Multifunctional food: medical evidence and methodological notes on substantiating health claims
Dario Gregori1, Claudia Elena Gafare
1Laboratories of Epidemiological Methods and Biostatistics, Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Via Loredan 18, 35131 Padova, Italy. dario.gregori@unipd.it
Abstract:
In nutritional research, a specific issue is about understanding how to provide a clear and solid proof of the health effects of each functional food. The problems range from regulatory perspectives down to very basic methodological issues. In addition, when multi-functionality comes into play, then several additional problems are posed in terms of the methodological appropriateness of research done. In this review, a focus is provided on some methodological issues related to (i) the general concepts of 'proving' effects in a methodological perspective and (ii) the difficulties of specifically proving functional effects of food. A specific attention is dedicated on the characteristic problems which, from a methodological perspective, arise when multi-functionality is the matter of the proof.
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