Can anyone give me examples of Commercial Functional Foods in the UK and Ireland?!
Okay so a functional food is a food that had health promoting or disease preventing quality's and I'm trying to think of a few well known examples.
I'm thinking along the lines of 7 sea's oil and low low butter.
Any better well known examples?
Answers:
Functional foods are foods that have had a health-promoting ingredient added to them. So wholewheat bread wouldn't be considered a functional food, but biscuits with added barley fibre (to reduce cholesterol) would be classed as a functional food - the difference being the bread is 'passively healthy' and the biscuit an 'active health' product, in the marketing terms of the food industry.
There are lots of margarines and low fat spreads that are fortified, with things like Omega-3 (to improve e.g. cognitive function, heart health) or plant sterols (to actively reduce cholesterol). Lots of Unilever's Flora products and also the Beneo range are fortified.
You already mentioned yoghurts, where there are many examples of fortification with healthy oils (Omega-3 again), fibres (inulin, oligosaccharides - 'prebiotics') and 'good' bacteria ('probiotics'). Key brands are Danone, Muller & of course Yakult.
Dairy Crest launched a branded milk with added Omega-3 a few years ago, but I think that may now have been discontinued.
There are many more examples - hopefully the definition I provided in the first sentence will enable you to identify these in your local supermarket. One final tip to aid identification - since the ingredients with which they are fortified are always expensive, these products will always have some health messaging or claim on the pack - though not everything with a health claim is fortified.
