Role of Functional Foods in Human Health and Disease Prevention

Abstract

The functional foods cover a variety of food components such as class of bioactive compounds and substances. The functional foods are present in both plant and animal sources. The evidence-based science shows the beneficial effects of functional foods on human health and reduction in development of chronic disorders. The functional foods are present in large amounts in the animal foods such as dairy products (probiotics and prebiotics), fish (omega-3 and DHA) and meat products (peptides), and B group of vitamins and minerals. The functional foods in form of bioactive compounds can be induced in the diet in form of palaeolithic diet, Atkins diet or ketogenic diet (not in extreme phases) for short duration of time. Various researches demonstrate the benefit of the bioactive compounds present in functional foods in improving human health; for example, probiotics and fibres are important for maintaining gut health, antioxidants and polyphenols remove free radicals and reduce oxidative stress, and flavonoids have anti-carcinogenic properties and many more. The functional foods have numerous benefits for the disease prevention and maintaining human health which is evidence based and will be elaborated in the chapter.