Nutraceuticals-Are they foods or medicines or con products?

There's no evidence that the father of modern medicine Hippocrates ever said, "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food." Some debate whether he would have even agreed with the sentiment. Nonetheless this popular quote has become the motto for the creation of a new industry going by the name "nutraceuticals". or so called "functional foods". Consumers have been made to be  aware of many developments in this area through mass scale promotion of these products. Many consumers are aware that stanols and sterols derived from natural sources can control cholesterol build up and this has been used by the industry to create products like margarines and yoghurts fortified with these phytochemicals. Who ever does not know about the importance of omega-3 fatty acids and the recommendations of health experts to consume fish which is a rich source of this essential fatty acid. Since fish is a taboo for some population attempts have been made to produce Omega-3 acids from bugs through controlled fermentation processes.  Nutraceutical industry to day seems to think that it can do everything that can con the consumer into thinking that its products can do wonders like making  him more intelligent, smarter, cleverer and boosting his immune system.  Though nutraceutical industry is on an explosive growth path, probably due to the benign attitude of policy makers in many countries, it goes to the credit of the European countries that the regulatory regimes there are becoming more and more strict in clearing such products without sufficient and credible scientific data. Do any of these so-called miracle foods, then, actually work? The science behind most nutraceutical products is at best hazy and cannot be taken as the holy grail.

In spite of the weak scientific foundation for justifying the existence of the nutraceutical industry, it is terrifying to see that in the US market alone there are more than 29000 products with thousand products being launched every year to tap the potential of these foods. A market voluume of more than $ 250 billion cannot be ignored so easily whatever may be justification. But tightening the regulatory regime is urgently called for with the food authorities laying down strict guidelines for approval like the EU countries where product claims need to be substantiated through impeccable scientific data. Using references of academic studies in Universities to support the claims cannot be an acceptable way for clearing products making health claims.  

If one traces the history of adding external substances to the food eaten commonly, it all started with enrichment and fortification which were considered necessary at one time. Food industry is to some extent responsible in spawning an entirely new manufacturing sector engaged in making nutrients like vitamins, minerals, etc which are used to "augment" the overall nutritive value of a processed food. Such additions became a necessity when during processing significant portions of nutrients are removed reducing the wholesomeness of the natural food. Take the case of rice milled from Paddy. It is true that the inedible shell enclosing the grain has to be removed to make it edible but the processor went further to get a grain with high degree of whiteness by polishing thereby removing vital nutrients like vitamins, minerals, many beneficial phytochemicals and the fiber contained in the bran. Similarly the white flour extracted from wheat grain has practically no nutrient left and it is but a product containing only starch and gluten. Is it not a tragedy that the nutritionally valuable constituents like bran and germ finally end up in animal feeds! This had necessitated "enrichment" of this flour with vitamins and other nutrients. Like these there are hundreds of instances where natural nutrients are removed as a prerequisite to obtain a nice looking end product!

Naturally the increased awareness of the consumer about the close relationship between health and food played its part in motivating the industry to come up with healthier products. However there are severe limitations for the processors in restoring the health value of a natural material after processing to its original glory, no matter what technology they deploy. More than 90% of processed foods in the US are "fortified" or "enriched" to convey the impression that the end products coming out of the production line are as good as the raw material used in terms of nutrition. But health pundits are never convinced about this because of the fact that the nutrients present in any food cannot be considered efficient once its integrity is destroyed by the severity of processing. Thus adding bran back to the wheat flour or fortification with vitamins serves a limited purpose because of the questionable bioefficacy of these factory made products in terms of biological utilization by the body. If this is true it is very difficult to concede the point that "assembled" dietary supplements can deliver what is being promised by the manufacturers..

