Abstract
In recent times, there has been growing recognition of the key role of foods and beverages in disease prevention and treatment. Thus, the production and consumption of functional foods has ...gained much importance as they provide a health benefit beyond the basic nutritional functions. At present, beverages are by far the most active functional food category because of convenience and possibility to meet consumer demands for container contents, size, shape, and appearance, as well as ease of distribution and storage for refrigerated and shelf‐stable products. Moreover, they are an excellent delivering means for nutrients and bioactive compounds including vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, ω‐3 fatty acids, plant extracts, and fiber, prebiotics, and probiotics. However, in most cases, specific concerns have been raised over their safety. This review reports on the scientific advances in the emerging area of functional beverages with a focus on commercially available products, as well as on the potential health benefits related to their consumption.
Chrysin is a promising phytochemical that is categorized under the class of flavonoids based on its chemical structure. Naturally, it is widely present in propolis, honey, passion fruit, and even in ...mushrooms and other plant sources, whereas its synthetic counterparts are also being employed for pharmacological purposes. It has widely been employed in treatment of various degenerative disorders and provides cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory functions. Its antioxidant and disease preventing abilities are attributed to its structural diversity arising in ring-A and absence of oxygenation in B and C ring. In this review, the scientific studies are being reported emphasizing benefits and its allied health claims on chrysin in numerous metabolic malfunctions.
Graphical abstract of chrysin sources and its health claims Display omitted
•Bioactives in nuts and dried fruits were reviewed.•Health claims for nuts and dried fruits were summarised.•Health benefits of nuts and dried fruits were reviewed.
Nuts and dried fruits have been ...part of the human diet since prehistoric times. They are nutrient-rich foods and constitute an excellent means to deliver health-promoting bioactive compounds. As such, they serve as important healthful snack items, besides being part of many traditional and new recipes of gastronomy worldwide. Frequent consumption of nuts and/or dried fruits is highly recommended to obtain the full benefit of the nutrients, bioactives, and antioxidants that they contain, together with their desirable flavour. The macronutrients, micronutrients, and other health-promoting bioactive compounds contained in nuts and dried fruits may synergistically contribute to modulate the risk of cardiometabolic and other non-communicable diseases through various mechanisms. Experimental research, prospective studies, and human clinical trials have reported beneficial effects of nut consumption on various health outcomes. The benefits of dried fruits, however, have been less explored. This review summarizes recent findings on bioactive constituents, health claims, and health benefits of nuts and dried fruits and also discusses their great potential as healthy foods to benefit a number of diseases afflicting human beings.
The importance of chronic low-grade inflammation in the pathology of numerous age-related chronic conditions is now clear. An unresolved inflammatory response is likely to be involved from the early ...stages of disease development. The present position paper is the most recent in a series produced by the International Life Sciences Institute's European Branch (ILSI Europe). It is co-authored by the speakers from a 2013 workshop led by the Obesity and Diabetes Task Force entitled ‘Low-grade inflammation, a high-grade challenge: biomarkers and modulation by dietary strategies’. The latest research in the areas of acute and chronic inflammation and cardiometabolic, gut and cognitive health is presented along with the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying inflammation–health/disease associations. The evidence relating diet composition and early-life nutrition to inflammatory status is reviewed. Human epidemiological and intervention data are thus far heavily reliant on the measurement of inflammatory markers in the circulation, and in particular cytokines in the fasting state, which are recognised as an insensitive and highly variable index of tissue inflammation. Potential novel kinetic and integrated approaches to capture inflammatory status in humans are discussed. Such approaches are likely to provide a more discriminating means of quantifying inflammation–health/disease associations, and the ability of diet to positively modulate inflammation and provide the much needed evidence to develop research portfolios that will inform new product development and associated health claims.
