Hippocrates: Exploring The Concept Of Functional Foods

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Many of you have probably heard of the term Functional Foods, however, have no idea what it means. With that being said most likely than not you are consuming these foods on a regular basis. This concept of functional foods has been around for quite some time. In fact Hippocrates laid down this principle, he explored this in the 5th century; “let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”. Hippocrates was the father of western medicine and recognized the importance of the significance of good nourishment for good wellbeing. The healing power of food is a popular concept that essentially focuses on how functional foods can have health protecting properties. Functional foods can be utilized in advancing wellness and preventing the risk of …show more content…
This is the most basic form of functional foods because they have not been modified by enrichment or fortification. Some examples of conventional foods include garlic, nuts, tomatoes, kale raspberries and broccoli. Numerous, if not most, fruits, vegetables, grains, fish, and dairy and meat products contain quite a lot of natural components that deliver advantages past the essential required nutrition. Then there are foods that are considered to be modified, enriched, fortified or enhanced with nutrients or other beneficial ingredients. Modified functional foods are essentially when a new or existing ingredient has been manipulated or modified in the food and the end product has a new function in which enhances the contribution to a healthful diet. Modified foods are fortified with nutrition and furthermore enhanced with phytochemicals or botanicals. This is often in relation to health promotion or disease prevention. There is a need for foods with additional health benefits due to the trends in the population demographics and socio-economic changes. There is substantial strong scientific evidence supported by clinical trials that demonstrate a positive correlation between diet and disease to receive potential health

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