The term "nutraceutical" is coined to convey to the consumer that the products offered have both food value as well as medicinal connotation. Unfortunately there is no consensus that these products really serve any purpose. If one believes in the old saying that "some thing is better than nothing" probably one can accept them with "hope" that those who consume will get at least some benefit though not to the extent claims made by the manufacturer. Most products which are in the market to day world over come under this category.with the claims made not being fully supported by credible and verifiable scientific evidence. What is important is that the added nutrients when ingested can never act the same way as claimed by the manufacturers. The gastrointestinal system in man can vary in its functions and any thing ingested has to go through the elaborate digestive enzymes and secretions which are involved in converting complex food matrix into easily assimilable simple biochemicals capable of being metabolized by the cellular system after being absorbed. A nutraceutical product designed to be beneficial will have to go through the digestive system and what is its fate can never be predicted with any degree of precision. This is where the need for user trial is critical for every product with claims of different benefits made by the manufacturers. 

One has to just recall what happened to the fate of probiotics which were promoted massively attributing to them a multitude of benefits including boosting immunity and aiding digestion. A reputed company which made lot of money selling probiotics claiming the above benefits had to retract their claims in the year 2010 in the face of critical assessment by the scientists of European authorities. It is another matter that in a country like Japan nutraceuticals are being given a free run because of less rigorous rules. Other wise it is very difficult to understand how a beer product fortified with collagen is permitted in that country!. Another undesirable tendency noticed is to use substances with some health attributes for glamorizing patently unhealthy products like fizz drinks.Ultimately the larger question is whether these nutraceutical products really serve any purpose except improving the bottom line of the industry.

It is realized by the consumers that there is no short cut to good health which can come only when balanced and diverse diets are consumed with regular physical activity to burn the calories and boost metabolic activities. The recommendations by many health agencies including the FAO that diets should be predominantly made of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts and unrefined products make eminent sense. In a world dominated by junk foods and their peddlers such sane advice may fall on deaf ears in the face of massive lobbying power of the modern food industry and their high decibel sound bites in the form of saturation advertisements.              ."

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

IS SALT THE RIGHT MEDIUM FOR NUTRIENT DELIVERY?-A HOBSON'S CHOICE INDEED!

Criticality of iron to maintain sound health cannot be overstated and population suffering from anemia or iron deficiency is widely spread over the continents of Asia, Africa and South America. Iron deficiency is caused by poverty as well as eating habits of people which vary from place to place. For wealthy western countries meat is the major source of iron as most of the population are non-vegetarians. In contrast population not having access to meat can be due to food habits or economic compulsions.It is not that plant foods are devoid of iron but the concentration is generally low requiring larger quantities to be consumed to meet the recommended daily intake. Even in Western countries iron fortification is common and mostly cereal products manufactured by the industry do contain added iron.

Iron deficiency can produce anemia as manifested by reduced hemoglobin content in the blood and is often precipitated by poverty conditions among people in may developing countries. Even in developed countries where meat eating is predominant anemia affects about 20% of women though it is only about 3% in men. Such a situation could have led to universal fortification of cereal products in these countries and with more than 80% of the foods consumed in these countries coming from the organized food industry, such a policy is deemed to be effective in countering iron-deficient anemia incidences. In contrast population in India with predominant vegetarian diets suffer from anemia to a greater extent. Normal hemoglobin content varies from 11-13 g/dl in humans, depending on the age as per WHO norms.

Fortification is a procedure that involves addition of one or more nutrient to foods either to restore the losses incurred during processing or to deliver a particular nutrient of critical importance to masses suffering from deficiency. Universal fortification of salt with iodine is a standing example of a successful strategy to prevent development of goiter, a common deficiency disorder occurring widespread in the world and many countries have made it mandatory for the salt manufacturers to sell this commodity only after iodine fortification. Cooking fats and milk are also fortified with Vitamins A and D though how far this is effective is not known.

Considering the success achieved in using salt as a carrier for delivering iodine, the possibility of using the same for incorporating iron has been explored and this approach seems to be feasible as borne out by limited studies in this area. Double fortification of salt can be most effective in tackling two dreaded diseases, goiter and anemia through a single medium. As in the West cereal flours cannot be an effective carrier because in countries like India the share of organized roller flour industry in the flour market is not substantial, with small plate grinders being the prominent players and scientific blending of iron sources with such products is not logistically feasible. Here is where salt come into picture and offers an easy solution.

