Functional foods are an important part of modern nutrition. They are basically produced by increasing the targeted effect of any beneficial ingredient in food to deliver a healthier impact on the consumer. Since they go through enrichments and fortifications, they become more nutrient. Fortified cereals, juices, and dairy products are some examples of such functional foods.
Many people often ask what are functional foods. Well, let’s answer this question before removing forward.
What are Functional Foods?
Functional foods are a group of foods that positively affect a person’s health. They are used for specific health purposes. For example, certain milk brands fortify their products by adding more calcium and vitamin D to help strengthen the bones of consumers.
Along with nutraceuticals, functional foods also go by the names of vitafoods, medical foods, probiotics, and pharmafoods. In Japan in the early 1980s, the phrase "functional foods" and subsequently "nutraceutical" were first used.
Functional foods are, usually, made with enrichments of the nutrients that were lost during processing. Bread is enriched with Vitamin B2. Salt is fortified with iodine. And yoghurt with vitamin D.
Functional foods usually contain the following micronutrients:
Minerals and Vitamins
Plant Sterols
PUFAs (Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids)
Antioxidants
Amino Acids
Probiotics
Lecithin in Functional Foods
Lecithin is a complex, naturally occurring combination of phosphatides. Medicinal and culinary applications both employ lecithin as an emulsifier. Plant-based lecithin is mostly extracted from soybeans, sunflower seeds, and rapeseed. Other common sources include egg yolks and certain animal fats.
It’s also one of the ingredients used for the enhancement of functional foods. Depending on the source it’s extracted from, lecithin acts not only as an emulsifier but can also positively impact the metabolism.
The consumption of functional foods that contain lecithin enhances fat digestion and the release of free fatty acids. The finest physiological transporters for nutrients like choline and inositol, as well as for minerals like phosphorus and unsaturated fatty acids, are thought to be phospholipids. In addition, phosphatidylcholine, a key phospholipid in lecithin, is necessary for the metabolism of the liver, kidneys, and brain.
Phospholipids are active in the gut and work to digest fats, but they may also help with the active absorption of a number of useful nutrients that are a crucial part of a balanced metabolism.
Also, certain components of lecithin, such as phosphatidylcholine, help reduce the cholesterol levels of consumers by decreasing the LDL concentration in the body and increasing HDL levels. It’s also good for liver health as it can reduce fatty liver and increase insulin sensitivity. In certain cases, the consumption of lecithin has proven helpful for prediabetic people as well.
With all that said, we believe there’s no need to emphasise that lecithin gives a stellar performance when added as an ingredient to functional foods.
On the other hand, manufacturers benefit from lecithin’s amphiphilic nature, easing the production process of functional foods; such as fortified juices, cereals, granola, bread, pasta, and certain dairy products; by allowing the many immiscible ingredients to bind into an emulsion.
For example, if you opt to include a herbal infusion into a fat-rich product, lecithin will finely disperse the extract in the mixture while stabilising it. It’s also used to replace fat in standard products to produce their nutrient-rich but low-fat variants.
Conclusion
By now, you probably know that lecithin is a mixture of phospholipids and neutral lipids used heavily in the food and beverage sector. Its addition to functional foods assists in increasing the shelf life of the final product due to its antioxidant nature. It works as an emulsifier to help stabilise the emulsion of insoluble ingredients in products like yoghurts, fortified milk, spreads, and more.
Depending on the type of functional food being produced, soy lecithin and sunflower lecithin are both preferred by manufacturers. Sunflower lecithin unlike soy lecithin and egg yolk is allergen-free and non-GMO. Plus the consumers will also not have to worry about the chemical remnants resulting from the harsh process of lecithin extraction from soybeans.
At LECITEIN, we provide both, sunflower and soy lecithin in different variations for all the needs of the food and beverage sector. We have a network of warehouses spread across Europe and the United States to ensure quick deliveries. To learn how you can benefit from partnering with us, email us today.