出版社：Pakistan Society of Food Scientists and Technologists
摘要：Nutraceuticals and functional foods have attracted considerable interest recently because of their well-known safety and potential nutritional and therapeutic effects. The interest in nutraceuticals continues to grow, powered by progressive research efforts to identify properties and potential applications of nutraceutical substances, coupled with changing consumer behavior and demand. Nutraceuticals include food supplements, dietary supplements, value-added processed foods as well as non-food supplements such as tablets, soft gels, capsules etc; which are packed with bioactive flavonoides, carotenoides, anthocyanins, vitamins, and other polyphenolics. The se active components provide health as well as medical benefits; including the prevention and treatment of disease. Life expectancy continues to rise and along with a rise in the lifestyle diseases i.e. obesity, diabetes, hypertension, cancer and cardio-vascular diseases (CVD). It is estimated that by 2030, India will have 23.6 million people with CVD, 40 million diabetics and 215 million hypertensive populations. It is an inevitable fact that affluence is one of the causes of lifestyle diseases, which nutraceuticals and dietary supplements often address. The consumption of foods such as oats, flaxseeds, soybean, green tea, citrus fruits, tomatoes, garlic and nuts etc along with their associated physiologically active components is linked to disease risk reduction. P eople can optimize the health-promoting capabilities of their diet by way of supplementation and by consuming foods that have been formulated or fortified to include health-promoting factors. Nutraceuticals and Functional food is one of the innovative approach for management of lifestyle diseases. Any health benefits attributed to functional foods should be based on sound and accurate scientific criteria, including rigorous studies of safety and efficacy. Consumers must realize that functional foods are not a ―wonder food‖ or a panacea for poor health habits. Diet is only one aspect of a comprehensive lifestyle approach to good health, which should include regular exercise, maintenance of healthy body weight, stress reduction and other positive health practices. Nutraceutical and functional foods become part of an effective strategy to maximize health and reduce disease risk; only when healthy lifestyle practices are followed. A collective effort by the academia, industry, government and research institute must continue to promote nutraceutical and functional food to contain the menace of lifestyle diseases
关键词：Nutaceuticals; functional foods; life style disorders; healthy foods
