|
Functional foods are those foods and their components that provide health benefits beyond meeting simple nutritional needs. For example, soy, green tea, fish oil, red wine, and cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cabbage have been identified as offering specific health-promoting properties. The Pennington Center’s Functional Foods program has analyzed the healthful effects of foods and food products, such as individual fatty acids, plant sterols, phytoestrogens, a Mediterranean-style diet, dairy products, nuts, and rice and fish oils. At the core of an integrated Functional Foods research program is the application of cutting-edge technologies and clinical assessments to identify bioactive compounds that affect metabolic processes relevant to specific diseases, to discover the mechanistic basis of action for these compounds, and to determine their health benefits in clinical studies. The program offers exciting opportunities for technology transfer and collaborations with the private sector.
Laboratories operating within the Functional Foods priority:
- Fatty Acid Metabolism
- Food Components
- Lipoprotein
- Antioxidant and Gene Regulation
- Diet and Cancer
|
