The concept of functional foods has arisen from our deepening understanding of the biochemistry of nutrition and the realization that many of the 'diseases of civilisation' - diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, for instance - are diet related. As the populations of developed countries age, these diseases are putting an increasing strain on health resources. Long-term changes to our diet could thus produce an immense benefit. There is much evidence that even among younger people modern sedentary lifestyles have created a situation in which dietary intake of some essential factors is inadequate. Fashionable low carbohydrate diets, for instance, restrict calcium intake and contribute to bone problems in later life.
