Providing overview, depth, and expertise, Essentials of Functional Foods is the key resource for all involved in the exciting and rapidly growing arena of functional foods. Every important aspect of functional foods and ingredients is covered, from technology, product groups, and nutrition, to safety, efficacy, and regulation. The editors and their expert contributors emphasize broadly based principles that apply to many functional foods. This book is essential reading for food scientists, researchers, and professionals who are developing, researching, or working with functional foods and ingredients in the food, drug, and dietary supplement industry.

Functional foods - products which have health-promoting properties over and beyond their nutritional value - have become a significant food industry sector. The global market for these products remains dynamic and is predicted to grow further. Functional foods: Principles and technology provides both students and professionals with an authoritative introduction to the key scientific aspects and major product categories in this area.The opening chapter introduces the principles of functional foods and explores industry and consumer roles in this evolving market. Subsequent chapters focus on the most significant product categories, reviewing ingredient sources, classification, chemical and physical properties, the wide range of therapeutic effects and possible mechanisms of action, among other topics. Antioxidants, dietary fiber, prebiotics and probiotics, lipids and soy are among the foods and food constituents covered. The Appendix contains laboratory exercises aimed at those using this book in a classroom situation.Functional foods: principles and technology is an essential guide for all those studying and working with functional foods. - Provides both students and professionals with an authoritative introduction to the key scientific aspects and major product categories - Introduces the principles of functional foods and explores industry and consumer roles in this evolving market - Focuses on the most significant product categories, reviewing ingredient sources, classification, chemical and physical properties

Recent technological advancements, socio-economic trends, and population lifestyle modifications throughout the world indicate the need for foods with increased health benefits. The clear relationship between the food that we eat and our well-being is widely recognized. Today, foods are not only intended to satisfy hunger and provide necessary nutrients: they can also confer additional health benefits, such as preventing nutrition-related diseases and improving physical and mental well-being. This book provides a comprehensive overview of developments in the field of functional foods and food supplements. Readers will discover new food matrices as innovative natural sources of bioactive compounds endowed with health-promoting properties. Studies on chemical, technological, and nutritional characteristics of healthy food ingredients, analytical methods for monitoring their quality, and innovative formulation strategies are included.

"Functional food or medicinal food is any fresh or processed food claimed to have a health-promoting and/or disease-preventing property beyond the basic nutritional function of supplying nutrients, although there is no consensus on an exact definition of the term. This is an emerging field in food science, in which such foods are usually accompanied by health claims for marketing purposes, such as a company's ‘cereal is a significant source of fiber. Studies have shown that an increased amount of fiber in one's diet can decrease the risk of certain types of cancer in individuals.’ Functional foods are sometimes called nutraceuticals, a portmanteau of nutrition and pharmaceutical, and can include food that has been genetically modified. The general category includes processed food made from functional food ingredients, or fortified with health-promoting additives, like "vitamin-enriched" products, and also fresh foods (e.g., vegetables) that have specific claims attached. Fermented foods with live cultures are often also considered to be functional foods with probiotic benefits."

In the last three decades, revolutionary achievements have taken place in nutraceutical and functional food research including the introduction of a number of cutting-edge dietary supplements supported by human clinical trials and strong patents. Novel manufacturing technologies including unique extraction processes, bioavailability improvements th

Functional foods and nutraceuticals are food products that naturally offer or have been modified to offer additional health benefits beyond basic nutrition. As such products have surged in popularity in recent years, it is crucial that researchers and manufacturers understand the concepts underpinning functional foods and the opportunity they represent to improve human health, reduce healthcare costs, and support economic development worldwide. Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals: Bioactive Components, Formulations and Innovations presents a guide to functional foods from experienced professionals in key institutions around the world. The text provides background information on the health benefits, bioavailability, and safety measurements of functional foods and nutraceuticals. Subsequent chapters detail the bioactive components in functional foods responsible for these health benefits, as well as the different formulations of these products and recent innovations spurred by consumer demands. Authors emphasize product development for increased marketability, taking into account safety issues associated with functional food adulteration and solutions to be found in GMP adherence. Various food preservation methods aimed at enhancing the quality and shelf life of functional food are also highlighted. Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals: Bioactive Components, Formulations and Innovations is the first of its kind, designed to be useful to students, teachers, nutritionists, food scientists, food technologists and public health regulators alike.

Scientific advances in this field have not only given us a better understanding of what is an optimal diet, but has allowed food and nutraceutical companies to market products with specific health claims, fortify existing foods, and even create new foods designed for a particular health benefit. Handbook of Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods, Second Edition, compiles the latest data from authoritative, scientific sources. It provides hard evidence on the prophylactic and medicinal properties of many natural foods. This handbook reviews more than 200 nutraceutical compounds. Each chapter includes the chemical properties, biochemical activity, dietary sources, and evidentiary findings for each compound. New topics include the use of exopolysaccharides from lactic acid bacteria, protein as a functional ingredient for weight loss, and nutraceuticals to be used in the adjunctive treatment of depression. Two new chapters discuss recent evidence on oxidative stress and the antioxidant requirements of athletes as well as the use of nutraceuticals for inflammation. The scientific investigation of nutrition and lifestyle changes on the pain and debilitation of osteoarthritis is the subject of another new article. The book concludes with a look at future marketing opportunities paying particular attention to the alleviation of obesity. With contributions from a panel of leading international experts, Handbook of Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods, Second Edition, provides instant access to comprehensive, cutting edge data, making it possible for food scientists, nutritionists, and researchers to utilize this ever growing wealth of information.