This entry was posted on Friday, April 17th, 2009 at 9:52am and is filed under Parenting, Food Safety, Media and information, Labels, Health, Food Production. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Functional Foods are defined as foods that, in addition to nutrition, offer distinct health benefits.
The term usually brings to mind “added” features, such as enrichment with probiotics, omega-3’s, or other components that are added through processing.
I was pleased to see that 4 of the 5 “best functional foods” listed by the New York Dietetic Association are whole, unprocessed and readily available. Pro-biotic enhanced yogurt was the only processed food to make the top 5, and it came in at number 5. As an added benefit, they all are on my list of favorite foods!
The other foods were
Number 1: Salmon (Omega-3 content for heart and brain health)
Number 2: Whole-grain Oatmeal (fiber for digestive health and lowering risk of heart disease, cholesterol, diabetes and cancer)
Number 3: Blueberries (antioxidants for protection against free radicals and anti-aging)
Number 4: Low-fat milk (high levels of calcium and vitamin D for strong bones, regulating blood pressure and heart rate)
Looks like a breakfast of oatmeal cooked in milk and topped with blueberries, with a yogurt lunch and salmon for supper is a top rate menu for the day!
