Introduction

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists, public health experts, food producers and consumers have united to collaborate on functional food research that allows the public to gain important knowledge on functional foods that will strengthen the immune system for combatting COVID-19, as well as learn about new research findings relating to the virus and public health strategies to prevent the spread of the virus. 

This cornerstone guide, written by internationally recognized functional, medical, and bioactive food experts, covers the basics of functional food science. With more than 2,000 scientific references, this book provides scientists, medical doctors, nutritionists, food technologists, and students majoring in biology, nutrigenetic, food science fields, and public health professionals with a comprehensive and up-to-date examination of functional foods.

This book provides modern information on functional food components, including antioxidants, dietary fibers, prebiotics, plant sterols, bioactive peptides, flavonoids, and many other phytochemicals. In addition, this text presents some of the latest developments in nutrigenomics, molecular biology, epidemiology, as well as the production, marketing, and distribution of functional foods.

Our editorial board has included additional information and resources in order to enhance the learning experience of our readers. These additions include detailed editing of articles, figures, tables, and pictures, end of chapter summaries for each chapter, test questions with answer keys at the end of each chapter, and a glossary with key words. 

Book Chapters

Chapter 1: Enhancing the Elderly’s Immune System for Healthy Aging, to Fight Chronic and Viral Disease including COVID-19. 

Chapter 2: Phytochemicals of the Panax Ginseng Root and their Antiviral Activity 

Chapter 3: Probiotics and Prebiotics in the Prevention and Treatment of COVID-19

Chapter 4: A Computational Effort to Deciphering Putative COVID-19 3C-like Protease Binders in the Selected Recipes of Kurdish Ethnomedicine: An Approach to Find an Antiviral Functional Tea

Chapter 5: Nutritional Support: Another Treatment for Fighting COVID-19 

Chapter 6: Can Some Micronutrients Stimulate the Immune System in the Prevention of COVID-19 and Be Included in the Nutritional Management of Elderly People Affected by the Virus

Chapter 7: Polyphenolic Compounds: An Effective Biomolecule for the Enhancement of the Immune System and the Management of Coronaviruses        

Chapter 8: Nutrients in Prevention and Maintenance of COVID-19 and Other Viral Diseases     

Chapter 9: Antiviral and Immunostimulant Activities of Protein Value Chains from Residual Biomas 

Chapter 10: The Efficacy of Probiotics on Coronaviruses   

Chapter 11: Dietary Deficiencies Exacerbate Disparity in COVID-19 Infection and Nutrition Recommendations for Vulnerable Populations

Chapter 12: Functional Foods: An Alternative Source to Combat Viral Infection, Including COVID-19

Chapter 13: Returning to Work, School, and Stores and Preparing for a Second Wave of COVID-19

**In order to get the most out of this edition, we recommend reading each chapter completely and to also review the summary paragraphs that conclude each chapter. These summaries lay out the main take-aways from the chapter and help to put the chapter as a whole into perspective.