This paper is discussed about the Foods which are touted as being ‘functional’ are thought to exert certain positive properties over and above their normal nutritional value. The concept has now moved markedly towards gastrointestinal function, in particular the impact of gut bacteria. Possibly this is driven by the ubiquity of gastrointestinal disorders but also the fact that diet is an important controlling factor with regard to indigenous microbiota activities. Probiotics are marketed as functional foods, whereby they are ingested for their purported positive advantages in the digestive tract and/or systemic areas like the liver, vagina or blood- stream. For probiotics to exert beneficial properties, they must have a high viability in the product and have robust survival properties in the gut, which is their first point of contact. As prebiotics exploit non-viable food ingredients, their applicability in diets is wide ranging. A further approach is synbiotics, where probiotics and prebiotics are combined. The functional food industry’s perception of the importance of gut microbiology in human health and nutrition has led to a major increase in probiotic and prebiotic-based products. Not all products will be reliable in terms of their efficacy, however, and it is important that these are not allowed to skew an important area of human health and the functional food concept generally.
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