Functional foods with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties are regarded as a complementary therapy to improve chronic diseases such as obesity and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Obesity is a chronic low-grade inflammatory state leading to organ damage with increased risk of common diseases including cardiovascular and metabolic disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, osteoarthritis and some cancers. IBD is a chronic intestinal inflammation categorised as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis depending on the location of inflammation. These inflammatory states are characterised by normobaric hypoxia in adipose and intestinal tissues, respectively. Tropical foods especially from Australia and South America are discussed in this review to show their potential in attenuation of these chronic diseases. The phytochemicals from these foods have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities to reduce chronic normobaric hypoxia in the tissues. These health benefits of the tropical foods are relevant not only for health economy but also in providing a global solution by improving the sustainability of their cultivation and assisting the local economies.

具有抗氧化和抗炎特性的功能性食品被认为是改善肥胖和炎症性肠病 (IBD) 等慢性疾病的补充疗法。肥胖是一种慢性低度炎症状态，会导致器官损伤，增加患心血管和代谢疾病、非酒精性脂肪肝、骨关节炎和某些癌症等常见疾病的风险。IBD 是一种慢性肠道炎症，根据炎症的位置，分为克罗恩病和溃疡性结肠炎。这些炎症状态的特征分别是脂肪和肠组织中的常压缺氧。本综述讨论了热带食物，特别是来自澳大利亚和南美洲的食物，以显示它们在减轻这些慢性疾病方面的潜力。这些食物中的植物化学物质具有抗氧化和抗炎活性，可减少组织中的慢性常压缺氧。热带食品的这些健康益处不仅与健康经济相关，而且通过提高其种植的可持续性和协助当地经济提供全球解决方案。