Patent Application
20160278415
This disclosure relates to nutritional food compositions.
The nutritional literature indicates broad agreement as to which nutrients are essential and how much of each of them people need daily. Despite this knowledge, people eat a poor diet, which is low in essential nutrients, according to the 2010 U.S. Dietary Guidelines. Chronic, low consumption of essential nutrients leads to: suboptimal physical and impaired mental development in children, and increased oxidative stress leading to an increased risk of chronic conditions of aging in adults (e.g., obesity, heart disease, and diabetes). To overcome low intakes, some people take dietary supplements containing essential nutrients. Most commercially available supplements for children and adults do not contain all of the essential nutrients, do not contain enough of them, or both of these. Some contain more than enough (i.e., >100% Daily Value [DV]). As such, most supplements do not address the problem of providing adequate and appropriate amounts of essential nutrients; and using pills to obtain essential nutrients, rather than getting them through foods, does not foster good eating habits.
There are known nutrients, which are essential for life. There is awareness from observational studies that certain diseases can be prevented by eating certain foods.
Following are accepted definitions of essential nutrients:
Packaged foods are labeled, where essential nutrients are expressed as a percentage of the Daily Value (% DV). The 100% DV depicts what people need every day. These are for children aged 4 years of age and older, and adults. There are other nutrients that don't garner a % DV, but are nevertheless important.
Listed below in Table 1 are the essential nutrients as expressed by the FDA, along with the amount equal to 100% DV.
The main reason that people don't get all of the essential nutrients and don't get them at the right amounts is that people eat the wrong foods. Essential nutrient-rich foods include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and dairy products. Table 2 lists foods which are rich in nutrients but which are typically not consumed in sufficient quantities so as to supply 100% of the DV of each essential nutrient. The percentage values in the table are the percentage of the 100% DV amount which is consumed by the average person per day.
Also, people often eat too much of the wrong foods (e.g., salt, sugar, saturated fats), which increases the risk of chronic diseases like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. Table 3 lists examples of these “wrong foods” which are often eaten in excess. The percentage values in the table are the percentage of the 100% DV amount which is consumed by the average person per day.
There is no evidence that the diet will improve. Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health do not embrace the 2010 U.S. Dietary Guidelines (U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010, 7th Edition, Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, December 2010) and created their own measure to assess how well the population eats (Wang DD. JAMA Intern Med 2014; September 1). Both measures found much the same thing—Americans cat a poor diet. Between 1999 and 2010 one score of diet quality increased slightly, but half of the improvement was related to a decrease in trans fat intake. These were removed (or banned) from most foods during this period, so the change was expected. People also ate a bit more foods containing essential nutrients (e.g., fruit, whole grains, and nuts and legumes), but overall, the American diet is still considered poor according to these investigators.
More Confirmation that People Don't Get all of their Essential Nutrients
Most people (adults and children) don't get all of the essential nutrients at 100% DV every day. Charts A and B of
From
Children have chronic low intakes of essential nutrients, just like adults. Those who just consume foods have suboptimal intakes of many nutrients. Children who consume foods and fortified foods have some improvement, and those who consume foods, fortified foods, and take dietary supplements experience even greater increases in the intake of essential nutrients. However, many are still consumed at suboptimal amounts. Charts A and B of
Adults.
Many people fail to meet all of their micronutrient needs each day. It has been postulated that chronic, low micronutrient intake may accelerate some diseases of aging (e.g., cancer, heart disease, and diabetes), and that regular intake of all essential nutrients can reduce these slow aging and reduce disease risk.
Americans consume a lot of micronutrient-poor foods, which are usually tasty, inexpensive, and calorically dense. This leads to a chronic inadequate consumption of essential micronutrients. Significant metabolic disruptions occur as a result, leading to premature aging and increased risk of chronic disease. Table 4 sets forth examples of what happens with inadequate micronutrient intakes of specific nutrients over time. The proposed mechanisms for how the lack of essential nutrients affect health is related to: (1) direct tissue and cell damage by oxidative free radicals, and (2) chromosomal breaks (DNA damage).
In the absence of adequate micronutrients, the body may shunt the few that are available for ATP synthesis (energy for the body, which is needed immediately). This action would be done at the expense of not fixing DNA damage or reducing oxidative stress to blood cells and organ tissues. This is a mechanism for allocating scare micronutrients to favor short-term survival at the expense of long-term health. The need for meeting all of the micronutrient needs on a regular basis is thus quite significant.
