Dietary supplements and their effect on the body of students

One of the main criteria for the well-being of the population is the citizens state of health of [1, 2, 3], including their nutrition. The nutrition of a modern young person – a student – is not able to meet the body's needs for many biologically active substances: proteins, fats, amino acids, dietary fibers, flavonoids, vitamins, trace elements, phenolic compounds and other vital components [4], which are the basis for maintaining health in the body. Proper nutrition is the main condition for the existence, growth and development of the human

body. According to many authors, a rational and balanced diet ensures the normal functioning of the human body, increases resistance to various harmful environmental influences [5], allows a person to develop normally.

The purpose of this work is a comprehensive study of the problem of the widespread use of biologically active additives in food products and their effect on the human body (student). The age group selected for the analysis is characterized by increased mental performance. This is due to the fact that studying implies continuous assimilation of new material, which requires a lot of effort, including

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License perseverance [7], with such a load, it is interesting to find out how students eat, how their food meets the needs of the body.

Human food is a complicated complex of thousands of chemical compounds, including natural substances inherent to the food product, food pollutants, as well as food additives intentionally introduced into food. At this stage of production development, hundreds of FA (FA – food additives) are used in all branches of the modern food industry. On labels, they are sometimes indicated by the letter E with three – or four-digit numeric numbers.

FA is natural, identical to natural or artificial substances that are obtained from mineral, animal or vegetable raw materials, as well as (much less often) by microbiological or chemical synthesis. They are not consumed as a food product, but are purposefully used in food systems for technological reasons [6].

Food additives are specially introduced into food products during their manufacture in order to give them certain properties and preserve the quality of food products.

The increasing use of food additives requires their clear classification. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UN – United Nations), together with WHO (WHO – World Health Organization), have developed a global system of food additives codification. Assigning the status of a food additive and the E index to a substance means that this substance does not impair the quality of the product, has been tested for safety and can be used without misleading the consumer about the composition and type of food product [6]. The presence of food additives is necessarily recorded on the labels.

The addition of food additives into food has the following objectives:

• –    increasing the stability during storage, improving the structure of food products or their organoleptic properties;

• –    preservation of the natural qualities of the food product;

• –    improving the technology of preparation and processing of food raw materials, storage, manufacture, packaging and transportation of food.

In accordance with the technological purpose, food additives are divided into groups [6]:

• –    substances that improve the appearance of food products (dyes, color stabilizers, bleaches);

• –    substances that regulate the taste of the product (flavoring additives, sweeteners, acids and acidity regulators);

• –    substances that regulate the consistency and form the texture of the product (thickeners, gelling agents, stabilizer, emulsifiers, etc.);

• –    substances that increase the safety of food and increase their shelf life (preservatives, antioxidants, etc.).

A detailed acquaintance with the purposes of FA use, as well as with groups of FA, depending on their technological purpose, allows us to come to a simple conclusion – the goal justifies the means. The modern beauty industry dictates its own rules and people adapt to it, there are problems with understanding what physical activity is [8], it also forces many people to scrupulously assess the quality of their lives, including nutrition. This leads people to desire a new kind of food. Such foods, for example, should contain a reduced content of lipids and fast carbohydrates (for example, do not contain sugar), have a low calorie content, and also differ in a balanced chemical composition (for example, have a composition enriched with micro – and macroelements). The desires of consumers are closely monitored by food manufacturers. Wanting to expand the sale of their products, they, avoiding production losses, use a simple, cheap and easily implemented method – the use of food additives. It is thanks to the FA that it is possible to achieve satisfaction of the interests of all parties, but only at first glance.

Any medicine in the wrong dose is poison. The effectiveness and safety of FA is determined by the technological feasibility of introducing a specific substance into a food product (improving taste, color, smell, increasing shelf life, etc.).

Safety is established according to a scheme similar to that for medicinal substances. At the beginning, animal tests are carried out, then the obtained data is analyzed on a group of volunteers by transfer, which allows you to set the value of the permissible daily consumption (PDC) of this FA

A specialized scientific committee of experts, the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants (JECFA), is responsible for the application of FA, which is managed by: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Quality control of FA is carried out on the basis of specifications that represent the structure of the pharmacopoeia article. FA specifications have been developed by the FAO/WHO Committee of Experts since 1956 and are published in the Compendium of Food Additive specifications (Compendium of Food additive specifications), which is periodically updated [9].

Despite the strict selection of FA acceptable in food, the general trend of their influence on the human body is disappointing. Firstly, due to the fact that almost every food product has one or another dose of FA, we can talk about the possibility of accumulation different types of harmful effects on humans: toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic.

Secondly, the desire of people to simplify life by using fast types of food, for example, frozen semi-finished products, which can both contain a large number of different FA and lose their nutritional properties due to the use of physical methods of exposure (improper freezing with the loss of important food components of the product), fast food can also be attributed to this item, makes the body get used to the consumption of destructive substances and deprives it of the ability to fight them.

So antibiotics used with food affect the gastrointestinal tract, as they can disrupt the normal ratio of microorganisms, which causes allergies, and, as a result, skin diseases. The consumption of some artificial sweeteners leads to the fact that an initially healthy body may stop producing enzymes capable of splitting natural sugars, which causes an increase in glucose in the blood and, as a consequence, leads to a prediabetic state [6].

