Emerging Trends in Foods and Nutrition

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 • 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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?

14. Nutrition Professional Role & Responsibilities in Functional Foods • Nutrition professionals should respond by . . . ? • How does this suggested approach differ philosophically from traditional nutrition practice?

15. Nutrigenomics

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

17. Nutrigenomics • Working towards dietary strategies to prevent and treat chronic disease

18. 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

19. Initiators • Human genome project • Nutrients are potent dietary signals influencing the metabolic programming of cells • Hereditary factors can predispose complex chronic disease

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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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