Introduction
Eating habits and trends in food production and consumption have health, environmental and social impacts. Diet has implications on gut health. Gut complications, such as ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, irritable bowels syndrome and gluten therapy resistant celiac, result from over growth and imbalance of intestinal microbial flora, and are related to one’s diet. Notably, the gastro-intestinal tracks is sterile at birth; intestinal micro-flora develop at birth, with the colonization rate varying according to factors such as the mode of birth infant nutrition, antibiotic use, diet and age (Robert, 2006). Gut health determine an individual’s overall health. The human gut has the following functions: it breaks food down to nutrients, it facilitates absorption of nutrient into blood through intestinal walls and it prevents foreign and toxic molecules from entering the blood stream. Gut malfunction, therefore, has a direct negative impact on human health. This review focuses out the role of functional food, nutraceutical, and food supplement on intestinal health (Gunert et al., 2001)
Consumption pattern vary significantly across Europe, from more southern healthy diets (rich in fruit and vegetables) to the northern one (rich in animal fat and animal food products). Another striking difference is the fact that in northern European countries, eating is an individual affair, whereas in continental and southern countries consumers attach importance to the social dimension of food and sharing a meal (Bronzwaer, 2008). These nutritional consumption differences across Europe contribute greatly to the apparent difference in the health populations on the continent. In spite of the fact that today consumers are increasingly attentive to food safety, quality and health related issues. The population on the Europe Union (EU) is still fighting with the diseases of a modern age such as obesity, cancer, diabetes, allergies, stress and dental problems.
Furthermore, food additives, toxins and emerging food pathogens potentially present another threat, with their real effects being confounded by their adverse and synergistic effects (Roberts, 2006). On the other hand the increasingly aging population energy uptake, unbalance diets and highly processed foods used in fast food products are huge problem (Perez-Cueto, 2009). Nevertheless, economic crisis and high food price tend to favour imbalance “cheap” food intake (Gilbert et al., 2000; Eaton et al., 2001).
Definition of functional foods
Functional foods are foods that have a potentially positive effect on health beyond basic nutrition. Proponents of functional foods say they promote optimal health and help reduce the risk of disease. A familiar example of a functional food is Oatmeal because it contains soluble fibbers that can help lower cholesterol levels. Some foods are modified to have health benefit. An example is orange juice that’s been fortified with calcium for bone health (Zeratsky, 2015). Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing of an individual, not merely the absence of disease (WHO)
Food and health
Food habits develop in early infancy, in fact, it is known that initial phases of life (intra-uterine period and the first year of life) are sensitive to nutritional factors (Caetano et al., 2010). Exclusive breast feeding up to six months, with breastfeeding lasting up to two years or longer in combination with the introduction of balanced complementary feeding, are emphasized by the world health Organization (WHO) as important measure of public health with effective impact on the reduction in the risk of developing chronic diseases. It is now known that children after the age of two years should be feed with nutritionally balanced diet similar to that of adults, particularly a diet low in sugar, salt and fat, while rich in complex carbohydrate fruit and vegetables. Development of food habits is a complex process that may be influenced by such factors as region, religion, family structure, habits, income prices, stress level and technological advancement. Several epidemiological studies over the last 50 years have clearly shown that diets dominated by fruit, vegetables and dietary fibres (plant based foods) prevent and reduce the risk of chronic disease and promote sound human health. The generation of scientific research linking foods of plant origin and health worldwide has resulted in acknowledgement that plant bioactive compound have anti-oxidant and other healthy properties (Cencic et al., 2010; Balsano et al., 2009).
High dietary intake of fruits, vegetables and whole grains is strongly associated with reduced risk of developing chronic disease, such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases, which are the highest causes of death in Europe, United States and in most industrialized countries (Liu et al., 2004). It is estimated that one-third of all cancer deaths in industrialized countries could be avoided through appropriate dietary formulations.
Cardiovascular diseases
These represent the primary cause of death with high negative impact on human health cardiovascular disease an tumours, together, contribute to more than 60% of death in economically-developed countries (Stramba-Badiale et al., 2006) important risk factors for cardiovascular disease include obesity, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. The risk is increase not only by the consumption of poor diet, but also by lifestyle habits such as smoking and alcohol intake (Wang et al., 2007).
