Disease Prevention: Nutraceuticals And Functional Foods

Ben Franklin has been attributed with saying that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Nowhere is this truism more self-evident then when it comes to health and disease prevention. Billions upon billions of dollars are invested in the health care and pharmaceutical industries, industries designed for disease treatment rather than disease prevention.

Although medical and health professionals have always marketed the benefits of a healthy diet and plenty of exercise, it has only been in recent years that diet and exercise have been linked with disease prevention. Diets rich in healthy, fresh produce, especially fruits and vegetables, have been categorized as dietary supplements known also nutraceuticals. Nutraceuticals can be considered not only an option for those who find the solutions offered by the pharmaceutical industry as exhausted, but also a powerful aid in preventing disease.

Nutracuetical was initially defined by Stephen DeFelice, M.D., founder and chairperson of the Foundation for Innovation in Medicine. DeFelice defines a nutraceutical as "any substance that is a food or a part of a food" that "provides medical or health benefits" that includes "[disease prevention] and treatment of disease." The word nutraceutical is a hybrid of the words pharmaceutical and nutrition.

A survey of dietary nutraceuticals reveals a wide array of disease prevention products. Some include "isolated nutrients, dietary supplements and specific diets." Others nutraceutical products for disease prevention include genetically modified foods, herbal supplements and even "processed foods such as cereals, soups and beverages."

Nutaceuticals are more commonly known as functional foods, which are foods that provide health benefits in addition to nutrition. Usually fresh foods like fruits and vegetables are the first to come to mind, but also includes foods rich in probiotics such as some yogurts, dairy products that have been cultured, and some non-dairy products.

Nutrients found to have a nutraceutical benefit can be categorized ad nauseum. The most common classes are carotenoids, dietary fiber, fatty acids, flavonoids, isothiocyanates, phenolic acids, plant stanols/ sterols, polyols, prebiotics, probiotics, phytoestrogens, soy proteins, and vitamins. The most popular classes include carotenoids, dietary fiber, and flavonoids.

Flavonoids can be broken down into four different subcategories. Anthocyanins, which include cyanidin, delphinidin and malvidin provide disease prevention benefits such as strenthening cellular antioxidant defenses and maintaining brain function. They can also be found in red grapes, berries, and cherries. The disease prevention properties of flavanones, specifically hesperetin and naringenin, are commonly found in citrus fruits and aid in neutralizing the free radicals that are known to damage cells. Flavonols like quercetin, kaempferol, isorhamnetin and myricetin, are also known for their disease prevention qualities. Commonly found in apples, onions, broccoli and certain types of teas, the flavonols prevent disease along the urinary tract and the heart.

Carotenoids include beta-carotene which is found in carrots, pumpkins and cantaloupes, lutein found in greens like kale, collards and spinach, and lycopene, found in tomatoes, watermelon and grapefruit. Beta-carotene assists in disease prevention by neutralizing free radicals. Lutein aides in disease prevention, especially macular degeneration and in maintaining prostate health.

Dietary fiber includes insoluble fiber, beta glucan, soluble fiber and whole grains. Insoluble fiber includes wheat bran, corn bran and fruit skins. Insoluble fiber assists in preventing certain cancers by maintaining digestive health. Beta glucan, found in oat bran, oatmeal, barley and rye, may help in heart disease prevention, especially coronary heart disease. Soluble fiber, which also aides in heart disease prevention and some forms of cancer, is found in peas, beans, apples and citrus fruits.

Functional foods like vegetables and fruits are key ingredients in disease prevention. Although no single food promises complete disease prevention, a "magic bullet" against all illnesses, the right diet does provide health benefits. Although the Food and Drug Administration does not blanket acceptance to many substances and their purported benefits like disease prevention, "credible scientific research" and "[clinical demonstrations]" reveal "health benefits from food components." And while millions of people spent billions and billions of dollars yearly on the cures for disease, others find disease prevention can be bought by the pound at the local grocery store.


Sources:
What is a Nutraceutical?. American Nutraceutical Association. 10 Mar. 2007. 10 Mar. 2007. http://www.ana-jana.org/nut_info_details.cfm?NutIn foID=4
Functional Foods. International Food Information Council. Nov. 2006. 10 Mar. 2007. http://ific.org/nutrition/functional/index.cfm#**