Flourish Health & Wellbeing eMag - Latest Edition - Flipbook - Page 25
ONAL
s
d
fooo
things in nutri琀椀on, is “it
depends.” Func琀椀onal foods
can play a role in reducing
disease risk by addressing
factors such as cholesterol,
in昀氀amma琀椀on and blood
pressure. Surprisingly, some
of the most cardioprotec琀椀ve
func琀椀onal foods are
wholefoods you’d expect in
a healthy diet—wholegrains,
vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds
and oily 昀椀sh—all rich in 昀椀bre,
micronutrients and bioac琀椀ve
compounds.Func琀椀onal foods
are also useful for people with
nutrient de昀椀ciencies, dietary
restric琀椀ons (for example,
vegetarian or vegan diets) or
food intolerances and allergies.
Someone who avoids cow’s
milk (a major dietary source
of calcium) might choose
a calcium-for琀椀昀椀ed soy or
almond milk as a convenient
func琀椀onal alterna琀椀ve.
Public-health
fortification
in Australia
Australia has
proac琀椀vely for琀椀昀椀ed
certain staple foods
to address popula琀椀on
health concerns:
Bread must be
for琀椀昀椀ed with thiamine
(vitamin B1), folic
acid (vitamin B9) and
iodised salt.
• Since thiamine
for琀椀昀椀ca琀椀on began
in 1991, WernickeKorsako昀昀 syndrome
(WKS) has declined
signi昀椀cantly (Harper
et al. 1998).
• Folic acid and
iodised salt were
added in 2009,
contribu琀椀ng to a
reduc琀椀on in neural
tube defects (such
as spina bi昀椀da) and
improved iodine
status across
the popula琀椀on.
