Global view on functional foods: Asian perspectives

There is an old Chinese thought meaning that medicine and food are isogenic. In Japan, a national research project started to endorse the thought scientifically, with the birth of functional foods that are now known to function to reduce the risk of life-style related diseases. The science gave rise to a national policy in which some functional foods were legally approved in terms of Foods for Specified Health Use. China has also constructed a unique system for approving some functional foods. This paper pinpoints a recent trend of functional foods characteristic to Asia, with special reference to relevant topics in Japan.