Alimenti funzionali: regolamentazione, ruolo benefico nella prevenzione di patologie croniche e valutazione della loro conoscenza tra il personale sanitario

It is widely recognised that maintaining good psycho-physical health requires a healthy diet and appropriate lifestyle choices. Globalisation has certainly led to a greater food availability, but very often today's hectic pace leads people to steer their food choices towards a selection of high-calorie and low-nutrient products, most often high in saturated fats, sugars and ultra-processed ingredients. However, although we are witnessing widespread global malnutrition, whether caused by excess or deficiency, interest from both consumers and the food industry in searching for healthier niche products has significantly increased in recent decades. This is where functional foods are able to meet demand. An initial general introduction on the meaning and the main roles of this macro category of foods, followed by an overview of their Regulations at the European and non-European level is illustrated in this work. The scientific evidence shows that certain bioactive compounds in these foods play a crucial role in either protecting human being and preventing numerous diseases. A questionnaire has been administered to the healthcare personnel of the “AULSS 3 Serenissima”, to determine their familiarity with this type of foods. This will facilitate the identification of appropriate elements to evaluate if there is a requirement to increase awareness about this topic as to be able to advise various patients/users on more conscious and suitable tailored food choices for the intended purposes.