Ask a Dietitian

As seen on BCTV November 7/00

Functional Foods are making a big splash in the US market and are slowly on their way in to the Canadian market. Most of the functional foods in the US are still illegal in Canada. Why? There is a safety-first policy. It is up to the manufacturer to assure safety, quality and efficacy, not the Canadian government to prove harm.

When you shop in the US you can find products such as Benecol, a margarine containing plant esters extracted from pine tree pulp, which appears to lower cholesterol. There is chicken soup and apple juice each with Echinacea (hoping to ward off the sniffles). Spilt pea soup spiked with St. John’s wort (hoping to prevent depression), Brain Gum with phosphatidal serine (hoping to slow memory loss), and Ginko Biloba Onion Rings. What is wrong with adding herbs and extracts to foods? Nothing if research proves them to be safe and that they work.

Functional foods first began in the 1920’s with iodize salt to prevent goiter. Then came vitamin D fortified milk to prevent rickets followed by enriched flour. Now we have eggs that contain fish oils and gummy bears with added vitamins. Canada has gone one step further and allowed risk reduction claims such as “diets high in calcium can reduce the risk of osteoporosis” or structure-function claims like “high-calcium foods build strong bones. Now we have calcium fortified orange juice and soy beverages.

Kellogg will soon be launching 22 new functional foods including cereals, pastas, frozen entrees, and breads made with psyllium husk which helps lower cholesterol. The only other food on the market in Canada with psyllium is Bran Buds cereal.

There are also products on the market that haven’t been proven effective, but they are safe because they contain so little of the active ingredient. Take the Sobe drinks as an example- water, sugar and Ginseng? This is not a health drink, its sugar water.

As a dietitian my concern is that people will begin to consider fruit flavoured sugar beverages and junk food as health foods just because they contain a certain herb or nutrient. It is still up to the consumer to read the nutrition label before deciding to buy it. Fortified junk food is still junk.

The Bottom Line:
With all the new functional foods coming to the Canadian marketplace it is important not to overlook natures functional foods. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, fish, nuts, seeds and low fat milk and yogurt, are packed with phytochemicals that may cut the risk of cancer, heart disease high blood pressure, eye disease and other health problems. Remember that even if onion rings, gum, chips, chocolate bars and candy are fat-free, salt-free, sugar-free or contain ginseng and Ginko Biloba they can’t take the place of natural foods that come without flashy marketing labels, advertising and gimmicks.

Watch for the Eating for Energy segment every Tuesday on BCTV’s Noon News Hour!