Devasagayam Thomas Paul

Antioxidant and Other Beneficial Effects of Indian Functional Foods Devasagayam Thomas Paul

In recent years, people of India have become more aware of health benefits and are interested in understanding the functional aspects of food. Indian medicine such as Ayurveda places emphasis on prevention of disease using a balanced diet along with other healthy practices. It also emphasizes combination of ingredients for disease prevention/therapy rather than individual constituents. Consuming healthy foods to combat illness is a major approach of Ayurveda. In India, it's a preferred practice to consume whole rather than processed foods. Various natural products from Indian dietary constituents such as fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, oil seeds, spices, herbs, flavourants, condiments, plantation crops, roots, tubers, etc. have functional attributes. One major contributor to this, are the antioxidants present in unprocessed food.