Functional Foods and Food Supplements

Recent technological advancements socio-economic trends and population lifestyle modifications throughout the world indicate the need for foods with increased health benefits. The clear relationship between the food that we eat and our well-being is widely recognized. Today foods are not only intended to satisfy hunger and provide necessary nutrients: they can also confer additional health benefits such as preventing nutrition-related diseases and improving physical and mental well-being. This book provides a comprehensive overview of developments in the field of functional foods and food supplements. Readers will discover new food matrices as innovative natural sources of bioactive compounds endowed with health-promoting properties. Studies on chemical technological and nutritional characteristics of healthy food ingredients analytical methods for monitoring their quality and innovative formulation strategies are included.