Functional foods as potential therapeutic options for metabolic syndrome.
Obesity as part of metabolic syndrome is a major lifestyle disorder throughout the world. Current drug treatments for obesity produce small and usually unsustainable decreases in body weight with the risk of major adverse effects. Surgery has been the only treatment producing successful long-term weight loss. As a different but complementary approach, lifestyle modification including the use of functional foods could produce a reliable decrease in obesity with decreased comorbidities. Functional foods may include fruits such as berries, vegetables, fibre-enriched grains and beverages such as tea and coffee. Although health improvements continue to be reported for these functional foods in rodent studies, further evidence showing the translation of these results into humans is required. Thus, the concept that these fruits and vegetables will act as functional foods in humans to reduce obesity and thereby improve health remains intuitive and possible rather than proven.
Institute for Agriculture and the Environment, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD, Australia.|School of Health and Wellbeing, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD, Australia.
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Brown
Department of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Nutrition, The Hakubi Centre for Advanced Research, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
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Poudyal
Institute for Agriculture and the Environment, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD, Australia.
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Panchal
D000818:Animals; D000872:Anthocyanins; D000975:Antioxidants; D002110:Caffeine; D004043:Dietary Fiber / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004610:Ellagic Acid; D005227:Fatty Acids; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005638:Fruit; D055951:Functional Food; D006801:Humans; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D009747:Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D009765:Obesity / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D000069463:Olive Oil; D056692:Prebiotics; D019936:Probiotics; D011794:Quercetin; D051381:Rats; D012431:Rutin; D013267:Stilbenes; D022722:Thermogenesis; D014675:Vegetables; D014815:Vitamins
D000872:Anthocyanins; D000975:Antioxidants; D004043:Dietary Fiber; D005227:Fatty Acids; D000069463:Olive Oil; D056692:Prebiotics; D013267:Stilbenes; D014815:Vitamins; D004610:Ellagic Acid; D002110:Caffeine; D012431:Rutin; D011794:Quercetin
Flavonoids; functional food; obesity; prebiotics