Jun 22, 2016 12:25 PM EDT By Vinay Patel, UniversityHerald Reporter

People are growing more and more health conscious and no longer prefer food that just taste good, but are also keen to know what can the food item really do to boost their health.

To sum things up, the current trend in food this year is towards functional foods a.k.a. nutraceuticals, TNT Magazine reported.

Check out six healthy foods that are the newest wrinkle right now:

Almond Milk
Green Smoothies
Chia Seeds
Apple Cider Vinegar
Turmeric
Fermented Foods

According to epidemiological studies, the high levels of plasma TC (total cholesterol) as well as LDL-C (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol) are the primary risk factors leading to CHD (coronary heart disease), although high concentrations of plasma HDL-C and a low ratio of total cholesterol HDL-C are guarding against CHD.

In recent years, people have turned to functional foods and nutraceuticals as probable alternative therapies in a bid to lower plasma TC, particularly for hypercholesterolemia patients, with slightly higher (200-240 mg/dL) blood cholesterol level - prescription of cholesterol-lowering medications might not be required in such cases, NCBI reported.

Nutraceuticals plays a vital role in curbing cardiovascular in patients suffering from dyslipidemia.

A slew of scientific studies have approved the use of these substance, either alone or along with other drugs in clinical practice. Particularly, gamma-oryzanol, policosanol, berberine and monacolines could tone down cholesterolemia considerably, International Journal of Cardiology, Metabolic and Endocrine reported.

That being said, neither enough studies have been conducted to demonstrate mortality and morbidity outcomes of nutraceuticals, nor there are adequate data regarding the adoption of nutraceuticals in varied kinds of patients, in terms of target population, safety, tolerability as well as time frame of use present in the literature.

Health-conscious people are now turning towards food as medicine - foods that can improve their health either via its high nutritional content or simply because they come naturally with a chemically active ingredient element; for instance curcumin in turmeric.

Plant-based animal product and fermented foods replacement are currently among the trendiest food available on the market.

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