Functional Foods

Tara Barber, in her post entitled Healthy Eating for Dummies addresses balance in selection and portions. Dr. Kenneth Cooper in his book Start Strong, Finish Strong describes certain foods as functional foods. Functional foods include the following:

Benecol (spreads and chews)

Kroger's Active Lifestyle Fat Free Milk

Minute Maid Heart Wise Organge Juice

CocoaVia Brand Chocolate Bars

Dove Rich Dark Chocolate (NOT milk or white chocolate)

Green or Black Tea

Benecol, Active Lifestyle Milk, Minute Maid Heart Wise Orange Juice, and CocoaVia products include plant sterol and/or plant stanol esters which have some capacity to reduce total cholesterol levels. So those with slightly elevated cholesterol may achieve optimum levels by combining daily plant sterols/stanols in their diet with modest exercise.

Dove Brand Dark Chocolates contain higher than normal (for other brands of dark chocolate) flavanols. Green and Black Tea are also sources of flavanols. Flavanols promote elasticity of the blood vessels which offset part of the aging process. Any diet that includes dark chocolates needs to also address whether they render more caloric intake than daily exercise regimen burns.

These functional foods in addition to the well known foods including the omega-3 fatty acids (fish); monounsaturated fats (nuts); whole grains; fruits; and vegetables have enough variety to comprise diets that are both healthy and desirable.