Earlier efforts to use fluid milk and tea as carriers, explored during nineteen seventies in India did not bear fruit because of insurmountable technical difficulties. Both milk and tea are consumed country wide and could have provided route for the delivery of iron if efforts had succeeded to fortify them. Ferrous sulfate, ferrous gluconate, ferrous fumerate, are good sources of iron but the absorption efficiency is rather low and this problem is further compounded by the composition of foods as many ingredients can inhibit absorption. Iron amino acid chelate ferrous bisglycinate and Sodium Ferredelate EDTA are sources of iron with high bioutilization rate. With the availability of these modern iron sources it may be worth making attempts again to use milk and tea as iron carriers.

Use of salt has some ramifications which need to be kept in view. There is a sustained campaign in many countries to persuade the consumers to cut down drastically on salt because of its connection to blood pressure and cardiac disease and there may be resistance to use salt as a medium to deliver iron. While small quantities like 15 mg/day may not pose much problem, if higher doses in the vicinity of 100 mg/day for treating serious anemia cases may be some what difficult. Still salt presents the best option to day, considering its daily use by 100% of the targeted population and cost wise relatively cheap, as a vehicle for delivery of iron to masses and deserves consideration in many developing countries.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

FORTIFICATION OF MILK-WHERE IS THE NEED?

Milk is supposed to be a complete food providing almost all nutrients needed by the body and the very fact that a new born baby depends entirely on its mother's milk for growth and development is a standing testimony to the wholesomeness of milk. Of course mother's milk differs from cow's milk in some aspects but still latter is one of the most balanced and nutritive products known to man. If this is so why do we see in the super markets processed milk products like mineralized milk, Vitamin C milk, milk fortified with several vitamins and minerals, calcium fortified milk, omega-3 milk, milk fortified with vitamins A and D, etc vying for the attention of the consumers? Obviously the answer is "business"!

Pasteurized milk products containing added vitamins A and D are the most frequently encountered on the market shelves and addition of calcium and/or omega-3 fatty acid is a later development. A fortified food by definition refers to food with addition of essential nutrients to levels higher than those normally found in that food. In the case of milk, it is deficient only with regard to iron, copper, manganese and vitamin C and there may be some justification if their levels are brought up to make it a complete food. But for an adult why should milk contain all the essential nutrients? After all it is only a supplementary food and forms part of a diet containing cereals, pulses, oil seeds, meat, fish, poultry, fruits and vegetables and spices which can provide the deficient nutrients. In order to get omega-3 acids equivalent to that present in 50 gm of salmon, one will have to gulp at least 2 liters of milk! A recent survey in the US brought out the ground reality that paying a higher price for a branded fortified milk product does not bring any additional benefit to the consumer as compared to generic milk.

Partly technology has to be blamed for enabling the industry to incorporate such difficult nutrients like iron, ascorbic acid, omega-3 acids. vitamin A and D into an aqueous emulsion like milk which is sensitive to pH changes affecting the protein stability. While addition of vitamins A and D to skimmed milk is understandable, full fat milk contains adequate quantities to serve as a supplementary food. Scientifically vitamin D fortification is acceptable because of the role it has in increasing absorption of calcium and phosphorus by the body, though vitamin D is synthesized in vivo from the precursors through exposure to sun light. Efforts to add iron were aimed at delivering this critical nutrient to rural masses, most of them being anemic due to poverty conditions, as a part of government intervention programs. Nestle, one of the dairy giants with global presence developed products like Nido, Ninho. Nespray, Klim, Bear brand and ideal which are milk powder preparations fortified with iron, zinc, vitamin A and some other micro nutrients for African population but how far these products are affordable to those who need them is a matter of conjecture.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

FOOD FORTIFICATION PRACTICES-NEED FOR A RELOOK

Advent of synthetic chemistry has led to the founding of a roaring business involving vitamins, minerals, biologically active nutrients and others. Modern industrial society is relying heavily on processed foods which are often fortified with many micro and macro nutrients. Food technology strives to protect foods from the ravages of vectors and extent the supply during all seasons besides providing variety and convenient foods to the the consumers of today. But in that process many natural foods lose part of their nutrient content and depletes its health value. Enrichment and fortification technologies attempt to compensate for such losses and some time making them more nutritive than their unprocessed counterparts.

