Food Additives That Are Good for You

Nutritional Ingredients:

We have all heard about the artificial and added ingredients found in our foods that may be bad for us. We don't hear much about the healthy added ingredients that are good for us. Nutritional ingredients are food additives that add nutritional value to the foods we eat. In fact, adding nutritional ingredients to a good food can turn that food into a functional food that will improve your health.

Here are some nutritional ingredients that are good for you:

Calcium:

Calcium is deficient in many of our diets, especially in the diets of teenagers. Calcium is important for healthy bones, teeth, blood clotting, and muscle and nerve function. The most absorbable form of calcium is found in dairy products, but what what if you don't like dairy products, or can't tolerate dairy products? One great option is to choose calcium fortified foods. The best known calcium fortified food is orange juice, but look for calcium added to bread and other foods as well.

Prebiotics and Probiotics:

Probiotics are healthy bacteria that grow in our gut and help keep our digestive system healthy. Prebiotics are the fibers that help support the growth of the probiotics in our gut. Probiotics are naturally found in yogurt and fermented products. Adding the prebiotics like fructooligosaccarhides to foods will help these healthy bacteria flourish and improve our health. Prebiotics can be added to most any type of food, but is commonly found added to yogurt products and in supplement form.

Fiber:

Fiber is the indigestible part of plant foods. People on low carb diets often do not get enough fiber in their diets. Fiber is needed for a healthy digestive system, and some fibers will help reduce cholesterol and help to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Oat bran fiber is one such example. Oat bran fiber is often added to foods like breads, pasta, and snack foods to increase the fiber content.

Anti-Oxidants:

Anti-oxidants are the chemicals found in colorful fruits and vegetables that have special properties to prevent or even treat certain diseases. One example is lycopene, normally found in tomatoes. Lycopene, as well as other anti-oxidants can be added to regular foods, turning them into super-healthy functional foods.

Essential Fatty Acids:

Essential fatty acids such as omega-3 essential fatty acids are needed for healthy nervous system function, healthy brain function, and also function as antiinflammatory agents. Adding omega-3 essential fatty acids to foods will make them even healthier. One example is the addition of an essential fatty acid called DHA to infant formula. Studies show that infants who get adequate amounts of DHA have better brain and eye development.

Proteins and Amino Acids:

Proteins and their individual components called amino acids serve several different functions in our body, most of them related to the structures of our body and for our immune system. Soy protein is an example of a nutritional ingredient that may be added to foods. Soy consumption has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease. Whey protein may also be added to foods to increase the protein content.