Health and nutrition beyond essential nutrients: The evolution of the bioactives concept for human health.

Our food supply contains a range of essential and non-essential food components. There are substantial epidemiologic findings and additional clinical data to support the health benefits for some non-essential food components - these compounds are often referred to as bioactives. While there is a well-established process in place to make science-based dietary recommendations for essential nutrients, this is not the case for bioactive food components. This manuscript reviews the evolution of the RDAs and the transition to a DRI framework for establishing requirements for essential nutrients. Then, the potential of development of public health recommendations for bioactives will be explored and the benefits and challenges of making recommendations will be presented. The scientific support for case studies for lutein and flavan-3-ols, will be made. Finally, suggestions for frameworks that might be considered by authoritative policy-making bodies when evaluating the efficacy and safely of proposed bioactives will be discussed.