Research into the analysis, physical properties and health effects of dietary fibre has continued steadily over the last 40–50 years. From the knowledge gained, countries have developed guidelines ...for their populations on the optimal amount of fibre to be consumed each day. Food composition tables from many countries now contain values for the dietary fibre content of foods, and, from these, combined with dietary surveys, population intakes have been determined. The present review assessed the uniformity of the analytical methods used, health claims permitted, recommendations and intakes, particularly from national surveys across Europe and around the world. It also assessed current knowledge on health effects of dietary fibre and related the impact of different fibre types on health. The overall intent was to be able to provide more detailed guidance on the types of fibre which should be consumed for good health, rather than simply a total intake figure, the current situation. Analysis of data indicated a fair degree of uniformity in the definition of dietary fibre, the method used for analysis, the recommended amount to be consumed and a growing literature on effects on digestive health and disease risk. However, national dietary survey data showed that intakes do not reach recommendations and very few countries provide guidance on the types of fibre that are preferable to achieve recommended intakes. Research gaps were identified and ideas suggested to provide information for more detailed advice to the public about specific food sources that should be consumed to achieve health benefits.
Over the last decade, an increasing number of new value-added aquaculture products made their way onto the European market, as a response to growing demand for healthier diet, and more sustainable ...and locally produced protein sources. The importance of these drivers of consumer choice for aquaculture products' acceptance paves the way for a relevant reorientation of the European aquaculture industry towards a more consumer-centred approach. This research uses discrete choice experiments to examine the effect of health and nutrition claims, country-of-origin (COO), and eco-labels on consumer choice of new aquaculture products in a cross-cultural context. Three products with different preserving methods have been chosen for the study: fresh (chilled), canned, and smoked product. Results indicate that COO label “produced in own country” together with ASC eco-label function better than the health and nutrition claims as driver of choice. Results further point to the existence of different segments of “nutrition conscious”, “ethnocentric”, “price conscious”, and “eco-conscious” consumers.
Importance of health and nutrition claims, country-of-origin (COO) and eco (ASC) label per consumer segment: “nutrition conscious”, “ethnocentric”, “price conscious” and “eco-conscious”. Display omitted
•Conditional logit and latent class analysis to model aquaculture products choice•COO label - produced in own country and ASC eco-label main drivers of choice•Nutrition conscious, ethnocentric, price conscious and eco-conscious segments•Guidance for the development of new value-added aquaculture products
Nutrition and Health Claims as Marketing Tools J. van buul, Vincent; Brouns, Fred J. P. H
Critical reviews in food science and nutrition,
01/2015, Letnik:
55, Številka:
11
Journal Article
Recenzirano
European regulations mandate that only substantiated and approved statements can be used as nutrition- and health-related claims in food marketing. A thorough understanding of consumer perceptions of ...these approved claims is needed to assess their impact on both the purchase intention of functional foods and the development of innovative functional food concepts. In this paper, a conceptual framework on the European consumers’ perception of nutrition and health claims on these functional foods is proposed. Through a literature review, common independent variables are structured, and an analysis of these variables shows that nutrition and health claims are mostly only perceived positive by specific target consumers (who need the product, accept the ingredient, understand the benefit, and trust the brand). These consumers indicate that the products with substantiated and approved claims help them in reaching overall health goals. This increased expectation in functional efficacy may mediate an increase in repurchase intent, overall liking, and the amount consumers are willing to spend. Other consumers, however, may have adverse reactions towards nutrition and health claims on functional foods. Implications for the consumer and the industry are discussed.
Claiming health in food products Lähteenmäki, Liisa
Food quality and preference,
03/2013, Letnik:
27, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
► Overview of consumers’ perception of health claims with a European emphasis. ► Linking perception of health claims with information processing. ► Discussing future research needs related to health ...claims.
Health-related information is increasingly used on food products to convey their benefits. Health claims as a subcategory of these messages link the beneficial component, functions or health outcomes with specific products. For consumers, health claims seem to carry the message of increased healthiness, but not necessarily making the product more appealing. The wording of the claim seems to have little impact on claim perception, yet the health image of carrier products is important. From consumer-related factors the relevance and attitudes towards functional foods play a role, whereas socio-demographic factors have only minor impact and the impact seems to be case-dependent. Familiarity with claims and functional foods increase perceived healthiness and acceptance of these products. Apparently consumers make rather rational interpretations of claims and their benefits when forced to assess the information, but we still know relatively little about consumer understanding of the message content in claims and even less about the assessment of personal relevance of the claimed benefits. In future studies more emphasis should be put on including contextual influences and realistic conditions in assessing consumer understanding and use of health claims in purchase decisions.