Functional food

Nutraceuticals

The use of food to improve health, beyond its traditional contribution of nutrients to avoid deficiencies, has been developing at an accelerated pace. This is why terms such as nutraceuticals (pharmaceutical nutrients or pharmacological properties), functional foods, food derived substances and modified foods have been used in a somewhat confusing way.

The issue is of great importance and should be thoroughly investigated and regulated in a rigorous way. There are foods that can prevent, control, alleviate and cure diseases. In fact there are communities that have been using them for many years.

At first it seems important to separate some terms. Foods that can act on different pathologies should be grouped into "medicinal foods", such as garlic. Foods to which substances are added to improve their nutritional properties should be integrated into "food supplements", for example milk with minerals. The substances isolated from food are that, "supplements", the Omega 3 can be cited. Modified foods, either by cultivation or processing techniques, as well as those obtained by genetic manipulation, should be grouped as "modified foods", with several options depending on the type of technique used.
There may also be groupings such as "natural" foods, which would be those consumed as they are obtained (with subsequent processing), meat, milk, cereals, vegetables and "manipulated" foods in which the intervention of man obtains products that are not Found as such in nature, such as probiotics.

In a tentative way they will be classified in:

1.- Foods with medicinal properties
2.- Food supplemented with medicinal active ingredients
3.- Vitamin and mineral supplements
4.- Food modified to achieve health benefits

Examples of medicinal foods

Broccoli, one of the most studied medicinal foods. With its active ingredient, sulforaphane, as the most potent growth inhibitor of tumors. Substance that is also present in other crucifers, cauliflower, cabbage and other cabbages. Its consumption steamed seems to be the most indicated.

It has recently been reported that if broccoli is seasoned with foods containing the enzyme myrosinase, such as broccoli, mustard, radish or wasabi, the anticancer activity of broccoli is substantially enhanced. This would be achieved by obtaining greater bioavailability of the active substances of the plant.

Most beverages that are obtained through fermentative processes have important medicinal properties.

This has been known for many, many years.

Cider, beer, wine, vinegar, fermented herbs

Others, among which I mention a fermented that this humble servant is developing.

And because it is already repeated, it is not enough to say that all this must be monitored by the corresponding health professionals, self-medication is not good and can be risky.

Cider

In general, and repeatedly maintaining moderation in intake, cider may be beneficial in the following cases; Aside, of course, from its recognized diuretic power:

RESPIRATORY EQUIPMENT
Gripes and colds:
It is advisable to mix sugar and hot cider as it strengthens the bronchi and facilitates expectoration. The saying goes: "to the phlegm, dai col xarru; And if to very grabrau, cider or calentau wine ".

DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
Lingual tongue swab, or dirty tongue:
Cider acts as a bactericide and saliva excitatory agent; This facilitates a better chewing and insalivation of the food and the corresponding lubrication of the bolus, thus destroying a large part of the savory components
(Desquamated cells, mucus, fungi, food debris, etc.).

Halitosis, or bad breath:
It is usually a consequence of oral problems, pharyngitis and hypoacidity of gastric juice. Cider increases gastric acidity while cleaning and perfuming the mouth.

Constipation:
Cider, in general, exerts a remarkable laxative action; However, those ciders very rich in tannins may have an opposite effect (astringent), so they will be useful in cases of diarrhea.

Digestion:
Cider, because of its acidic nature, facilitates the digestive action of pepsin and therefore allows an easier and complete transformation of proteins.

CIRCULATORY SYSTEM
Cholesterol:
It appears that cider exerts a certain antiatherogenic action, facilitating the production of HDL-cholesterol and inhibiting that of LDL-cholesterol; Thereby preventing the formation of atheromas in the arteries and avoiding the possibility of a coronary accident (infarction).

Arterial hypertension:
The diuretic action of cider is beneficial for cases of hypertension when there is precisely a notable elimination of liquids. On the other hand, it does not appear that the intake of cider, in very moderate amounts, has any negative influence on blood pressure (maximum and minimum), since it has been shown not to increase cardiac output nor to modify the heart rate.

OTHER USES

Febrile states:
Cider, taken with great moderation, exerts a certain febrile action and, by raising the vital tone, diminishes the sensation of prostration that suffers the patient.

States of decay:
Cider, always in very moderate doses, provides euphoria, elevates the vital tone and increases the feeling of affectivity. The refranero is categorical: "the cider aneya fai young to xente vieya".

Gout and rheumatism:
Cider, by its diuretic action, allows a better elimination of uric acid and, in conduction, a relief in the pains that originate these diseases.

