Functional Foods for Medicinal Use.
10.5124/jkma.2005.48.6.523
- Author:
Taewoo YOO
1
Author Information
1. Department of Family Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine and Hospital, Korea. tyoo@snu.ac.kr
- Publication Type:In Vitro ; Original Article
- Keywords:
Health promotion;
Anti-aging;
Functional foods;
Effectiveness;
Nutritional therapy
- MeSH:
Aging;
Animals;
Chronic Disease;
Drinking;
Drug Therapy;
Eating;
Functional Food*;
Food, Organic;
Health Promotion;
Humans;
Hypertension;
Life Style;
Obesity;
Sedentary Lifestyle;
Smoke;
Smoking
- From:Journal of the Korean Medical Association
2005;48(6):523-528
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
For healthy life and aging, healthy lifestyles are as important as chronic diseases. Smoking, drinking and overwork have a similar impact on one's life as diabetes, and sedentary lifestyle and stress are more serious than hypertension and obesity. Contrary to the public knowledge, the types of food intake have a relatively small impact, and functional foods are effective only with a given optimal nutrition. Traditionally Koreans think certain types of foods (so-called 'health foods') have great effects on their health, and this idea resulted in confusion of terms health foods with functional foods. The effectiveness of functional foods should be evaluated based on human experiments. The in vitro and animal studies provide only preliminary evidence. Functional foods are between optimum nutrition and drug therapy in its effectiveness. Physicians should have appropriate knowledge on nutrition and functional foods and recommend them to their patients as they do for drug therapy.
