Dietary lipids (i.e., oils and fats) are an important component of the human diet; they significantly contribute to total energy and intake of oil-soluble nutrients and/or bioactive compounds. The excessive intake of lipids is an important factor leading to obesity and overweight, which has been linked to an increased rate of chronic diseases, such as type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and certain cancers. The reduction in intake of lipids is a generally-recommended, non-invasive prevention strategy to combat obesity and overweight. However, food cravings and easily accessible, palatable lipid-based foods have made it hard to control their intake levels in certain groups of people.
Fats and oils are incorporated into processed or reformulated foods as ingredients, in form of emulsions (e.g., milkfat in yogurt and cheese, vegetable oil in salad dressing, and animal fat in sausages) or bulk materials (frying oil or butter on toast), or exist in naturally-occurring foods in the form of emulsions (e.g., dairy milk, seeds, and nuts). Regardless of the form of fats and oils existing in foods, the food matrix influences the fate of lipids in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). However, a profound understanding of how the GIT utilizes food lipids encased in different food matrices is still required to meet the dietary needs of different segments of the population (e.g., overweight or obese population).
This Research Topic will discuss the underlying mechanisms of how different food components are ordered into well-controlled arrangements and can generate hierarchical three-dimensional structures with varying functionalities. It aims to advance our understanding of the fate of lipids in a wide variety of engineered, processed and naturally-occurring lipid-based foods as they pass through the GIT and the implicit role of different food matrices within which they reside.
Topics include but are not limited to the following:
• Structuring and destructuring of lipid-based food systems;
• Effect of the interactions among the food matrix, oil/fat and the human mouth on sensory perception of differently structured lipid-based foods;
• Intragastric structuring of differently structured lipid-based foods;
• Role of the food matrix structure and the interactions between lipids and the food matrix in modulating lipid digestion and absorption.
Dietary lipids (i.e., oils and fats) are an important component of the human diet; they significantly contribute to total energy and intake of oil-soluble nutrients and/or bioactive compounds. The excessive intake of lipids is an important factor leading to obesity and overweight, which has been linked to an increased rate of chronic diseases, such as type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and certain cancers. The reduction in intake of lipids is a generally-recommended, non-invasive prevention strategy to combat obesity and overweight. However, food cravings and easily accessible, palatable lipid-based foods have made it hard to control their intake levels in certain groups of people.
Fats and oils are incorporated into processed or reformulated foods as ingredients, in form of emulsions (e.g., milkfat in yogurt and cheese, vegetable oil in salad dressing, and animal fat in sausages) or bulk materials (frying oil or butter on toast), or exist in naturally-occurring foods in the form of emulsions (e.g., dairy milk, seeds, and nuts). Regardless of the form of fats and oils existing in foods, the food matrix influences the fate of lipids in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). However, a profound understanding of how the GIT utilizes food lipids encased in different food matrices is still required to meet the dietary needs of different segments of the population (e.g., overweight or obese population).
This Research Topic will discuss the underlying mechanisms of how different food components are ordered into well-controlled arrangements and can generate hierarchical three-dimensional structures with varying functionalities. It aims to advance our understanding of the fate of lipids in a wide variety of engineered, processed and naturally-occurring lipid-based foods as they pass through the GIT and the implicit role of different food matrices within which they reside.
Topics include but are not limited to the following:
• Structuring and destructuring of lipid-based food systems;
• Effect of the interactions among the food matrix, oil/fat and the human mouth on sensory perception of differently structured lipid-based foods;
• Intragastric structuring of differently structured lipid-based foods;
• Role of the food matrix structure and the interactions between lipids and the food matrix in modulating lipid digestion and absorption.