Introduction

Food is gradually becoming a force of change in the health world. As chronic disease rates and health costs rise, populations are increasingly looking towards food as an affordable alternative form of treatment. Functional food, a revolutionary category of food that is taking the world by storm, is popular across the world. However, certain setbacks, such as the lack of a consistent definition across nations and low food education among the public, have held functional food back from high market accessibility. The Functional Food Center (FFC) has been studying functional food for nearly 20 years, and in our third textbook edition, we delve into greater detail regarding topics in functional food science.

Specifically, we cover topics such as: the definition of functional food, functional food components, health benefits, chronic diseases, global markets, and sensory evaluation. In addition to these main sections, we discuss sub-topics, such as: modern scientific technology, the relationship between functional food science and medicine, and finally, how food claims are regulated across the world. Accessible to medical doctors, researchers, dietitians, public health professionals, students, and the public, this textbook is meant to enlighten any and all interested in alternative sources of health. Some scientists predict that food will be the future of healthcare and wellness. We agree, and think that functional food is the first glimpse into that future. Using the insight and knowledge of over 2,000 scientific references, we have created a guide to modern functional food science.

Outline of the Second Edition

In Part 1, “Functional Foods and Cardiovascular Disease,” describes the epidemiology and biomarkers of cardiovascular disease, explores functional and bioactive lipid mediators in modulating precursors and the effects of functional food, investigates bioactive compounds on biomarkers of cardiovascular disease, and provides information regarding virgin olive oil's ability to improve semen quality altered by hpercholesterolemic diets in rabbits.

In Part 2, “Functional Foods and Cancer,” examines how functional food affect cancer, specifically plants and plant based products, the cytotoxic and anti-proliferative activity of high molecular weight pectin, modified citrus pectin, and discusses the awareness of chemotherapy and functional food interaction.

In Part 3, “Functional Foods and Obesity,” discusses biomarkers and bioactive compounds for obesity.

In Part 4, “Functional Foods and Diabetes,” describes the epidemiology of diabetes and functional foods for type 2 diabetes.

In Part 5, "Functional Foods and Mental Health," presents information regarding the improvement of cognitive function in obesity using an appropriate diet in the context of psychodietics and the active principles in functional foods with antianxiety and antidepressant effects.

**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.