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Functional
Food, Medicinal Food and Nutraceuticals
Approach to
Health Care in 21st Century
P
Pushpangadan
There is a
strong connection between what we eat and our health. A better understanding of
the same would lead to the development of an alternate mode of healthcare
through diet regulation - such as use of functional food or medical food etc.
This trend is now fast emerging, particularly in the developed countries. As we
are moving to the next millennium equipped with the most powerful tools of
information technology, the societies of the next millennium/ century will be
knowledge societies. It empowers even an ordinary man with information that
will enable him to choose the right food that will be beneficial for his
healthcare. People with average education are now familiar with a variety of
molecular and chemical terms in food and nutrition and the concept of personal
health care would be of much significance in the next century. Food and
nutritional supplements would be recommended, after studying the constitutional
nature of the individual, which would enable him to lead a healthy and agile
life. Such a situation will revolutionize the healthcare in the 21st century.
It will also cut down substantially the expenditure on health sectors both by
the individuals as well as by the governments.
In the 21st
century, there will be more dieticians in comparison to doctors who treat
diseases. The responsibilities of government will be then mainly providing
correct information on health and nutrition so as to help the people to
differentiate between facts and fiction in matters of food and health.
Responsibilities of the government should also be in ensuring that clean air,
unpolluted wholesome water to drink, and natural food with the right
information is made available to the public. High public awareness about the
vital link between food and health has been increased during the last
one-decade or so. Nations of the world may establish a network on Human
Nutrition Information Service (HNIS) to compile, evaluate and provide the right
information to public on all matters related to food, nutrition and health.
New range of
health foods under the names, viz. functional foods, medicinal foods and
nutraceuticals are now becoming very popular in the developed countries.
Indeed, we are witnessing a new paradigm shift in our approach to health and
medicine. It is something like that we are moving from a crisis intervention
based health care model to preventive healthcare model in which the food we eat
will be given a special attention. Selection of such food articles particularly
the vegetables and fruits in preventing diseases and discomforts or that
promotes good health is termed as functional foods or nutraceuticals. In India,
it was a tradition to have specific dietary regimes in different
seasons that
varied from region to region. The Indian tradition, particularly the
traditional system of medicines like Ayurveda, gives a detailed account on the
type of food to be taken by people in different seasons and in different
agroclimatic conditions. It also recommends various do’s and don’ts in the
selection and combinations of food articles. For example, Ayurvedic masters
recommend consumption of vegetables like bottle gourd, lady’s finger, snake
gourd, spinach and red pumpkin and avoid sunflower, drumstick, gourd, brinjal
etc.,
in
Hemant season (Dec-Jan). Restrictions and recommendations are also given in
case of fruits.
Vegetables
and fruits constitute the health protective and health promotive components of
our food. They contribute to the requirement of essential minerals, vitamins,
and other phytochemicals that enable us to adjust and adapt in different
agroclimatic conditions and seasons as well as for people of different
constitution and age groups. The fruits and vegetables of tropical regions have
powerful antioxidants and other elements that help in protecting us from
harmful radiations, combating free radicals/superoxides and in providing better
immunity from many tropical diseases. We may here examine a few examples:
Traditionally, tamarind is consumed in one form or the other by the people all
over India. In South India, tamarind is used throughout the year in the form of
various preparations like Curry, ‘Sambhar’, ‘Rasam’, and ‘Chutney’. In North
India, especially in summer, Tamarind water blended with ‘jeera’ or other
spices are taken as ‘Golguppa’ or as ‘chutney’. Raw mango drinks, barley water
with lemon or tamarind or black carrot preparations in the form of cold drinks
are also widely used in summer. Many of us, perhaps, are not aware of the
health protective role played by these foodstuffs in summer. Scientific
investigations have shown that tamarind and raw mango contain some proteins and
glycolipids that bind with fluoride and thus protect us from fluoride
poisoning. Traditionally, the source of our drinking water is mainly from wells
and ponds. It is now well known that well water is rich in fluoride content,
particularly in Southern parts of India, it is very high. However in north
India, when the water level of the wells goes down in summer, fluoride content
in the water goes high. Consumption of tamarind or raw mango has been shown to
protect us from fluoride poisoning. This fact was discovered after an incident
of heavy fluoride poisoning in a place in south Andhra Pradesh, sometime in
late 1980s. The people of this region, sometime in early 1980s, found the
cultivation of tomato more lucrative and began to use tomato as a substitute
for tamarind and in due course tamarind was altogether eliminated from their
food. The result was disastrous. An unidentified serious disease - some
neurotic problems afflicted almost the entire population of the region and many
became paralysed. It became so serious that the doctors and medical authorities
were very much perplexed. After detailed investigations, it was finally
discovered that this abnormal disease was due to heavy fluoride poisoning. The
people of the region were taking drinking water from wells from time
immemorial. Then how comes suddenly this problem arose? Indeed high fluoride
content in well water is found in almost all other regions of South India, but
the people of these regions were not facing any such fluoride poisoning. The
search finally led to the discovery that the elimination of tamarind from the
food caused fluoride poisoning. Research carried out on tamarind further
established that certain proteins and glycolipids found in tamarind bind with
fluoride and thus protect us from fluoride poisoning. Tamarind also contains
certain compounds that lend protection from solar radiation and protect us from
the damages caused by the free radicals and super oxides.
The lesson
that we learn from this incident is, that tamarind and such food articles used
in different seasons are indeed protecting our health. Tomato is a good
vegetable rich in vitamins, minerals etc. but does not contain those precious
components that protect us from fluoride poisoning or from harmful radiations.
There are many similar cases. Another similar case we may discuss here is about
the consumption of cabbage. Cabbage was introduced in India, particularly in
North India some 100-125 years back from the Mediterranean region.
Traditionally it was used only in winter season. But with the introduction of
fast transportation means and storage facilities, many such winter vegetables
are becoming available in summer also. The result is the great harm which is
now causing to the health of people. The increasing incidence of stones in
kidney gall bladder, thyroid problems, etc. can now be attributed to such use
of unseasonal fruits and vegetables. Cruciferous plants in general, cabbage in
particular, is now best known to selectively accumulate/assimilate high amounts
of minerals and metals including the toxic metals from soil and store them in
the leaves. Currently, cabbage is being extensively used in phytoremediation of
soils contaminated with toxic metals. When we consume cabbage in winter it does
not cause any harm because of the high urination in a diluted form which flush
out all minerals and metals. On the other hand in summer the urine gets
concentrated due to the heavy loss of water by sweating which causes the
crystallisation of minerals leading to the formation of stones in kidney and
gall bladder. Sometimes, toxic metals get back into the bloodstream causing
damage to the thyroid gland.
The above
examples clearly demonstrate the important role of seasonal vegetables and
fruits in protecting our health. We have to take the right kind of vegetables
and fruits that are suited to adjust and adapt to the given climate. We have to
learn thus a lot from the traditional wisdom of our people. There is an urgent
need to have fresh look at our traditional dietary habits and revive the use of
all those food articles that promote and protect health. Realizing the folly of
the fast food culture, the western world are now turning to traditional diets
or ethnic foods and converting this knowledge system of the traditional
communities to value added forms such as functional foods and nutraceuticals
and thus making a good market for such products. India with such a diverse
traditions in food habits must take best advantage of this situation and strive
to become a leader in global market of functional foods and nutraceuticals.
Dr. P Pushpangadan is the Director of the National Botanical
Research Institute, Lucknow-226 001 (India). |
