1. Emerging Trends in Foods and Nutrition
Functional Foods and
Nutrigenomics

2. Nutrition Professionals in Industry/Business
Areas of employment
Food industry
Companies manufacturing food products, supplements, etc.
Activities
Dietetics
Sales
Marketing
Communications

3. Functional Foods

4. Antioxidants & Phytochemicals

5. Functional Foods Backgrounder Factsheet

6. Functional Foods
Naturally occurring food components providing demonstrated physiological benefits or that reduce the risk of chronic disease
Beyond basic nutrition – health benefits
Functional foods – whole food
Nutraceuticals – isolate component of food sold in dosage form
1. Whole foods, fortified, enriched or enhanced foods
-- with potential benefit to health of consumer
-- phytochemicals/zoochemicals -- plant/animal constituents NOT nutrients
-- nutraceuticals, designer foods, etc.
-- biotechnology products
NOVEL FOODS -- “a substance, including a microorganism, that does not have a history of safe use as a food”
2. Whole foods -- F/V
Modified foods -- fortified with phytochemicals or botanicals
-- e.g., n-3 eggs, green tea + ginseng, yogurt + bifidus
Enhanced foods -- enhanced level of specific nutrient or food componeent -- e.g., OJ + Ca
Food Marketed as Supplement -- OJ + Ca (due to regs)
3. Aging population, increasing health care costs (looking for prevention), increased self-care, advancing scientific knowledge re: diet and disease, changes to food regulations, food and pharmaceutical industry response to growing sales of dietary supplements

7. Functional Foods Conventional or Whole food example Blueberries
Ranked #1 in antioxidant activity
Anthocyanin – the pigment that makes blueberries blue
Slow age related loss
Heart health
Urinary tract health
Nutrition
AKA Conventional Foods
others? – V/F – berries, kale, tomatoes, citrus, chocolate, tree nuts, fermented dairy products (probiotics),
• Improve short term memory loss
• Ameliorate age-related declines in neural and cognitive function
• Protect against macular degeneration of the retina
• Promote urinary tract health
• Act as a potent anti-inflamatory agent and COX-2 inhibitor*
• Improve glucose metabolism through the activity of chologenic acid
• Reduce the risk of some cancers

8. Functional Foods Added food component – Modified Foods
Ocean Nutrition Canada
Omega-3 milk – Farmer’s Dairy
Prenatal brain development
Children’s brain development
Heart disease prevention
Promotion of registered dietitian
OJ w/ Ca, Omega-3; folate in grains; energy-promoting ingredients in beverages (guarnana, taurine, ginseng); botanicals (herbal) additions to snacks

9. Pre- and Pro-biotics Influence intestinal microbes Prebiotics
Refers to substrate
Inulin – from chicory root
Oligofructose (FOS)
Probiotics
Refers to beneficial bacteria
Bifidobacteria
Lactobacilli
Acidophilus

10. Possible Practical Applications of Probiotic Agents
Management of pediatric diarrheal disease
After antibiotic use
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBS)

11. Future of Prebiotics & Probiotics
Need to clarify research findings for consistent professional use of probiotics
Use of probiotic species & specific strains
Dosages & forms for use
Safety of products
Shelf life of products
Prebiotic ‘fibres’ (e.g., inulin)
Poorly understood fermentation profiles & dosages
Douglas, & Sanders, 2008
Inulin – from chicory root

12. Functional Foods Lead to claims on food labeling
Qualified health claims
“may” contribute to health situation
Health claims
Confirmed relationship between food constituents & disease risk or health condition
Dietary guidance claims
Health benefits of broad categories of foods
E.g., whole grains, V/F
Structure & Function claims
Food constituent effect on normal structure & function of body

13. Dietitian’s Attitudes
Survey of Canadian dietitians, 2008
60% respondents supported health claims on labels
BUT only with adequate scientific support AND with government regulation
Majority felt dietitians needed to become knowledgeable concerning functional foods & nutriceuticals
Sheeshka, & LaCroix, 2008

14. Functional Foods
Why are functional food products expected to continue to grow in the coming years?
Should supplements of functional food components be expected to give similar results?
What is the safe level of intake for functional foods?
1. Aging population, increasing health care costs (looking for prevention), increased self-care, advancing scientific knowledge re: diet and disease, changes to food regulations, food and pharmaceutical industry response to growing sales of dietary supplements
growing consumer understanding of diet/disease links, aging populations, rising health care costs, and advances in food technology and nutrition
2. extracted, dried and compacted into pill – likely not active. Also what if works in conjunction with other food components
3. Not yet determined – need more clinical trials to establish these levels

