Functional Foods and Chronic Disease: Role of Sensory, Chemistry and Nutrition explores the range of functional foods that are effective against a wide range of chronic diseases and addresses the impact of functional food bioactive compounds on organoleptic properties. Beginning with an introduction that details the key sensory and advanced instrumental methods essential for addressing the common problems associated with designing functional foods, the book also addresses the impact of aging and chronic diseases on sensory acuity as well as the effectiveness of functional foods in treating a wide range of chronic diseases. Sections highlight the need for acceptable functional foods for individuals suffering from a wide range of chronic diseases and contain practical recommendations for their development. Food scientists, nutritionists, dietitians, food product developers, food supplement producers, food ingredient developers, natural product scientists, herbalists, and pharmacists, as well as students studying related areas, will benefit from this important resource.

The increasing demand for healthy foods has resulted in the food industry developing functional foods with health-promoting and/or disease preventing properties. However, many of these products bring new challenges. While drugs are taken for their efficacy, functional foods need to have tastes that are acceptable to consumers. Bitterness associated with the functional foods is one of the major challenges encountered by food industry today and will remain so in years to come. This important book offers a thorough understanding of bitterness, the food ingredients that cause it and its accurate measurement. The authors provide a thorough review of bitterness that includes an understanding of the genetics of bitterness perception and the molecular basis for individual differences in bitterness perception. This is followed by a detailed review of the chemical structure of bitter compounds in foods where bitterness may be considered to be a positive or negative attribute. To better understand bitterness in foods, separation and analytical techniques used to identify and characterize bitter compounds are also covered.  Food processing can itself generate compounds that are bitter, such as the Maillard reaction and lipid oxidation related products. Since bitterness is considered a negative attribute in many foods, the methods being used to remove and/mask it are also thoroughly discussed.