ABSTRACT
Lifestyle related diseases are currently taking the form of a global epidemic with unhealthy diet and social lifestyles contributing to chronic, non-communicable health disorders such as obesity, certain cancers, diabetes and cardiovascular (CV) diseases (Chaput et al. 2011, WHO 2003, Naukkarinen et al. 2012). Both, industrialized, as well as developing, nations are facing several health related challenges. World health bodies are now suggesting that nutritional components are fundamental in preventing and managing such lifestyle induced diseases (NHMRC 2006, WHO 2003) that lend support to the modern concept of nutrition that food can modulate various functions in the body relevant to health. This emphasises the potential use of foods to promote a state of well-being, better health and reduction of the risk of disease. Diet and nutrition are therefore being accepted as vital keys to control morbidity and mortality from chronic diseases. Growing understanding of the relationship between diet, specifi c food ingredients and health is leading to new insights into the eff ect of food components on physiological function and health (Olmeidlla-Alonso et al. 2011).
