At the end of the last century, Japanese researchers enriched the scientific literature with a new term - "functional nutrition". The phrase "functional nutrition" means the use of food products of natural origin, which, when systematically consumed, have a regulatory effect on the functions of the body. With these effects, functional nutrition improves health conditions, speeds up the process of recovery from diseases and reduces the risk of developing diseases.
Even Hippocrates wrote: "Our food substances must be medicinal products, and our medicinal products must be food substances."
Modern diseases. Reasons for the spread of "diseases of civilization"
Several decades ago, Japanese scientists formulated a hypothesis that explains the widespread prevalence of "diseases of civilization". The hypothesis says that the genes of a modern person under the influence of the environment turned out to be insufficiently stable. They have also been affected by a change in diet in the last 200 years. After all, human genes have adapted for a million years to the way of life and nutrition of our ancient predecessors.
Direct confirmation of the hypothesis was not found, but there is some fact that gives the right to the existence of the hypothesis. We are talking about those ethnic groups of the population that have retained their way of life and nutrition since ancient times. It was revealed that among this segment of the population the smallest number of autoimmune and allergic diseases. Also rare are such modern diseases as diabetes mellitus, urolithiasis, arterial hypertension, obesity and cholelithiasis. Namely, these diseases began to develop with a change in diet and lifestyle and are considered "diseases of civilization".
At the same time, unfavorable ecological regions were investigated, where unbalanced nutrition, together with poor ecology, is the cause of many modern non-communicable diseases.
Changes in the properties of natural nutrition over the past centuries
It's no secret that over the past 100-200 years the diet of even those people who adhere to a healthy natural diet has changed significantly. The use of refined foods, substances rich in easily digestible carbohydrates, but devoid of vitamins and dietary fiber and other vital elements, has sharply increased. Thus, the consumption of omega-6 and omega – 3 fatty acids. In ancient times, the ratio of these acids was 2:1, now this ratio for coastal residents is 10:1, and for the population of the continental part of the land is 30-50:1.
There is also little in the diet of unripe vegetables and fruits, which have antimutagenic and anticancer effects due to the high content of flavonoids and glutathione.
Soil depletion plays an important role in the development of many nutrient deficiencies. If 85 years ago it was possible to replenish the daily supply of iron by eating 1-2 apples, today you need to eat 10-15 apples - and those that grew in your garden.
The introduction of increased hygiene requirements and heat treatment has led to the fact that a person, having a natural diet, receives little lactic acid bacteria with food. In the ancient world, the preservation of products was ensured by natural fermentation processes, which are carried out by lactic acid bacteria. At the same time, millions of lactic acid bacteria appeared in the digestive tract, which played a huge role in the state of immunity and the health of the body as a whole.
Influence of functional nutrition on body systems
The list of functional food products was small at first. It included products containing bifidobacteria, lactobacilli, dietary fiber, oligosaccharides and omega-3 fatty acids. By the beginning of the 21st century, sugar alcohols, vitamins, cholines, isoprenoids, phospholipids, proteins, nucleic acids, plant enzymes, macro- and microelements were added to this list.
The list of functional nutrition expanded when, in the early 1990s, the use of functional nutrition for physical and mental illness was approved as an alternative to drug therapy.
The very idea of using certain products for certain diseases belongs to the two-time Nobel Prize winner in chemistry, Linus Pauling. He proposed the concept of orthomolecular medicine, in which the treatment of mental and somatic diseases can be carried out not with drugs, but with macro- and micronutrients in optimal quantities that exceed the daily norm.
Conditions of the body in which functional nutrition can help the body and speed up recovery:
- Growth, development and differentiation (during pregnancy and lactation, growth and development of the child).
- Protection against compounds with oxidative activity (state of cell membranes, lipids, proteins).
- The state of the cardiovascular system (integrity of the endothelium and arterioles, lipoprotein homeostasis, control of coagulation and fibrinolysis factors, control of blood pressure, plasma homocysteine level).
- Obesity and diabetes mellitus (fat distribution, glucose, insulin, body weight, adaptation to exercise).
- States of bone tissue (kinetics of magnesium, phosphorus and calcium ions, bone density).
- States of normal intestinal microflora (number and composition of microorganisms in feces).
- The state of the immune system (the number of T- and B-lymphocytes, the activity of neutrophils and macrophages).
- Mental health conditions and behaviour.
- States of the gastrointestinal tract (quantity and quality of stool, its shape, color and consistency).
With the advent of this wave of interest in functional nutrition, many companies that previously specialized in the production of biological supplements have switched to the production of functional products.
Undoubtedly, this will have a positive impact on the health of the population. And eating natural products will help maintain health even in our civilization and with the current lifestyle.
Add a comment