What Are Functional Foods?

People have used food as medicine for thousands of years. In many cultures, both ancient and modern, food was an important part of healing. For example, traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurvedic medicine from India used certain foods to help treat illnesses.

No one knows for sure if Hippocrates, known as the father of modern medicine, actually said, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food,” but the phrase is often linked to him. Over 2,000 years later, we are once again paying attention to how food affects our health. Doctors today encourage people to eat a healthy, balanced diet as one of the keys to good health. Many health-conscious people now care deeply about the quality, nutrition, and benefits of the food they eat. They often choose foods for their health claims, even if those foods are more expensive. These are called “functional foods.”

Functional foods are foods that provide extra health benefits beyond basic nutrition. These include cereals, beans, seeds, vegetables, fruits, dairy products, fish, herbs, and spices. Each type has different health-promoting properties.

The health benefits of functional foods often come from things like phytochemicals, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. For example, tomatoes contain lycopene, an antioxidant that may help protect against heart disease. Blueberries contain antioxidants that can protect the body from free radical damage—harmful changes that can affect the skin, blood vessels, and brain. This kind of damage may lead to wrinkles, heart disease, or even dementia.

Some functional foods also reduce inflammation in the body. Curcumin, a substance found in turmeric (a spice used in Indian cooking), is known for its anti-inflammatory effects. It may also help prevent some types of cancer. Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), found in flaxseeds, may help lower blood pressure by relaxing the blood vessels. Yogurt contains probiotics, which are good bacteria that help the gut. These bacteria can also support the immune system and may affect brain function and mood.

More research is still needed to fully understand the benefits of specific functional foods. Scientists are still working on a complete guide to show how much of each food should be eaten, and for how long, to get certain health results. Until then, it’s wise to include foods rich in phytochemicals, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals in your diet to help support overall health.

• Definition and Historical Use of Functional Foods Bigliardi, B., & Galati, F. (2013). Innovation trends in the food industry: The case of functional foods. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 31(2), 118–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2013.03.006– T

• Lycopene and Cardiovascular Health Cheng, H. M., Koutsidis, G., Lodge, J. K., Ashor, A., Siervo, M., & Lara, J. (2017). Tomato and lycopene supplementation and cardiovascular risk factors: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Atherosclerosis, 257, 100–108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2017.01.009–

• Blueberries and Antioxidants Miller, M. G., & Shukitt-Hale, B. (2012). Berry fruit enhances beneficial signaling in the brain. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 60(23), 5709–5715. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf2036033–

• Curcumin and Inflammation/Cancer Hewlings, S. J., & Kalman, D. S. (2017). Curcumin: A review of its effects on human health. Foods, 6(10), 92. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods6100092–

• Alpha-Linolenic Acid (ALA) and Blood Pressure Goyal, A., Sharma, V., Upadhyay, N., Gill, S., & Sihag, M. (2014). Flax and flaxseed oil: An ancient medicine & modern functional food. Journal of Food Science and Technology, 51(9), 1633–1653. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13197-013-1247-9–

• Probiotics and Gut-Brain InteractionDinan, T. G., & Cryan, J. F. (2017). Gut instincts: Microbiota as a key regulator of brain development, ageing and neurodegeneration. The Journal of Physiology, 595(2), 489–503. https://doi.org/10.1113/JP273106–

• General Overview and Future Directions Martirosyan, D. M., & Singh, J. (2015). A new definition of functional food by FFC: What makes a new definition unique? Functional Foods in Health and Disease, 5(6), 209–223. https://www.functionalfoodscenter.net/files/84976678.pdf–