In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, consuming healthy food plays a crucial role in maintaining well-being as well as immunity. However, certain foods also aid in the prevention of lifestyle-related chronic diseases. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, included food as a part of treatment to cure diseases. Food, as medicine, is not something new to a nation like ours with a rich cultural heritage of 5,000 years. The fundamentals of using edible herbs, barks, seeds, stems, leaves and other food items to treat illnesses are well documented in our ancient records including texts like Charaka Samhita. They are an integral part of our ancient healing system Ayurvedic medicine. But, the system suffers from lack or inadequate research and controlled clinical trials. This often conflicts with the concept of ‘evidence-based’ medicines fundamental to modern, Western medicine.
Modern medicine and food science recognise that food serves a primary function of providing energy and nutrients for living. It is also established that the secondary function of food is that it must be good to taste. It is the tertiary function which deals with the regulation of physical condition of the body which was recognised later. This led to the formulation of a special category of foods called Functional foods, foods which provide special health benefits which go beyond their nutritional components like energy, vitamins and minerals. They are natural or formulated foods that enhance physiological performance or prevent diseases. The promise of functional foods has emerged at a time when limitations of modern medicines were felt and consumer interest in diet and health is at an all-time high.
Taken from many cultures, herbs and plants commonly used for treatments for specific disorders have been carefully identified. By now, modern analytical methods have identified more than 10,000 physiologically active constituents provided by the human diet, some of which have been developed into medicines.
It was the Japanese in the 1980s who developed and commercialised the concept of functional foods in response to the burden of disease and escalating healthcare costs. The Ministry of Health & Welfare in Japan initiated a regulatory system to approve certain foods with documented health benefits. Thus, was born FOSHU-Foods For Specified Health Use. This was the first time, food could legitimately be labelled and categorised as possessing specific health-promoting or diseasepreventing properties.
This sort of regulation, backed by scientific clinical trials, unifies the gap which exists between medical, nutrition, food sciences and traditions. The FOSHU system was introduced to encourage the maintenance of health, prevention of lifestylerelated diseases based on the consumption of functional foods with scientific evidence. FOSHU food benefits include cholesterol-lowering, regulating BP and improving bowel, gastrointestinal health and bone health.
Interestingly, the positive health correlations of functional foods are not on the basis of their nutrient content. Non-nutrient constituents contribute beneficial physiological effects that either retard or prevent disease. Some of these include allyl sulfides in garlic and onions prevent heart disease; phytates in grains and legumes protect against cancer and heart disease; lignans in flaxseeds have a protective effect against cancers; isoflavones in soy protect against osteoporosis, cancer and heart disease; indoles and isothiocyanates in cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli have a protective effect against cancer; ellagic acid in grapes, strawberries, raspberries and nuts function as antioxidant and anticancer substances and prebiotics in garlic, barley, oats and probiotics in fermented milk and yogurt help in improving gut function and immunity.
Its time, we too establish and put in place a regulatory system for such foods to promote safety and health, something similar like the Japanese or else we may lose out not only patents on turmeric and neem but also miss out on their benefits.
The writer is a well-known clinical nutritionist, columnist, author, entrepreneur and researcher.