Functional Food in a Healthy Diet

Robalino Altamirano Linetta Floransz (2025) Functional Food in a Healthy Diet. Kereskedelmi, Vendéglátóipari és Idegenforgalmi Kar.

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Absztrakt (kivonat)

According to the FAO definition from 2001, functional food refers to those that provide health benefits beyond essential nutrition, demonstrating specific health or medical benefits, including the prevention and treatment of disease. However, since 2001, there have been multiple discussions about the complexity of healthy dietary supplements, which influenced the concept of functional food. A healthy diet is composed of different elements of nutrition. In a balanced diet, individuals must consider which type of nutrient to consume and their effect on the human body.Medicinal plants have various beneficial effects on health, and they can be added to the processing of conventional food to create functional food. Their most common use is as a beverage, mainly in tea or syrup, but as the plants are consumable, they could be used for seasoning or raw material for dishes such as sauces, jams, and soups.The questionnaire provided valuable insights into customers’ dietary habits and interests. The following factors can be determined for the examined control group, which was young adults studying at university or filling entry-level jobs. Respondents are mostly interested in functional food, as 62% of respondents chose the answer option, indicating they are interested. More than half of the respondents have heard about functional food, but surprisingly, not all were interested. Almost 1/3 of the respondents follow special dietary habits. These potential customers demand restaurant menu items that fulfil their special dietary needs. Another interesting result was that 39% of respondents follow a special diet unrelated to food allergies. The most popular of those was a low-fat diet, which is a promising result in relation to a healthy diet.The professional interview highlighted a growing demand for special dietary needs, such as vegan, lactose—and gluten-free menu items. However, the price of ingredients for those menu items is higher, negatively influencing cost efficiency. The interview also highlighted that buffet catering makes it harder to educate guests about the composition of the meals; thus, for the education of customers, other restaurant concepts might fit better, which include a detailed menu card. Traditional Hungarian cuisine is highly popular, and the demand and trends in restaurants providing this kind of dish have not changed in the last five to ten years. Changing the recipes for healthier meals is a great challenge, as customers expect the well-known flavours, and changing the composition of the food to lower fat content influences the food's flavour and texture. However, the questionnaire results suggest a renewal of traditional Hungarian cuisine as a low-fat diet is gaining popularity among younger generations. Plant-based meals have great potential as the cooking method includes less fat and serves the demand for vegetarian and vegan dietary habits. Seasonal offers are great for expanding the menu with healthier alternative items. They can also give valuable insights about which new menu items should be added to the permanent menu offer based on which ones were the most popular. This method contributes to composing a new, healthier menu more efficiently. However, it takes a longer period than changing the whole menu completely. Concerning the seasonal offers, seasonality should be a consideration in menu planning, as it determines the raw materials for the seasonal offers and contributes to sustainability.The research highlighted the demand for restaurants to adjust to new dietary trends while preserving the well-known, traditional flavours. This phenomenon is a great challenge for the hospitality industry. However, customers' openness helps shift restaurants’ offerings to health-promoting options. Education is a key for customers and restaurant operators to renew the offerings successfully. Marketing communication and labelling could support education in a high proportion.. Medicinal plants, besides helping the creation of health-beneficial menu items, have a high potential for rural areas from the hospitality and tourism industry as well.

Intézmény

Budapesti Gazdasági Egyetem

Kar

Kereskedelmi, Vendéglátóipari és Idegenforgalmi Kar

Tanszék

Vendéglátás Tanszék

Tudományterület/tudományág

NEM RÉSZLETEZETT

Szak

Turizmus-vendéglátás

Mű típusa:	diplomadolgozat (NEM RÉSZLETEZETT)
Kulcsszavak:	functional food, health, hospitality, medicinal plants, nutrition
SWORD Depositor:	User Archive
Felhasználói azonosító szám (ID):	User Archive
Rekord készítés dátuma:	2026. Ápr. 09. 14:52
Utolsó módosítás:	2026. Ápr. 09. 14:52
URI:	http://dolgozattar.uni-bge.hu/id/eprint/59540

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