Information for the Public

As the functional food and nutraceutical industry grows, more and more products are showing up on grocery store shelves. Understanding what health benefits these products confer is important to consumers who choose to eat for overall health and wellness and key to continued market growth for this product category.

A healthy diet is an important component of disease prevention. Functional foods can contribute to a healthy diet and have science backed evidence to support the claimed protective action these foods could provide against certain disease states. Because these foods are created to provide a proven health benefit, it is important for these benefits to be communicated so that consumers can select the product that is best for them.

There are many different classes of functional foods and each class offers targeted health benefits. The most common bioactive ingredients in foods that have been associated with health benefits are amino acids, plant phenolics, antioxidants, botanicals, dietary fibres, enzymes, fat and oils, essential fatty acids, prebiotics, probiotics, proteins, plant proteins and soy.

Functional foods and nutraceuticals can be found in both commercial grocery stores and health food stores. Common functional foods, such as fruits, oat bran and omega-3 fatty acid-containing products can be found at your local grocery store; specialty products such as evening primrose oil can be found at specialty health food stores. Many products can also be found and purchased online.

There are many resources available to the discerning consumer about healthy foods, foods that can help fight or prevent disease and the bioactive components of foods. Listed below are several resources which further explore functional foods and nutraceuticals and related topics of interest.

The International Food Information Council is an organization that provides science based information about food to a broader audience. The site offers consumer fact sheets that explain the bioactive components of food to consumers, using everyday language and familiar products. The IFIC fact sheets include: antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids, plant stanols and sterols, probiotics and prebiotics, and soy.

The World's Healthiest Foods provides an A-Z listing of common foods and their nutritional components. It also explains the disease fighting capabilities of various foods.

A report published by the World Health Organization provides Canadian statistics about the impact of chronic disease in Canada. In particular the WHO states that many chronic diseases may be prevented through healthy eating practices.

Dietitians of Canada offers an EATracker tool as a resource that promotes eating well to live well. EATracker assesses your food choices and provides personalized feedback on your total intake of both energy (calories) and essential nutrients and compares this to what is recommended for your age, gender, and activity level. It also determines your body mass index (BMI) and provides information to help you achieve and maintain a healthy weight.