What is the concept of functional food?

Functional food is also called health food. It is a food that has certain nourishing effects on the human body. For example, it can enhance people's immunity and improve people's physical fitness, prevent high blood pressure, high blood sugar and other diseases, and regulate people's bodies to make them better, etc. I believe everyone is very concerned about this kind of functional food, so let me introduce in detail the concept of functional food.

Functional food refers to food with specific nutritional and health functions, that is, food that is suitable for consumption by specific groups of people, has the function of regulating body functions, and is not intended for therapeutic purposes. Functional foods are sometimes also called nutraceuticals. In academia and scientific research, it is more scientific to call it "functional food". Its scope includes: foods that enhance human physical fitness (enhance immunity, activate the lymphatic system, etc.); foods that prevent diseases (hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, constipation and tumors, etc.); foods that restore health (control cholesterol, prevent platelet aggregation, regulate hematopoietic function, etc.); foods that regulate body rhythms (nerve centers, nerve endings, ingestion and absorption functions, etc.) and foods that delay aging.

Food requirements

Functional foods must meet the following four requirements:

(1) Non-toxic, harmless, and in compliance with nutritional requirements.

(2) Its function must be clear, specific, and scientifically proven. At the same time, its functions cannot replace the human body's normal dietary intake and requirements for various essential nutrients.

(3) Functional foods are developed and produced for specific groups of people who need to adjust certain aspects of their body functions.

(4) It is not intended for treatment and cannot replace the therapeutic effect of drugs on patients.

Classification

(1) Classification by consumer object

1) Daily functional food: It is designed according to the physiological characteristics and nutritional requirements of various healthy consumer groups (such as infants, students and the elderly, etc.), aiming to promote growth and development, maintain vitality and energy, and emphasizes that its ingredients can fully demonstrate the body's defense function and regulate physiological laws. Industrialized food.

2) Special functional foods: They focus on the physical conditions of certain special consumer groups and emphasize the regulatory functions of foods in preventing diseases and promoting health, such as functional foods for weight loss, functional foods for improving immune regulation, and functional foods for beauty.

(2) Classification based on technological content

1) The first generation of products (fortified foods): It adds nutrients to food in a targeted manner based on the nutritional needs of different groups of people. For example: various fortified foods and nutritious foods, such as high-calcium milk, brain-enhancing milk, turtle essence, bee products, black-bone chicken, spirulina, etc.

2) Second-generation products (primary products): They are required to undergo human and animal experiments to confirm that the product has certain physiological functions. For example: Sanzhu Oral Liquid, Brain Gold, Taitai Oral Liquid, Hengning Guzhibao, etc.

3) Third-generation products (advanced products): Not only must human and animal experiments be conducted to prove that the product has a certain physiological function, but it is also necessary to identify the effective ingredient that has that function, as well as the structure, content, mechanism of action, compatibility in food, and stability of the ingredient. For example: Anti-cold Baby, fish oil, polysaccharides, soy isoflavones, coenzyme Q10, natto, Jinyuwen Sugar, etc.