The Guide to Healthy Food: From Functional Nutrition to Calorie Scanners

Functional and smart food

The idea of ​​functional nutrition has been developing for a long time. Additional

fortification of foods with vitamins, minerals andmicroelements opens up additional nutritional opportunities. Such a method would help to calculate the individual amount of necessary elements for each person and provide the body with the amount of calories and nutrients it needs. However, do not forget that uncontrolled consumption of vitamins can lead to negative health consequences.

Science knows that up to 70% of dangerous diseasesassociated with improper eating habits. A smart diet can solve this problem. And the "side effect" of such nutrition will be an increase in the quality of life, an increase in energy reserves and a strengthening of immunity. The only challenge in developing functional foods and supplements is that processed vitamins and minerals are less absorbed by the body than those found in regular foods.

BeFit has repeatedly considered the possibilitywork with smart power, but have not yet found an optimal solution in terms of efficiency and safety. However, science does not stand still in this matter, and now the development continues. Considering the growing popularity of a healthy lifestyle, an increase in demand for a personalized menu, and the creation of high-quality functional food is a matter of time.

Determination of the state of the digestive system by breathing

Breath tests are widely used in manymedical institutions. With their help, not only the presence or absence of the Helicobacter pylori bacteria is now determined. This simple, non-invasive technology can detect the onset of an inflammatory process or stomach ulcer.

If we talk about Helicobacter, then its mainthe danger lies in the risk of an inflammatory reaction, which over time leads to the appearance of ulcerative processes and even cancer. Before the invention of the breath test, the only way to detect bacteria was by biopsy of stomach tissue. It was carried out using a probe for sampling biological material. Modern breathing tests are successfully replacing this traumatic and unpleasant procedure. Relatively low cost and high accuracy make them very effective and in demand. The test takes about 20 minutes and its accuracy ranges from 90% to 95%.

With the help of the same technology, it will becomepossible determination of suitable food. Already, breathing tests are used not only to detect Helicobacter, but also to analyze the state of internal organs, to detect a viral infection. These data indicate the high information content of the technology and the possibility of its development. Such tests would help to choose the optimal diet for any person, taking into account the state of his health, the features of the gastrointestinal tract and the needs of the body.

Product shelf life control system

For food manufacturers, this is oneof the most pressing issues. There are several popular methods at the moment. Shock freezing technology has been actively used since 1930, when it was patented by Clarence Birdsey. Since then, it has been significantly upgraded. The essence of the technology lies in the three-phase process of lowering the product temperature. The method makes it possible to preserve most of the useful elements and vitamins in food.

Another modern solution is gas substitution,which became the successor to vacuum freezing, a method that has been known to manufacturers since the late 1990s. Although the vacuum had many advantages, it had obvious disadvantages. For example, it led to mechanical deformation of the product, as a result of which it lost its marketable appearance.

Gas substitution avoids these problems.During the packaging process, a vacuum is created, into which a special gas mixture is then pumped. This environment prevents the multiplication of microorganisms, and the absence of air extends the shelf life of food by up to 5-7 days. An important feature of gas substitution is that this method does not lead to a loss in the taste of the product, as is often the case with other freezing methods.

The control system makes it possible to simplifyfood storage. With the help of special sensors, you can not only monitor, but also regulate the temperature regime for each category of products. The program itself monitors the level of humidity, checks for the presence of a specific odor that could indicate damage to the goods. All data is stored in the application, where you can view and check it online at any time.

One promising improvement optionstorage control - using packaging as an indicator of the expiration date. For example, colors or labels might change depending on the remaining time. There are already such developments. The staff of the Brazilian university implemented a similar project and gave it the name Plasticor. An important nuance is environmental friendliness. While ordinary plastic takes 500 years to decompose, in the case of Plasticor packaging it only takes 6 months.

Composition and calorie scanner

The calorie counting system has been known for almost 200years and has not undergone virtually any changes since its invention. The term "calorie" was invented and coined in 1824 by the French chemist Nicolas Clement. Another chemist, but already a German one, Justus von Liebig, began to isolate fats, proteins and carbohydrates from the total mass. We owe him the compilation of the world's first food calorie tables. Wilbur Olin Water, an American agrochemist who unified the calculation of calories and began to measure the energy content of food, is considered the "father of dietetics". Thanks to his research, it became known that 1 g of carbohydrate contains 4 kcal, 1 g of fat contains 9 kcal, and 1 g of protein contains 4 kcal.

Now the problem of inventing an accurate control circuitstands with an edge - an apple can have a different number of calories, depending on its variety, method of heat treatment and even color. In this case, its weight does not change. In most cases, everyone is guided by the average values ​​- and in general it works. But for athletes, any minimal fluctuations in calories and deviations from the norm can become critical in terms of gaining mass or burning fat. Calorie control needs to be personalized. After all, each organism in different periods of life requires a different amount of fats, proteins and carbohydrates. This indicator depends on age, lifestyle, metabolic rate, physical activity and many other factors.

Measurement becomes especially problematiccalorie content of complex dishes - multi-component, with sauces and ingredients that have undergone various types of heat treatment. A special gadget or sensor for a smartphone would help to solve this problem. This is a modern and fast method to get as much information as possible about what you are going to eat. A special application could not only report the calorie content and energy composition of the dish, but also warn about possible dangers - trans fats, gluten, allergens. Such projects are currently under development.

Determining Suitable Nutrition by DNA

There are enough methods for determiningallergens and dietary contraindications based on DNA tests. Similarly, this method can be applied to the selection of recommended products. In the United States, Habit is already providing its customers with a custom menu based on genetic analysis. In this case, information is taken into account both obtained through tests and from the client: about his lifestyle, characteristics of the body, personal preferences in nutrition.

One of the progressive methods similar to workwith DNA - detection of IgG immunoglobulins. Allergens are determined using this method. In the future, these and other technologies for personalized nutrition will only improve. Studies show that by 2025 about $ 11.5 billion will be involved in the personalized nutrition market. Given these trends, it is quite possible that by that time an individual diet will already be drawn up for each person, taking into account all his characteristics and needs. After all, it is beneficial to everyone - both producers and consumers.

According to UN forecasts, in 2050 up to 80% of peoplewill live in cities. This narrows down the list of possible food production technologies with the old and familiar methods, but gives a lot of room for new ideas, such as vertical farming technology. Today, the global FoodTech market is showing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.2%. Experts predict that in 2025 its volumes will reach $ 390 billion. This means that many unique and useful discoveries await us in the field of modern healthy nutrition technologies.

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