Introduction Defining functional foods What are functional foods? The complexities involved in definition are a key theme in Chapter 1 of this book. This suggests the following working definition which seeks to isolate the significance of both functional, 'food' in our understanding of the term A food can be regarded asfunctional' if it is satisfactorily demon- strated to affect beneficially one or more target functions in the body, beyond adequate nutrition, in a way that improves health and well-being or reduces the risk of disease This definition suggests that a product must remain a food to be included within he category. On this basis a functional food can be · a natural food a food to which a positive component has been added, or from which a deleterious component has been removed a food where the nature of one or more components has been modified The idea of functionality'reflects a major shift in attitudes to the relationship between diet and health. Nutritionists have traditionally concentrated on identifying a balanceddiet, that is one ensuring adequate intakes of nutrients and avoiding certain dietary imbalances(for example, excessive consumption of fat, cholesterol and salt)which can contribute towards disease. It is important that this lies behind all sound nutritional principles and guidelines. However, the focus is now on achieving optimised nutrition, maximising life expectancy and quality by identifying food ingredients which, when added to a"balanceddiet,Defining functional foods What are functional foods? The complexities involved in definition are a key theme in Chapter 1 of this book. This suggests the following working definition which seeks to isolate the significance of both ‘functional’ and ‘food’ in our understanding of the term: A food can be regarded as ‘functional’ if it is satisfactorily demon￾strated to affect beneficially one or more target functions in the body, beyond adequate nutrition, in a way that improves health and well-being or reduces the risk of disease. This definition suggests that a product must remain a food to be included within the category. On this basis a functional food can be: • a natural food • a food to which a positive component has been added, or from which a deleterious component has been removed • a food where the nature of one or more components has been modified. The idea of ‘functionality’ reflects a major shift in attitudes to the relationship between diet and health. Nutritionists have traditionally concentrated on identifying a ‘balanced’ diet, that is one ensuring adequate intakes of nutrients and avoiding certain dietary imbalances (for example, excessive consumption of fat, cholesterol and salt) which can contribute towards disease. It is important that this lies behind all sound nutritional principles and guidelines. However, the focus is now on achieving ‘optimised’ nutrition, maximising life expectancy and quality by identifying food ingredients which, when added to a ‘balanced’ diet, Introduction