Functional foods, you may recall, are those to which nutrients are added beyond those already in the foods. The latest example from Unilever: calcium-enriched ice cream! The philosophy: "better-for-you" foods will improve health. Maybe, but is functional ice cream a good choice?
Functional foods differ from fortified foods, in which nutrients lost during processing are replaced. The addition of iron to white flour, for example, replaces the iron lost during the milling of whole wheat. Its replacement helps prevent iron-deficiency anemia.
So I suppose you can consider Kellogg's new fiber-enriched cereals to be a form of fortification. The PR people tell me that adding fiber "is another example of our continued commitment to improving the nutrition credentials of our products to meet consumers' needs and preferences." Their press release explains that Kellogg is doing this as a public service to improve kids' nutrition: It is starting with Froot Loops.
What kind of fiber and how much? Kellogg is a bit vague on these points, but says the fiber will be a combination of whole grain corn and oat flours and fibers. Metamucil, anyone? And why don't they just make whole grain cereals in the first place?
That's why I keep thinking that functional foods are about marketing, not health.
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Fiber in food not consumed like does no good. Better to add it to something eagerly eaten than try to choke down a food where it occurs naturally. Not ideal, granted.
I don't know much about health related issues with ice cream but the fact is that I love ice cream. That's all I want to say
have never thought about it like that before. Thanks so much for the depth and understanding at which you covered the topic. it's a useful piece of information not only for me but for many others. have read lots on the topic in different books and blogs (download mainly from http://www.picktorrent.com but this piece really gives food for thought