylactic purposes, but are especially important in the treatment of disbakteriozata, called by experts “scourge” of our time, which lead a full lunch often replaced by “fast food” – chips, hot dog , sandwiches, etc.
Products with a “live” bacteria improve the activity of the gastrointestinal tract, helping in diseases of the liver and pancreas, allergies, immune system disorders.
Some are of great importance in cancer when patients undergo course on chemo and radiation therapy and natural microflora of the gut die.
Nutrition science changes the concept of healthy eating – from classical negative position limit and avoid certain foods to the modern model for optimal nutrition.
Today it is believed that some biologically active food ingredients (minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, phytonutrients, probiotics, fatty acids or fiber) can improve physical and mental health and reduce the risk of developing diseases (cardiovascular, cancer, osteoporosis).