ABSTRACT
The lifestyles of people worldwide have changed in the last century due to a rise in income, increased leisure time, and reduced physical activity. These new lifestyles have a considerable impact on health. Consequently, there is a global rise in the incidence of diseases such as obesity, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, and rheumatoid arthritis. The medical world is therefore looking for better strategies to contain this trend. As a parallel development, there is a worldwide increase in health awareness and interest in herbal alternatives. Nowadays, elderly people worldwide are more concerned about the quality of the food and beverages that they consume. Many of them periodically monitor their biomarkers, such as low-density lipoprotein (LDL), blood glucose, C-reactive protein, and so on, in an effort to reduce the risk of diseases. Functional foods have therefore emerged as an effective means for the prevention of diseases. This change in consumer outlook has encouraged the food and beverage industry to apply modern manufacturing technology in food fortication (Venugopal, 2009a). A reduction in weight, a reduction of cholesterol, the promotion of bone health, an increase in energy, the enhancement of disease resistance through the immune system, and the improvement of digestive functions are the major health concerns that inuence the purchase of functional foods (Arvanitoyannis and van HouwelingenKoukaliaroglou, 2005).
