The development of functional foods: lessons from the gut

Functional foods have resulted from the gradual recognition that healthy diets result from eating nutritious foods and from the identification of the mechanisms by which foods modulate metabolism and health. After initial successes with foods that reduce blood cholesterol level, probiotic bacteria and prebiotic carbohydrates have now also demonstrated added health benefits. As ingredients become more complex, the need to stabilize such ingredients in foods become increasingly important to the success of functional foods. Modern biotechnologies such as genomics, genetic expression and biomarkers of health and performance will be applied to this increasingly visible portion of human diets.