By Brenda Van Goethem, Nerac Analyst
A 1999 study revealed that over 61 percent of American adults were considered to be overweight or obese with a body-mass index over 25. Projections for 2008 are that 73 percent of the U.S. population will be overweight, which has significant implications for the nation’s health. Excess weight and obesity are associated with heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, stroke, arthritis, breathing problems, and psychological disorders, such as depression.

Health experts say that diet-related or lifestyle diseases may reach epidemic proportions as the population ages. Baby boomers, the generation born between 1946 and 1964, are getting older, with the U.S. Census bureau estimating that on any given day last year, 8,000 Americans celebrated their 60th birthdays. As the boomers age, however, many are taking a more proactive approach to managing their health and preventing diet-related diseases, and that is good news for the functional food and nutraceutical industries.

The current trend is to look at food not only as a source of nutrition and energy, but also for its health benefits. We’ve all seen the ads telling us that Quaker oatmeal or Cheerios can help lower our cholesterol. But there are many other foods that have some great benefits.

Studies of Eskimo Diets Leads to Discovery
In the 1980s, researchers first began noticing the native Inuit (Eskimo)
populations had a low occurrences of heart disease, which was attributed to their consumption of fish high in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids have been clinically shown to reduce risk factors that can lead to heart attacks by lowering blood pressure, serum triglyceride levels, total cholesterol levels, and raising HDL the “good cholesterol” levels.

The Walnut Marketing Board, Salmon Market Information Service, and British Columbia Salmon Marketing Board have used the good press about omega-3 to their advantage, resulting in increased sales. Other food companies, such as Egg Innovations, capitalized on omega-3 research by introducing foods that have higher omega-3 levels. Egg Innovations offers a shell egg with a higher Omega 3 and vitamin E content than other shell eggs in the market.

Flaxseed Found To Be Source of Omega-3 and Fiber
Many food companies are developing products using flaxseed, another source of omega-3 fatty acids, as well as fiber. Pillsbury offers Carb Monitor dinner rolls, which includes flaxseed and millet for grain, and Nature’s Path makes a line of flax cereals. Flaxseed also contains lignans, which may have powerful anti-cancer properties. Cell culture tests have shown that Lignans, which are phenolic compounds found in all almost plants, inhibit human colon cancer cell and breast cancer cell growth. Human cancer trials studying the effects of flax lignans have had mixed results. However, a 6 1/2-year follow-up study of 383 breast cancer patients found that women with reoccurring breast cancer had significantly lower serum lignan precursor levels.

Another food ingredient getting a lot of good press lately is the probiotics. Probiotics are good bacteria, such as Lactobacillus or Bifidobacteria, found in fermented dairy products. Probiotic bacteria play a central role in digestion and in our normal intestinal bacteria populations. Probiotics possess other important health benefits. Clinical studies have shown that probiotic bacteria can stimulate our immune systems reducing the length of a cold or flu virus, prevent antibiotic-associated diarrhea, and prevent vaginal yeast infections.

Consumer trends in food selection may target ingredients with high nutritional value and health benefits. Food and nutraceutical industries that align their approaches to consumer health with these trends are increasingly likely to see better results. Perhaps Hippocrates, the father of medicine, summed it up for us nearly 3,000 years ago: “Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food.”