Children.
Children eating foods have suboptimal intakes of essential nutrients, especially for vitamins A, D, E, folate, and calcium. Fortification noticeably increases the intakes of iron, and most other nutrients except vitamin E. With each additional source of nutrients (going from food alone, to food plus fortified/enriched foods, to food plus fortified/enriched foods and dietary supplements), the percentage of the total population with suboptimal nutrient intakes was reduced. Few children consume essential nutrients in excess of the upper limit of safety. The group most at risk is those aged 2 to 8 years, and the risk is limited to folic acid, niacin, and zinc. It is a challenge especially in children to assure that they consume the target nutrient goals. Technical challenges, including taste, mass, or stability issues, present barriers to the addition of some shortfall nutrients; therefore fortification is not a panacea.
Hidden hunger is a nutritional deficiency that occurs in the presence of an otherwise nutritionally or calorically appropriate diet. Hidden hunger has been identified as a major public health issue as individuals with borderline micronutrient deficiencies do not develop classic signs and symptoms of over deficiencies. However, if not identified and managed appropriately, affected individuals will suffer from long-term consequences, such as stunted growth and varying degrees of neurocognitive deficit.
This disclosure features a line of foods that are made from wholesome ingredients that are chosen for nutrition, taste, and mouth-feel. The foods are, as needed, enriched with sources of essential nutrients, so that each food composition provides at least about 50% DV for each essential nutrient. Preferably, but not necessarily, each also provides at least about 25 grams protein. Each serving of the subject foods complies with healthy eating criteria for fat, sugar, and salt, and preferably provides close to one-third of the daily allotment of each. The foods are meant to replace all or part of a meal. The foods are appropriate for children aged four years and older, and adults. People can for example consume one or two servings of these meals a day and eat other foods for the rest of their dietary needs.
Table 5 sets forth the 43 “essential nutrients” of the foods of the present disclosure. The disclosed food compositions each include at least some amount of each of these 43 essential nutrients.
This disclosure features food compositions that provide all of the essential nutrients to children and adults, in foods that most consider to taste good. The food compositions can be shelf-stable for up to two years. Each food composition is made with real foods. As needed in order to comprise all of the essential nutrients, the compositions can be enriched with vitamins and minerals. The compositions can be but need not be dehydrated. If they are dehydrated they can be re-constituted by adding hot water and stirring vigorously for several minutes.
Table 6 describes all of the essential nutrients that are included in the subject food compositions, giving the preferred amount (with preferred range given in parentheses), the minimum amount (lowest end), and a recommended maximum amount (highest end) per serving.
Table 7 includes estimated tolerable upper limit values. It is believed but not required that the subject food compositions should not provide more than this value. The Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine has set the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs): Tolerable Upper Limit Intake Levels for the essential nutrients. The upper limit is the highest level of daily nutrient intake that is likely to pose no risk of adverse health effects to almost all individuals in the general population. These do not apply to someone under medical supervision. The total intake represents nutrients from food, water, and supplements. Upper limits could not be established for some nutrients due to lack of data, so staying close to 100% DV is advisable.
The subject food compositions contain real foods that provide different macronutrients. Table 8 shows which nutrients are in existing real foods that can be used in the subject food compositions (preferred) and others that could alternatively be used.
Quinoa
Sorghum
The flavors of food compositions can be enhanced with flavorings, such as those set forth in Table 9 (which are preferred in some cases but not required).
Hibiscus Blossoms
Some essential nutrients are naturally occurring in the foods that can be used in the subject food compositions, and others need to be added to meet the 50% DV goal, to make sure all of the essential nutrients are included, or both reasons. The amount of each essential nutrient added depends upon the foods used. Non-limiting, illustrative examples are given in table 10.
Following are several illustrative, non-limiting examples of foods that are formulated under the present disclosure, and their nutrient analyses. These illustrate certain aspects of the invention. Many other foods can be formulated per this invention.
The above formulations and nutrient analyses are but few of the myriad food compositions that can be developed under the subject invention, and do not limit but simply illustrate the invention. Other compositions would be apparent to those skilled in the field based on the totality of this disclosure.
This application claims priority of Provisional Patent Application 62/109,911, filed on Jan. 30, 2015, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62109911 | Jan 2015 | US |