15. Nutrition Professional Role & Responsibilities in Functional Foods
Nutrition professionals should respond by ?
How does this suggested approach differ philosophically from traditional nutrition practice?
Awareness increasing -- information coming from media
Research, expertise to food industry, education of industry, public, health care workers, regulatory standards i.e. labeling and safety, media resource
evaluation and implementation of research information
-- translate scientific info into practical info
-- advising consumers on intake levels
-- participating in research
-- expertise to food industry on product development
-- education of health care providers, policy makers, food industry
-- collaborate on regulation development
-- act as resource for the media
-- develop meal plans/prescribe dtry changes to optimize fn’l food intake
3. Shift from traditional nt education approach focussed on limiting intake of foods high in “less healthy” components
-- food can be health promoting beyond its traditional nutritional value

16. Nutrigenomics

17. Definitions Nutritional genomics Nutrigenomics Is the field of study
Concerned with the environmental influence on gene expression

18. Nutrigenomics
Working towards dietary strategies to prevent and treat chronic disease
How bioactive components affect genes, proteins & metabolites

19. Fundamental Principles
Dietary components (bioactive molecules) that control gene function
Individual genetic makeup and nutrient requirements
Nutrition and lifestyle manipulated according to genes
Diet responsive genes and chronic disease
Individualized dietary intervention
Dietary components are more than nutrients they are bioactive components that control gene function
Each person has own genetic makeup and nutrient requirements
Nutrition status and lifestyle should be manipulated according to genes
Diet responsive genes and their variants are playing major role in onset, incidence, progression and severity of chronic diseases
Individualized dietary intervention based on knowledge of nutritional requirements, nutritional status and genotype can be developed to prevent, mitigate or cure chronic disease

20. Initiators Human genome project
Nutrients are potent dietary signals influencing the metabolic programming of cells
Hereditary factors can predispose complex chronic disease
Information collected from completion of human genome project

21. Areas of potential benefit
Chronic inflammation
e.g, Catechins (tea), curcumin (turmeric), resveratrol (grapes), lactones (chicory)
Cardiovascular disease
Osteoporosis

22. PERIOD2 gene variants PER2 linked to abdominal obesity
People with minor variant significantly more likely than non-carriers to:
withdrawal from wt-loss treatment program
experience stress with dieting
display extreme snacking behavior
eat when bored
skip breakfast
Shows need for personalized programs based on genetic testing and behavioral therapy
Garaulet, et al., 2010
Study tested link between polymorphisms in the circadian clock-related gene PERIOD2
AND attrition in patients prone to withdraw from behavioral wt-loss pgms using the Mediterranean diet
People with a minor allele were significantly more likely to withdraw than those who successfully completed treatment
Minor allele carriers (cf’d with non-carriers) had greater probability of
dropping out
displaying extreme snacking
experiencing stress with dieting
eating when bored
skipping b’fast
Garaulet, Corbalan-Tutau, Madrid, Baraza, Parnell, Lee and Ordovas. (2010). PERIOD2 Variants are associated with abdominal obesity, psycho-behavioral factors, and attrition in the dietary treament of obesity. JADA, 110(6),

23. Telomere length & multivitamin use
Telomere – terminal section of chromosome involved in replication and stability
Shorten with repeated replications, so may be a marker of biological aging
Antioxidant vitamins & minerals may affect length
Recent large study (Sisters Study) showed
daily multivitamin users had on average 51% longer telomeres (~9.8 years age-related loss)
Only vit C & E from food were related to telomere length
Preliminary findings
Xu, et al., Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2009; 89,

24. Why is this important? Emerging as key area in nutrition practice
Potential to enhance effectiveness of practice
Opportunities to grow over next 5-10 years
Enhances ability to make diet & lifestyle choices to improve health & reduce disease risk
Nutrition professionals need to
Keep up with science in area
Use evidence to develop products & services
Nutritional genomics will have imacts throughout society
-- medicine, agriculture, dietary habits, public policies

25. The Future Very new science
Personalized dietary advice or product development premature at this point
Positive opinion by public
Many complex mechanisms to understand first
e.g., how individual genes interact with each other
Lifelong approach to learning essential to be up to date
NOTE:
-- 2/3 Americans surveyed expressed favourable opinion toward idea of using genetic info to develop personalized Nt recommendations
-- 70% interested in learning more about using genetic information to develop Nt recommendations aimed at reducing disease or optimizing health

26. Challenges
Health professionals & public not prepared to effectively integrate research into practice
Lack of knowledge & experts
How to fit into already crowded curricula at undergrad level
Genetic variations & links to health must be known
Need valid, reliable genetic testing assays
Testing to occur in credentialed labs
Need to address ethical concerns over misuse
From: ADA HOD (House of Delegates) Fact Sheet on Nutritional Genomics