Chapter 1 - Functional foods and chronic diseases prevalent in North America and globally

Abstract

The health of the world's population is in crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that obese individuals with chronic diseases are far more susceptible to the virus infection with very negative and tragic outcomes. A chronic disease is defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as one that persists and affects individuals over a long period of time. In North America around 60% of adults suffer from one chronic disease while 40% have two or more. A similar pattern has countries around the globe facing astronomical health costs in controlling these diseases. Herculean efforts must be made to reduce chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, kidney disease, celiac disease, fatty liver disease, gout, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and dementia, and autism and schizophrenia. This chapter summarizes the extent of chronic diseases and their impact on human health, and the daunting task of reducing their impact on the world's population. This chapter introduces the concept, definition, and historical development of functional foods and nutraceuticals, as natural and safer alternatives to many drugs. To accrue the health benefits from functional foods and nutraceuticals, however, they must taste good in the food products in which they are used. A guide for conducting an effective functional food study is outlined at the end of the chapter including tools such as metabolomics.