Cider and vitamin C:
In the middle of the eighteenth century, Dr. Lind, when studying the nutritional deficiency states of the English seafarer affected by scurvy (consequence of lack of vitamin C), experimented with 12 patients, who were lodged in the vessel
Salisbury and subjected to conditions of habitability and feeding similar to those of a normal navigationDistributed in pairs, he administered a different diet for several days, noting that those who were treated
With a daily dose of two oranges and a lime, cured in a week, and those treated with half a liter of daily cider, experienced a slow but important improvement.

Beer, its properties

Being a practitioner of the rituals that beer imposes can have the extra benefit of improving health. Drinking in moderation, the intake of one of the most consumed drinks in the world becomes an antidote to serious illness.
According to a number of scientific studies, sitting at sunset drinking a fresh and tasty beer may perhaps fix the fats and not help you lose weight, but it helps, for example, not to lose bone mass.

The documentation accredited by specialists ensures that the consumption of moderate amounts of beer has a healthy effect on the human being.

Researchers at the University of Oregon have found that the high estrogenic properties of beer hops, more potent than those of soybeans, can make it used in the future instead of hormone replacement therapy.

Relating this to the risk of osteoporosis, some phytoestrogens from beer hops are especially active to prevent bone loss.

Other data compiled in the Healthy Life portal ensure that, always in prudent amounts, it helps decrease the risk of kidney and liver stones.

There are investigations in which the anti-cancer properties of the components of the beer were verified. Hops (a climbing plant of the cannabinaceae family that is grown mainly for brewing beer for its bittering power), for example, contains flavonoids that inhibit certain types of cancers in cell cultures.

In the same category, a group of Japanese scientists studied 27 different types of beers around the world and found that they contained potent inhibitory substances against various carcinogens produced during the cooking of foods. The beer also shows a protective effect against the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, which causes many stomach cancers.

Fountain of youth

With respect to aging and mental deterioration, there is also evidence in favor of moderate consumption of beer. Some are due to its blood-dilating effect, its diuretic properties and its help to improve sleep.

In this regard, an Indiana University study of 4,000 male twin brothers found that among moderate drinkers of beer scored higher on mental ability tests than non-drinkers or heavy drinkers.

Another study conducted in the Netherlands showed that moderate beer drinkers had a lower risk of Alzheimer's disease.

Dr. Pavel Zemek, a researcher at the Czech Center for Gerontology, discovered in beer a key fact for men: drinking two cans a day delays impotence.

Joy to the heart

One of the latest discoveries about the healing properties of beer was recently published by the New England Journal of Medicine and claims to lower the risk of heart attacks.

Yes, to the happiness of the "birra" worshipers, the research - carried out for 12 years on 38,077 men - showed that those who consumed a minimum of four (small) weekly beers were 33% less likely to suffer from cardiac arrest.

Meanwhile, another study conducted at Emory University over a 14-year period that among men and women with a mean age of 74 years resulted in those who drank at least one daily can between 20 and 50% Less risk of having a heart attack.

According to scientific explanations, the moderate intake of beer increases the levels of folic acid and antioxidants and decreases those of cholesterol and fibrinogen, all of which favors cardiovascular health.

En el mismo campo de riesgos cardiovasculares, un trabajo norteamericano sobre mujeres posmenopáusicas encontró que el consumo de una lata de cerveza a diario disminuyó el colesterol malo y aumentó la concentración del colesterol bueno.

Con tanto respaldo científico, que mejor que disfrutar de una buena cerveza fría y asegurarle al cuerpo y el corazón larga vida.

Hierbas y condimentos como medicinas

Tapsell LC, Hemphill I, Cobiac L, Patch CS, Sullivan DR, Fenech M, Roodenrys S, Keogh JB, Clifton PM, Williams PG, Fazio VA, Inge KE.

Med J Aust. 2006 Aug 21;185(4 Suppl):S4-24.

National Centre of Excellence in Functional Foods, University of Wollongong, NSW.

"Tanto las hierbas como los condimentos tienen una larga tradición de uso, fuertemente ligada a la herencia cultural y en la importancia de la alimentación en la salud. El demostrar científicamente los beneficios de los alimentos en la salud es todavía un gran desafío, en particular al comparalos con las exigencias reglamentarias de los agentes farmacéuticos.

Los agentes farmacéuticos son compuestos de bajo peso molecular que se consumen en forma concentrada y purificada. Los alimentos se consumen combinados, en cantidades relativamente grandes y sin medir, bajo condiciones particulares para cada comunidad. El desafío mayor está, no en probar que las hierbas y los condimentos son beneficiosos para la salud, sino en definir cuáles son esos beneficios y en desarrollar los métodos para comprobarlos de modo científico.

