OLDS, Alta. – If people ate more fruit and vegetables, they would be healthier and less reliant on supplements.
“The best known functional foods are fruits and vegetables,” said researcher Joe Mazza at the Alberta Natural Health Agricultural Network meeting in Olds.
Part of his work at Agriculture Canada’s research centre in Summerland, B.C., is to look for human health and disease prevention properties at the molecular level in common foods, herbs and other botanicals.
Consumers and food processors are pushing for more information on functional foods, but science is lagging, said Mazza.
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Many people think they need to consume exotic herbs for better health, but the answer is really found in basic foods. If people ate five servings per day of fruit and vegetables, they could substantially reduce their risk of heart disease, cancer and stroke, Mazza said.
Current consumption is far below the recommended level. Only one in four people eats an adequate amount.
In 1991, the average Canadian ate 167 kilograms of vegetables and 109 kg of fruit. In 2002, that average intake had improved and was 181 kg of vegetables and 132 kg of fruit, mostly in the fresh produce categories.
However, sugar consumption rose at the same time to 45.7 kg per year from 37 kg. Fat and oils also went up to 31.7 kg from 23 for the same period.
The key to better public health is delivering quality, nutritious food that tastes good, is easy to prepare and offers value for the money, the researcher said.
With the growing girth of North Americans, obesity is becoming a major health concern, especially among lower social economic groups. Functional foods need to be affordable for these groups, especially for children.
“Consumers will buy what they can afford. Fat is cheap,” he said.
Antioxidants, fibre, vitamins and minerals are all available in produce and could be enhanced nutritionally with selective plant breeding.
Tomatoes, broccoli, garlic and berries contain components that reduce the risk of cancer. Oats, soybeans and fish help reduce cholesterol. Some processing companies have moved into the functional food arena with plenty of research dollars available to develop food products to make people healthier and promote lower costs for health care.
“Everybody is moving ahead slowly. It’s a lifestyle change and it won’t happen overnight,” he said.
But Canada is not investing as much as some countries in functional food research. Mazza sees functional foods and nutraceuticals as a tremendous business opportunity.
The government’s role is one of continued publicly funded research as well as consumer education.
Mazza said the government needs to provide a regulatory system for flexible and credible nutrition claims that are scientifically based.
“The public sector has to make sure we tell the truth to the consumer and when we see something, we speak up.”
