Functional foods: What’s in this food?
Food manufacturers are expanding the range of nutrients they add to foods as well as the types of foods to which they are added. The increasing presence of fortified and enhanced foods in supermarkets has the potential to affect the nutrient intake and health of individuals. What role do functional foods play in your diet?
Choose a functional food product (one that has one or more added nutrients or dietary constituents) that you typically consume.
What nutrients or dietary constituents have been added to this product?
Are any health claims on the food label? If so, list the claim.
Would you consider the added nutrients to be ones that most people need more of in their diets?
Why do you use this particular food product? Do you purchase it for the taste, the added nutrients, the potential health benefits, or other reasons?
Is this particular type of product available without the added nutrients or extra fortification? For example, if you chose orange juice with added calcium, the answer would be “yes,” this product is available as orange juice without added calcium. Do you know if there a cost difference between the regular product and the functional food version? Are you willing to pay more for the enhanced product?
What role do you think functional foods should play in the food market and in the overall population’s diet?
Do you see any potential for misuse or excessive nutrient intake through the use of this or similar products? What if an individual is also taking a dietary supplement that includes the same nutrient?
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Dietary supplements, including vitamins, minerals, herbs, botanicals, amino acids, and enzymes, are meant to “supplement the diet,” not replace nutrients that are best obtained through a varied and balanced diet.
Under the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), and more recently the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for regulating the sale, labeling, and manufacturing of dietary supplements, as well as approving any health claims made for the supplements.
Current regulations do not require dietary supplements, including botanical supplements, to undergo the same rigorous testing for effectiveness, interaction, or safety requirements as conventional drugs.
Supplement manufacturers are responsible for—
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Manufacturers must provide specific product information and ingredients on the Supplement Facts Panel.
Supplements may also include health claims on the label that describe a relationship between a dietary supplement ingredient and a reduced risk of a disease or condition. These claims must be pre-
Manufacturers are also able to make certain claims about how a product affects the body’s structure or function. These structure/function claims must include a disclaimer that the claim has not been evaluated by the FDA.
Current evidence does not demonstrate that dietary supplements provide significant health benefits. They may, in some cases, increase the risk of disease and mortality. However, there are some individuals and groups that may benefit from using supplemental nutrients to help meet their nutritional needs.
The use of high-
Some foods may have a positive effect on health beyond that of basic nutrition. These are called functional foods, and the group includes whole foods, as well as fortified food products.
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Review Questions
1. In the United States, nutrition surveys indicate that the people who are most likely to use dietary supplements:
usually are in poor health with diets deficient in multiple nutrients.
tend to already have healthful diets adequate in most nutrients.
do so based primarily on the advice of their health care provider.
experience immediate and significant health benefits.
1. b
2. Which of the following would NOT meet the criteria for being called a “dietary supplement” in the United States?
omega-
multivitamin and mineral tablet
chewable children’s multivitamin “gummy”
vitamin B12 injection or shot
2. d
3. Dietary supplements in the United States are monitored by the FDA for:
purity.
potency.
effectiveness.
reports of illness, reactions, or harmful effects.
3. d
4. According to the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, what is considered a “new” dietary ingredient?
a dietary ingredient not sold in the United States in a dietary supplement before 1994
a dietary ingredient that has not been evaluated by the FDA for safety and efficacy
any type of ingredient or supplement other than a vitamin or a mineral
vitamins or minerals added to processed foods for fortification purposes
4. a
5. Dietary supplements that have GRAS status:
require the FDA’s approval before they can be marketed and sold.
are generally recognized as safe by the FDA.
have undergone rigorous testing by the FDA for safety.
have been banned for use in the United States.
5. b
6. Which of the following is an example of an acceptable structure/function claim that might appear on a dietary supplement label?
helps maintain cardiovascular health
prevents heart disease
lowers cholesterol to prevent heart disease
alleviates chest pain in individuals with heart disease
6. a
7. Synthetic vitamins are:
tested for safety and efficacy by the FDA.
significantly less effective than natural vitamins.
generally chemically identical to vitamins labeled “natural.”
always classified as a new dietary ingredient by the FDA.
7. c
8. The vitamins and minerals found in high-
are proven to improve health and promote longevity.
cannot by law exceed the percent Daily Value.
may exceed the Tolerance Upper Intake Level.
will not result in toxicity because any excess is excreted through the urine.
8. c
9. Herbal supplements include all of the following characteristics, EXCEPT:
the same approval process as drugs.
a label that clearly states the scientific or standardized name of the plant used to make the supplement.
possible toxins in addition to active components.
being medicinally considered crude drugs.
9. a
10. All of the following are true in regard to functional foods, EXCEPT:
they represent the largest percentage of new products introduced to the food marketplace in the United States.
they are generally high in nutrients in relation to calories.
they are only whole foods; processed or packaged foods would not meet the criteria.
if packaged, they often include a health claim or nutrient content claim on their label.
10. c
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11. Probiotics can be defined as:
foods with added nutrients to replace vitamins lost in processing.
the addition of the B-
nondigestible carbohydrates broken down by colon bacteria.
live, beneficial bacteria found in fermented foods like yogurt.
11. d
Take It Further
A friend shows you the vast array of dietary supplements that he takes each morning in hopes of improving his fitness, boosting his energy, and increasing his immunity. Your friend is in good health, at a healthy weight, and seems to follow a varied and balanced diet. What are three considerations or cautions that come to mind regarding the use of dietary supplements in this scenario? Do you feel supplementation is warranted? Why or why not?
Does a multivitamin or mineral supplement fit in your diet?
One key aspect of achieving a healthy diet is for your average intake of vitamins and minerals to meet the RDAs/AIs over the course of several days. In this exercise you will evaluate your diet to determine if functional foods or dietary supplements are necessary for you to meet the recommended intakes of one or more vitamins or minerals.
1. Log onto the United States Departmentof Agriculture (USDA) website at www.supertracker.usda.gov. If you have not done so already, you will need to create a profile to get a personalized diet plan. This profile will allow you to save your information and diet intake for future reference. Do not use the general plan.
2. Click the Track Food and Activity option.
3. Record your food and beverage intake for one day that most reflects your typical eating patterns. Enter each food and beverage you consume into the food tracker. Note that there may not always be an exact match to the food or beverage that you consume, so select the best match available.
4. Once you have entered all of your food and beverage choices into the food tracker, on the right side of the page under the bar graph, you will see Related Links: View by Meal and Nutrient Intake Report. Print these reports and use them to answer the following questions:
On the nutrient intake report, identify any vitamins or mineral levels that are below your Recommended Dietary Allowance/Adequate Intake (RDA/AI).
For each vitamin and mineral identified above, list one food that you enjoy eating that is also a good food source of that nutrient.
On the nutrient intake report, identify any vitamins or mineral levels that are above 100% of your RDA/AI.
Do you think you could change your diet enough to meet the recommendations identified in the nutrient intake report? Are there any functional foods that you could consume to increase your intake of the nutrients that fall below the recommended levels?
What are the shortcomings of having analyzed your diet for only one day?
Do you currently take a vitamin or mineral supplement? Considering the results of the nutrient intake report, do you think you need to be taking that supplement? Explain.
If you do not take any supplements, do you think you should be? Explain.
Discuss what you can look for on a supplement label that can provide assurance about the quality of the supplement.