ASPECTOS CULTURALES: La importancia de las hierbas y los condimentos en la dieta requieren considerarse bajo el aspecto de sus beneficios para la salud. Esto incluye definiciones de categorías de alimentos y del modo en que los beneficios deberían tomarse en cuenta y por lo tanto ser investigados. La investigación puede enfocarse hacia la identificación de sustancias bioactivas de hierbas y condimentos o hacia las propiedades del alimento como un todo y en el contexto de una dieta culinaria.

EL ROL DE LAS HIERBAS Y LOS CONDIMENTOS EN LA SALUD: Las propiedades antioxidantes de hierbas y condimentos tienen un interés especial, en vista del impacto de la modificación oxidativa del colesterol LDL en el desarrollo de la ateroesclerosis. Existe una evidencia de nivel III-3 (niveles de evidencia del National Health and medical Research Council) que el consumo de medio a un diente de ajo diario (o su equivalente) puede tener un efecto del 9% en bajar el nivel de colesterol. Hay una evidencia de nivel III-1 que 7.2 g. de extracto de ajo añejado se asocia con un efecto antitrombótico (estudios en vivo), así como una leve reducción en la presión sanguínea ( aproximadamente 5.5% de descenso en la presión sistólica).

Una variedad de compuestos de hierbas y condimentos han sido estudiados por sus propiedades anticancerígenas en animales, pero el desafío está en ver si esto mismo se observa en humanos y dentro de pautas culinarias específicas.

La investigación de los efectos de hierbas y condimentos en las salud mental debría distinguir entre la declinación cognitiva debida a la edad y los efectos agudos sobre las funciones sicológicas y congnitivas. Hay evidencias de niveles I y II de el efecto de algunos suplementos herbales en las funciones sicológicas y cognitivas.

Existe una muy limitada evidencia sobre los efectos de hierbas y condimentos en Diabetes Mellitus tipo 2, siendo lo más destacable el efecto del ginseng en la glicemia, basado en 4 trabajos. Se requiere más investigación para examinar, por ejemplo, los comportamientos con el consumo continuado.

El uso de extractos alimenticios como agentes antiiflamatorios no esteroidales está tomando fuerza, por lo menos para cuadros crónicos. Hay evidencia de nivel II para el uso del jengibre en los dolores artríticos de rodilla, a pesar de ello, la mejora es poca e inferior a la lograda con ibuprofeno. Se requiere más investigación.

SALUD PUBLICA E IMPLICANCIAS DIETARIAS: Las recomendaciones de consumo alimenticio en la guía australiana de alimentación saludable, no incluye aún sugerencias sobre consumo de hierbas y condimentos. En el futuro se debería considerar la inclusión explícita de su lugar en una dieta saludable. Además de sus propiedades antioxidantes y más, las hierbas y condimentos pueden utilizarse en la dieta para reemplazar, parcial o totalmente, ingredientes poco deseables como sal, azúcar y el agregado de grasas saturadas en, por ejemplo, marinadas, salsas, sopas y comidas tipo mediterráneas. Los platos con vegetales y las opciones vegetarianas pueden ser más apetitosas al prepararlas con hierbas y condimentos.

PARA EL FUTURO: Considerando que varias enfermedades metabólicas y problemas degenerativos asociados con el envejecimiento, están estrechamente asociados a procesos oxidativos en el organismo, el uso de hierbas y condimentos para combatir la oxidación, merece atención adicional. Los próximos trabajos deberían enfocarse en validar la capacidad antioxidante de hierbas y condimentos después de la cosecha, así como sus efectos en marcadores de oxidación. Esto debe trabajarse en paralelo con pruebas clínicas que intenten establecer a los antioxidantes como mediadores en la prevención de enfermedades. Desde una perspectiva dietaria, la funcionalidad de hierbas y condimentos será expuesta considerando sus propiedades como alimentos. Como con la mayoría de los alimentos los beneficios reales de su inclusión en la dieta deberían emerger con un mayor entendimiento de los atributos de la salud que son mejor apoyados por los alimentos y en el desarrollo metodológico de las bases de sus efectos.

Hasta el momento los trabajos están dirigidos solamente a apoyar el consumo de alimentos ricos en componentes bioactivos, tales como hierbas y condimentos. En el futuro esperamos que exista una mayor cantidad de evidencia científica apoyando los beneficios de las hierbas y de los condimentos en el mantenimiento global de la salud y en la protección de enfermedades."