Role of Functional Food Security in Global Health

The Role of Functional Food Security in Global Health presents a collective approach to food security through the use of functional foods as a strategy to prevent under nutrition and related diseases. This approach reflects the views of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Health Organization, the World Heart Federation and the American Heart Association who advise Mediterranean, Paleolithic, plant food based diets, and European vegetarian diets for the prevention of cardiovascular disease. In addition, the book also emphasizes the inclusion of spices, herbs and millets, as well as animal foods.

This book will be a great resource to the food industry as it presents the most efficient ways to use technology to manufacture slowly absorbed, micronutrient rich functional foods by blending foods that are rich in healthy nutrients.

• Provides greater knowledge on functional food security
• Highlights the necessary changes to the western diet that are needed to achieve food security
• Explains the utility and necessity of functional food security in the prevention of noncommunicable diseases
• Presents policy changes in food production for farmers and the larger food industry
• Offers suggestions on what can be done to enhance functional food production while simultaneously decreasing production costs

Ronald Ross Watson, PhD, is Professor of Health Promotion Sciences at the University of Arizona, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. Dr. Watson began his research in public health at the Harvard School of Public Health as a Fellow in 1971 doing field work on vaccines in Saudi Arabia. He has done clinical studies in Colombia, Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United States which provides a broad international view of public health. He has served in the military reserve hospital for 17 years with extensive training in medical responses to disasters as the chief biochemistry officer of a general hospital, retiring as a Lt. Colonel. He is a distinguished member of several national and international nutrition, immunology, and cancer societies. Dr. Watson’s career has involved studying many lifestyle aspects for their uses in health promotion. He has edited over 100 biomedical reference books and 450 papers and chapters. His teaching and research focuses on alcohol, tobacco, and drugs of abuse in heart function and disease in mouse models.

Dr. Ram B Singh is president of the Tsim Tsoum Insitutute in Krakow, Poland. He's an honorary fellow of the Halberg Chronobiology Centre, a member of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, a fellow of the International Academy of Cardiovascular Sciences, and former president and founder of the Indian Society of Hypertension, International College of Cardiology, and International College of Nutrition. He is the editor of the World Heart Journal and former professor of medicine at Subharti Medical College. He has contributed over 500 research papers to peer reviewed journals and has edited seven books.

Prof. Takahashi's research includes elucidation of absorption mechanism of nutrients in gastrointestinal tract, elucidation of the absorption mechanism of water in the digestion tube, research on the functionality of non-water soluble dietary fiber, elucidation of the mechanism of action in relaxation of blood glucose in water-soluble dietary fiber, research on the distribution of intestinal bacteria, and study on nitrogen metabolism and colon function of herbivores. Dr. Takahashi has additional related expertise in physiology, nutrition, fluid dynamics, statistics, and data mining.