According FAO-WHO Codex Alimetarius Commission definition, fortification is" the addition of one or more essential nutrients to a food, whether or not it is normally contained in the food for the purpose of preventing or correcting a demonstrated deficiency in the population or specific population groups". Global concern about chronic deficiency of some vitamins, iodine and iron has given an impetus to fortification efforts in many countries to protect their populations. Commonly it is understood that the term 'enrichment' refers to restoration of nutrients lost during processing while fortification involves addition of nutrient to a food which does not contain the particular nutrient in its original form. Industry resorts to nutrient addition as a part of the process to maintain uniformity in the final product. Most cases of fortification pertain to vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, essential amino acids and proteins.

Nutrient supplementation of food finds mention since 400 BC when the Persian physician Melanpus advocated addition of iron filings to wines to increase the potency of soldiers to fight wars. In 1813 addition of iodine to salt was suggested in France. Ever since then, products like margarine (Vit A & D ), Milk ( Vit D), flours ( Vit B1, B2, Niacin and iron) are routinely enriched in many countries. To day a wide range of processed foods come, enriched or fortified with many nutrients as permitted by the food laws that exist in each country. These include iodine in salt, vit A & D in milk and margarine, Vit A in sugar, MSG and tea, iron in infant formulas and cookies, calcium in soy milk and orange juice, omega-3 acids in orange juice, vitamins and minerals in RTE cereals, diet beverages, enteral and parenteral solutions.

Three issues which create some concern amongst the consumers are the bioavailability of nutrients incorporated in the food, their stability during processing, storage and cooking at home and the level of addition of the nutrients. Vitamin C is not stable at pH levels above or below 7 while it is susceptible to air and oxygen besides resulting in 100% loss during cooking. Similarly folic acid is stable only above pH 7, unstable in presence of air and oxygen, heat labile losing 100% during cooking. Vitamin A is unstable at acidic conditions and cooking losses can be as high as 40%. Niacin is lost to the extent of 75% during cooking while Vit B12 is fairly stable with cooking losses being less than 10%. Minerals are generally stable during processing as well as cooking though ferrous compounds can be oxidized to ferric forms in presence of air and oxygen. In India, except for iodine fortification of salt no organized efforts are visible to incorporate nutrients in processed foods though some proprietary products are marketed containing many nutrients.

With a wide range of products fortified with vitamins and minerals, some stray reports highlight over consumption of some of these nutrients which benefits only the pharma industry manufacturing them. There are also apprehensions that some of the vitamins and minerals, when consumed at high levels can pose danger to consumer health. Some of the risks include nerve damage (pyridoxine, folic acid), kidney disorders ( Vit C, Calcium and magnesium), liver problems (Vit A ), heart problems (Vit D, magnesium), cancer (iron) and osteoporosis (Vit D and phosphate). While water soluble vitamins, when ingested in excess get flushed out limiting the risks of over dosing, fat soluble vitamins get concentrated in the body when consumed in excess posing some real danger. However overdosing through food route may not be wide spread though from the economic point of view they are considered sheer waste.

A national policy must be evolved on fortification of foods centered around the health and nutrition status of the population. Nutrients like iodine, iron , calcium and phosphorus, vitamins A,D and E, essential amino acids, essential fatty acids are some of the relevant ones deserving attention and food processing industry must take the lead to produce foods fortified with them. Restoring the nutrients lost during processing should also be made mandatory. Fortification as a general policy needs to be based on calorie concentration in each food so that when a consumer takes 2000 kc he is assured of receiving what is needed only and avoid excess consumption.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/