Consequently, a general nutritional plan to minimize hypertension risk includes attaining and maintaining a healthy body weight, consuming a diet rich in calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium and consuming alcoholic beverages and sodium in moderation.
Functional food
Functional foods are similar in appearance to conventional foods. The formal being consumed as part of the normal diet. Functional foods includes: fatty fish, soy, probioties, Nuks, tomatoes and tomato product etc. in contrast to conventional foods, functional foods, however, have demonstrated physiological benefit and can reduce the risk of chronic disease beyond basic nutritional functions, including maintaining of gut health (Laparra et al., 2010). When food is being looked or prepared using “scientific intelligence” with or without knowledge of how or why it is being used, the food is called “functional food”. Thus, functional food provides the body with the required amount of vitamins, fats, protein, carbohydrate etc. needed for its healthy survival (Laparra et al., 2010).
Probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics
The human gut is populated by a wide array of bacterial species, the later bearing important metabiolic and immune functions, all leading to marked effect on the nutritional and health status of an individual (Laparra et al., 2010). Probiotics, according to a consensus definition, are living micro-organism, which upon ingestion in certain numbers, exert health benefits beyond inherent basic nutrition, (Guarner and Schaafsma, 2008), alternatively probiotics are loosely known as live micro-organism belonging to natural biota with low or no pathogenicity, but with functions of importance of the health and well being of human.
Probiotics were originally used to influence human health through intestinal micro-biota alterations. At present, probiotics and their effects on human health have been demonstrated both within different ford matrices and as a single or mixed microbial culture preparation. Furthermore, the health promoting properties of probiotics are now known to be strain dependant (Bengmark, 2009; Nissen et al., 2009). The results from clinical studies have not been conclusive, in that the effects of probiotics on human are dependent on probiotice strain, however probiotics have been shown to have application in alleviating symptoms of allergies, cancer, Aids, respiratory and urinary tract infection (Douglas and Sanders, 2008). Prebiotic is a selectively fermented ingredient, or a fibre that allow specific changes, both in the composition or activity of the gastro-intestinal microflora, resultantly conferring benefits on the well being and health of individual. (de Vrese, 2008; Douglas, 2008) other specific effects of prebiotics on health are direct, namely prevention of diarrhoea or abstipation, modulation of the metabolism of the intestinal flora, cancer prevention, stimulation of mineral absorption and immunonodulatory properties, while synbiotics are synergistic combinations of probiotic and prebiotics. (de Vrese, 2008).
Imbalance of intestinal microbial flora
Modern lifestyles tend to impose stress on system genetically adapted over millions of years the consumption of food containing micro-organism has dramatically reduced, and as a consequence, the developing mucosal immune system are faced with different microflora, particularly fever pathogens. The lack of immune education impairs the development of the immune system and allows human to over-react to non-pathogenic antigen containing commensal flora, resulting in inflammatory damage, and auto-immunity (O’Sulivan et al., 2005). To combat these trends directly, the world health organization currently advocates the implementation of alternative disease control strategies such as exploiting the prophylactic and therapeutic potential of propbiotic bacterial.
Food supplements
According to the us Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 2004, the term “dietary supplement” can be defined using several criteria, namely a product (Other than tobacco) that is intended to supplement the diet that bears or contains one or more of the following dietary ingredient a vitamin, a mineral, an herb or other botanical an amino acid, a dietary substance for use by man to supplement. The diet by increasing the total daily intake, or concentrate, metabolite, constituent, extract or combinations of these ingredients (Zeisel, 1990). A product intended for ingestion in pill, capsule, tablets or liquid form, a product not represented for use as conventional food or as the sole item of a meal.
Mounting evidence support the observation that functional foods containing physiologically active components, either from plant or animal source, may enhance health (Gatte, 2010) clearly, all food are functional, as they has been an explosion of consumer interest in the health enhancing role of specific food or physiologically active food component so called functional food. It should be stressed, however, that functional foods are not a magic bullet or universal panacea for health habits and there are no good or bad foods, but there are good or bad diets.
Conclusion
Overall, this study discussed nutraceutical, functional food and food supplements which include probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, phytochemicals etc. and especially the need for consuming appropriate diets, health issues surrounding failure to adhere to this known healthy eating models in order to have a healthy living.
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