Page 67 - FoodFocusThailand No.159 June 2019

STRATEGIC R & D

ratio of total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol. Currently, consumers’ need in plant-based foods are growing. As seen by variety of
This could infer the protective effects of nuts products launches into the market. First example is milk, previously cow milk is popular
against CAD. Furthermore, most nuts are rich but nowadays there are many plant-based milks in the market such as soybean milk,
in arginine which is the precursor of almond milk, coconut milk, oat milk and rice milk, etc. Another example is hamburger.
endotrelium-derived relaxing factor and nitric Traditional hamburgers are made of beef or pork but with the trend of plant-based foods,
oxide (NO). NO is a potent vasodilator. plant-based hamburgers are developed by using the knowleadge in food science and
Additionally, nuts are rich in vitamins and technology. The process of development can create plant-based hamburger that has
menerals such as magnesium, copper, folic texture, juiciness, appearance and even nutritional composition similar to animal-based
acid, potassium, vitamin D and dietary fiber. hamburger.
Overall, readers may feel that plant-based foods is the food pattern that good for
Whole Grains health. But in fact, plant-based foods may be not always good for health if consumers did
Whole grains are staple foods in many not choose the right type of carbohydrate or consume high amount of fat. In addition,
regions. Consumption of grains may be animal product such as fish, poultry and low-fat dairy can be included as part of plant-
consumed in either whole intact form or fine based foods for good health unless a strict vegetarian diet is followed.
flours. Grinding or milling does not only
produce fine flours with very small particle
size but also remove the outer bran layer and
most of the germ. This results in the loss of
vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, essential fatty
acids and phytochemicals.
The loss of bran and pulverization of
endosperm in refined grains results in refined
grains are digested and absorbed more
rapidly than whole-grain products and tend to
cause more rapid and larger increase in blood
glucose and insulin. Therefore whole-grain
products usually have lower glycemic index
(GI) values than refined grains do. Additionally,
whole grains are high in dietary fiber,
phytochemicals, vitamins and minerals. Many
human studies reported the inverse
relationship between whole-grain consumption
and risk of CVD.
Consumers are not only consume healthy
food to lower the risk of non-communicable
diseases (NCDs) but also choosing the food
to lower risk of obesity development.
Consumption of plant-based foods may be a
concern of some consumers due to the
inclusion of nuts in the diet. Because nuts are
high in fat and energy. However, one big
human study showed that persones who
consume more nuts tended to weigh less
when they balanced the energy from nuts with
other sources of energy and increase physical
activity. Moreover, type of carbohydrates are
one of the key factors in obesity development.
Foods with high glycemic index increased an
increase in fat synthesis over isocaloric foods
with low glycemic index. Therefore choosing
to consume foods with low-glycemic index
such as whole grains are encouraged for good
health. Moreover, a diet moderately high in
protein and lower in refined carbohydrate may
improve blood lipid, facilitate weight loss and
lower the risk of CAD.
Consumers choose plant-based foods not
only because of health benefits of main
components in plant-based foods but also
becuase of environmental concern. The use
of natural resources for animal farming are
much higher compared to the use in plant
farming. Therefore plant-based food becomes
more popular since consumers have more
environmentally concern.
JUNE 2019 FOOD FOCUS THAILAND 67

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