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The Brave New World of Foods with a Function
By Mary S. Choate, M.S., R.D.

According to surveys, most of us would rather get our vitamins in a tasty food than in a hard-to-swallow pill. This is good news, because many delicious foods like fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains are chock-full of disease-preventing phytochemicals in addition to the well-known vitamins and minerals. Overwhelming scientific evidence indicates that these components of a plant-based diet can reduce the risk of chronic disease.

What is not known yet is how they work; what other compounds they work with; and if they work as well when isolated from the original food.
"I say tomato, you say lycopene-enriched mango spritzer…"

Familiar phytochemicals such as beta-carotene and fiber, antioxidant vitamins C and E, herbal extracts, unfamiliar new compounds like cholesterol-lowering phytosterols, and intestinal flora-supportive probiotics are now being added to traditionally healthy and sometimes not-so-healthy foods. So, with the above questions in mind, let’s explore these "Foods of the Future," available now.

A Functional Food, Nutraceutical, Superfood, or Designer Food Is a Food by Any Other Name…or Is It?
A new category of foods lies beyond the well-known greens, beans, dairy, and lean animal protein or alternatives that form our healthy daily food choices. These new, so-called "functional" foods go by many different names and offer added vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, herbs, or other compounds to help ward off disease and move us towards optimal health.

Stephen DeFelice, M.D., chairman of the Foundation for Innovation in Medicine, coined the term "nutraceutical" to describe functional foods’ dual role as foods and as medicines. He defines them in this way: "Nutraceuticals are any substance that may be considered a food or part of a food and provides medical or health benefits, including the prevention and treatment of disease. Such products may range from dietary supplements, diets, and isolated nutrients to genetically engineered 'Designer' foods and processed foods such as cereals, soups, and beverages."

Some functional foods seem more like a vitamin, drug, or herb "delivery system" in a crunchy, chewy, or drinkable sugary food base. Other functional foods seem to complement the healthy traditional food they are based upon. Both kinds of functional foods are meant to provide a way to boost your antioxidant, vitamin, or mineral intake without having to down several pills.

Should I Eat Them? The "Plusses"
Along with the 44 or so known vitamins and minerals important for good health, there are thousands of plant compounds (phytochemicals) that may provide health benefits. Nutrition experts agree that a varied diet provides the best guarantee of consuming a number of vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals in non-toxic amounts. Adding a sports bar enhanced with vitamins, minerals, and soy protein, or a bowl of vitamin E-fortified bran flakes can fit into a healthy daily variety of food choices.

For example, if getting enough calcium is a struggle for you, a juice or sports bar fortified with calcium can add as much as 35% of your daily requirement of this bone-strengthening mineral. Women of child-bearing age who need adequate folic acid to prevent birth defects early in their pregnancy may find a cereal fortified with this important vitamin an easy way to help meet their goal. A fortified granola bar or soy drink can serve several purposes at once as a quick snack or lunch on the go providing several hard-to-get vitamins or minerals and soy protein in a single serving.

Examining your current food choices and filling in the shortfalls with healthy foods fortified with the nutrients you may be missing is one way to fill in some gaps.

Dysfunctional Foods
Not all functional foods are created equally. A junk food doesn’t suddenly become a health-supporting food with the addition of a vitamin supplement. Soda is soda, and gummy candies are gummy candies no matter what is mixed into them to make them appear healthier. You could eat a pouch of vitamin-fortified gummy candies, or for almost twice the beta-carotene and vitamin C and three times the vitamin E, you could enjoy a slice of cantaloupe and a handful of almonds. The whole foods also contain related carotenes, minerals, and phytochemicals not found in the candy. The fiber and heart-healthy fat from these whole foods will also leave your hunger satisfied longer.

The amount of supplement added also differs widely, from truly significant amounts to tiny quantities so small that they will not have a noticeable affect in your body. Be aware that the total amount of herbs, vitamins, and minerals taken in a day should not exceed recommended dosages.

The kind of supplement added also matters. Calcium is proven to build bone, and adequate vitamin E is important in heart health and immunity, but some vitamins, herbs, and other added ingredients are marketed in a misleading way. Research may prove specific results for a vitamin or an herb used in certain conditions like clinical depression or anxiety. Some marketers imply that these same compounds will be effective for everyday conditions like a stressful day or a bad mood, even though the supplement has not actually been tested and proven to work in these more common situations.

To be effective functional foods with herbal additives must contain certain compounds found in specific parts of the plant, like the flower, or leaves, or root. Parts of herbs are sometimes used that do not contain these active compounds. Some functional food labels do not list the actual part of the plant used. (You must contact the address given on the packaging to find this information.) Use a good herb reference book, or ask the Co-op’s Health and Beauty Aids staff to determine the parts of the herb that contain the active ingredients.

Risks and Side Effects
Even though we are living in a time of exciting and almost limitless new discovery regarding the compounds found in foods and their effect on our health, there are still many questions to be answered.

Can you get too much of a good thing? Well, yes, especially if it is hidden in a tasty chocolate candy or a tempting snack food. If you forget these are fortified foods, you or a child could easily consume a vitamin or mineral dose higher than the tolerable upper daily intake recommended by the National Academy of Sciences, or an overdose of an herb that could affect your health or safety in a negative way.

Is There an Added Cost to Go with the Added Nutrients?
Adding extras does increase the cost of the product. It really comes down to your personal needs, preferences, and pocket book.
For example, to get 1000 milligrams -- the Daily Value of calcium -- you could spend 10 to 60 cents on supplement pills, 60 to 80 cents on milk, or about 60 cents to one dollar on calcium-fortified orange juice.

Remember, with the real foods, you are getting the added bonus of beneficial nutrients both known and as yet undiscovered. But if you are unable to get all your calcium from regular foods, a calcium-fortified functional food might be a good fit.

Reading Is Fundamental
Before you buy, get as much information as you can from the package. Go beyond any claims on the front, and flip it over to read the nutrition or supplement facts label and the ingredient list.

Ask yourself if your daily intake is missing the extras added to the functional food product. Would it be less expensive to get it from a whole food or herbal supplement? For herbal additives, is the bioactive part of the plant used? Is it an amount that will actually be significant in meeting your daily requirements? Is it a food you may be tempted to overeat? (Be aware of this for calorie control as well as safety.) Would it be a healthy food even without the added nutrients? Answering these questions will help you to make the best choice as you shop each aisle and step into the world of functional foods.

Bottom Line
What we do know is that people whose daily intake is highest in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and moderate to low in fat have lower disease rates. Functional foods can add healthful components to our diets, but we don’t yet know which ones are best or most effective. In the meantime, carefully adding well-labeled functional foods to your healthy daily food choices can help to meet your needs, as nutrition research continues to clarify what those needs are!