Pharmacological Properties of Foods and Nutrients

Abstract

SUMMARY Nutrients, i.e., protein, carbohydrate, fat, fiber, vitamins, minerals, trace elements, and water, are commonly viewed as primary modulators of health and disease, yet they also contain many bioactive substances or “extranutritional” components. These occur naturally, are produced in vivo, or may be produced by the industrial enzymatic digestion related to various food processing activities. While these substances have been viewed as inconsequential in relation to human health, a wide range of such food constituents are recognized as having multifunctional roles in health and disease arising from the physiological, behavioral and/or immuniologic influence(s) they exert.