ABSTRACT
Animal origin food has the potential for delivering various important nutrients, including protein, iron, and vitamin B12. In addition to these nutrients, some bioactive components are also present that boost human health and fight against many chronic diseases. Reasonable, animal food is getting popular among society because it acts as functional food that provides additional health benefits. For instance, milk is a good source of calcium, bioactive peptides, and probiotics; marine animals are rich in omega-3 fatty acid, chitin/chitosan; meat and meat products can provide conjugated linoleic acid, bioactive peptides, iron; and eggs are the best source of heart healthy bioactive lipids (phospholipids) and omega-3 fatty acid. Moreover, animal foods are rich in some novel healthy components: L-carnitine, coenzyme Q10, a-lipoic acid, choline, and taurine. Hence, bioactive compounds of animal foods possess anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, anticarcinogenic properties and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer.
