Complementary Nutrition:
Functional Foods and Dietary
Supplements
BIOL 103, Chapter 3
(Part 1)
Today’s Topics
• Functional Foods
– Phytochemicals
• Food Additives
– Types & Regulations
Functional Foods
• What is it?
– Functional foods:
• Foods can be classified as functional foods if
they contain:
Phytochemicals
• Phytochemicals:
– ______________________________________
– act as _________________________________
• Neutralize free radicals
• Reduce heart disease and cancer risk
– Found naturally in _______________________
________________________________________
Examples and Benefits of
Phytochemicals
• Table 3.1: Examples of Functional Components
• Examples:
How do phytochemicals work to
prevent chronic disease?
1. _______________________________________
_______________________________________
– Estrogen and other hormones are linked with
development of breast, ovarian, prostate tumors
(which can develop from too much soy consumption)
1. Phytochemicals can neutralize _____________
______________________________________
– Normally, free radicals oxidize/damage:
•
•
___________________________________
___________________________________
Adding Phytochemicals to Your Diet
• We do not yet know enough
about phytochemicals to
make them into dietary
supplements.
– Many phytochemicals work in
synergy (together)
• Add phytochemicals to your
diet:
– Include more functional foods
and fewer empty calories
• More fruits
• More vegetables
• Make half of your grains whole
Foods Enhanced with Functional
Ingredients
• Foods can be enhanced
with functional
ingredients during
___________________.
– Examples:
Regulatory Issues for Functional Foods
• Food labeling:
– Required for ______________________________
• Examples: canned and frozen foods, drinks, snacks
– Not required for ___________________________
• Examples: fruits, vegetables, and fish
Regulatory Issues for Functional Foods
• FDA regulates food, drug, and dietary supplements
– [Conventional] Food include:
• ______________________________________________________
• ______________________________________________________
– Drug:
___________________________________________
________________________________________________
– Dietary Supplements: _____________________________
________________________________________________
• By law, (DSHEA, 1994) a firm does not have to provide the FDA
with the adequate evidence that the supplements are safe or
effective before/after marketing its products.
• FDA needs to only approve if it’s a new dietary ingredient
Food Additives
• Additives: _______________________________
________________________________________
– Examples of food additives functions:
• 2 types of additives
– Direct: ______________________________________
• Most additives must be listed in the ingredient’s list.
– Indirect: _____________________________________
____________________________________________
• Food manufacturers must prove to FDA that all materials coming in
contact with food are safe
5 Purposes of Direct Additives
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Vitamins as Food Additives in Alcohol?
Alcohol Metabolism
• US/Euro companies
enhanced alcoholic
beverages with vitamins
– Process:
• Con:
Regulation of Food Additives by the
FDA
• Additives fall into 4 Regulatory Categories:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Food Additives
Color Additives
Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) substances
Prior-sanctioned substances
Regulation of Food Additives by the
FDA
1. Food Additives
•
•
Must have ________ approval
___________________________ must prove safety
2. Color Additives: _________________________
_______________________________________
• Certified color additives used in foods are man-made.
– Must have _______________________ approval
– ________________________________test batches for purity
– Listed ingredient list by common name
Who loves Orange Juice?
• Processed orange juice is generally
flavorless because oxygen is
removed from them (prevents
spoiling)
• So, juice companies hire flavor and
fragrance companies to make flavor
packs to make the juice taste fresh.
– Flavor packs are not listed in ingredient
labels b/c they are technically derived
from orange essence and oil.
– Different fragrance chemicals are used
in different countries
Regulation of Food Additives by the
FDA
3. Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS): substances
that can be added to foods by manufacturers
without establishing rigorous scientific tests.
• “____________________________________________
______________________________________________
”
• Examples: ____________________________________
–Congress made a GRAS list (1958)
• Food additive is added to the GRAS list if:
– ________________________________________________
– ________________________________________________
________________________________________________
MSG
• MSG: monosodium glutamate
• What is it?
– Flavor enhancer found in many
Asian cuisine, canned vegetables,
processed meat.
• Is it really harmful?
– People report short-term side
effects such as headache, flushing,
sweating, nausea, chest pain…
• What does the research say?
– Researchers have yet to find a solid
evidence that link these symptoms
with MSG. However, because MSG
topic is still controversial, the FDA
requires that MSG is listed in the
labels.
Regulation of Food Additives by the
FDA
4. Prior-sanctioned Substances:
•
•
These items are exempt from the food additive
regulation process.
Examples:
Delaney Clause
• Delaney Clause:
• Controversy associated with
Additives in Functional Foods
• How much additives should be used? How
much additives is safe?
• What about herbs and other botanical
extracts (ginseng, EGCG in green tea)?
– If not in GRAS,…
Claims for Functional Foods
• Structure/function claims
for functional foods
– Based on ____________
_____________________
– Not as strictly regulated as
______________________
• Now: many food
manufacturers make
exaggerating claims about
non-nutrients in foods and
their effects on body
structure or function
Strategies for Functional Food Use
• Stick with science
– Eat fruit and vegetables
– Eat nutrition-fortified products as needed
– Read, read, read (scientific articles)
– Be critical of advertising and hype
• “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!”