Methods

During the analysis of the young people nutrition (students), such research methods as analysis, interpretation, generalization were used. A survey was conducted among students of the 2–3 courses of the Kuban State Technological University. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the diet of students with the establishment of a daily load of dietary supplements and to determine the possible health risk as a result of their influence.

A study conducted among students using a questionnaire on healthy eating showed that approximately 230 women and 270 men participated in the survey. The average age of students ranged from 19 to 21 years.

To the question of the importance of a healthy diet in life, 60% of students answered that it is necessary; for 25% of students, this question is important, but not the most important in life; 10% answered that it is not necessary; the remaining 5% answered that they are not interested in it.

When asked about the sources of information about a healthy lifestyle, about 35% of students answered that they receive most of the necessary information in the classroom; 45% of students receive information from the Internet, and the remaining 20% from the media.

In the next paragraph, the students had to answer the question whether their lifestyle was healthy. Only 30% of students were able to answer "yes" with confidence, 50% answered "partially", 10% – "no", 10% – "I don't know".

When asked about eating fast food, 85% of students answered that they eat fast food; the remaining 15% do not.

Then it was asked how often students eat fast food. 24% of them answered that they consume once a week; 12% replied that they consume fast food several times a week; 22% replied that they consume fast food once a month; 24% answered "other", 18% of students replied that they consume once a fortnight.

The results of this question were quite unexpected: 40% of students answered that they eat fresh food and vegetables every day; and 54% – 1–3 times a week, 6% – do not use.

The next question showed that 82% of students eat dairy products every day, and 13% – 1–3 a week, and the remaining 5% do not eat at all.

It also turned out that 63% of students eat fish or fish products once a month; 21% – 1–3 times a week; 16% – do not use.

Confectionery is consumed every day by 51% of students; 30% – consume 1–3 times a week; 11% – consume once a month, 8% – does not consume.

In the next question, 73% of students answered that they use chips, crackers and carbonated water every day, 14% – use 1–3 times a week, 11% – once a month, and the remaining 2% – do not use.

The results of further questions indicate that almost all students are aware of the existence of food additives and 80% of them do not pay attention to the label and composition of the product.

It also turned out that students are aware of the existence of useful food additives, but most students found it difficult to answer the question about adding FA to food, some still considered it correct.

The last question showed that the majority of students (60%) believe that dairy products need to be enriched with food additives, and the remaining 40% chose the option "confectionery".

Research results and discussion

It follows from the survey that most students have an idea about the content of FA in their usual food products, but they do not pay much attention to the label and are not interested in the effect of FA on their health. The question of the enrichment of FA of various food products also allows us to come to this conclusion. The opinion about enriching dairy products with FA is incorrect, since in many mass-consumption food products it is not allowed to use certain functional classes of FA, which, of course, makes one think about their safety and expediency of use. For example, it is forbidden to use preservatives in milk, butter, flour, bread (except packaged for long-term storage), baby food products, etc.

The question of whether the lifestyle of students is healthy is indicative (figure 1). Only a third of respondents were able to answer this question in the affirmative. The same conclusion can be reached when analyzing the nutrition of the respondents. 73% of students on a daily basis consume products with the highest FA content in the composition: chips, crackers and carbonated water. Thus, most of the students may be at risk due to the possible consequences of an unbalanced diet (figure 2).

However, there are a number of positive trends in a more thorough examination of student

Based on this questionnaire, we found out whether our students are aware of what dietary supplements are and how they affect our body. Analyzing the results of the questionnaire, we can say with confidence that most of our students monitor their health and adhere to the principles of proper nutrition.

Figure 1. Is Your lifestyle healthy

в Every day

■ Once in the month и 1-3 times a week я Do not eat

Figure 2. How often do you eat chips, crackers, carbonated water?

Conclusion

Undoubtedly, chemistry does not stand still, especially food chemistry. The use of FA has improved production in many ways, however, in order to consume such products, you should analyze your diet and bring in at least 2/3 of products that do not contain FA. The students who took part in the survey, for the most part, realize the importance of proper nutrition, which would be diverse and balanced, however, many do not know the possible impact of FA on the body, continuing to eat foods that can rightfully be called "food garbage".

Our opinion is as follows: the study of substances unknown to us should be approached comprehensively, starting with a small one, for example, reading the label of the product you are going to buy. Because health implies qualitative changes in all spheres of life: both in regular physical exertion, which would prevent the occurrence of deconditioning of the body [10], and in maintaining a stable psychoemotional state, and, of course, in nutrition, which will strengthen the result of the above efforts made to preserve the harmonious state of the body.

Thus, today there are products on sale that contain dangerous and safe food additives. It is necessary to analyze the labels on food products, since not all of them have information about the food additives contained in them. Unfortunately, very dangerous ingredients are found in some products. But today you need to understand that you can not do without food additives, so you should not be afraid of them in the product. Always pay attention to the labeling and shelf life of the product. If you are prone to allergic reactions, exclude from your diet foods containing additives that cause allergies.