Do you know what clean eating is? The clean eating trend has taken over the food and beverage industry over the past few years. Consumers believe it is a way to eat whole foods and packaged products with simpler ingredients. Two of the essential whole foods to clean eating are fruits and vegetables. Check out this infographic below created by the American Heart Association to learn more about the clean eating.
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New market research predicts increasing growth of nutritional food premixes for infants over the next ten years. With more parents wanting to feed their precious babies with only the best infant formula, companies have developed innovative nutritional premixes with nucleotides, organic ingredients, probiotics, and botanicals—aside from the usual ingredients like Vitamin D, DHA, ARA, and iron to name a few.
Infant formulas are food products that are intended to give the right nutrition to babies and infants. When it comes to infant nutrition, premixes play an essential role in formulas. Infant nutrition premixes are customized blends that are intended to improve the overall nutritional value of infant formula.
The trend of unique infant formula is growing in developed countries particularly in North America due to the increasing awareness associated with different blends of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and other fortifications. In fact, North America shares a large regional market for nutritional premixes for infant formula, and it is forecasted that the value of the market will rise to $103 million by the end of 2028.
Powdered infant nutritional premixes are preferred because of their convenience compared to liquid infant mixes. Aside from convenience, the contamination of powdered premixes is lesser compared with liquid premixes.
There are different types of ingredients put into powdered nutritional premixes. But one of the most popular ingredients used is nucleotides. Nucleotides are added widely not only in infant nutrition but even in pharmaceutical nutrition industries. Premixes containing amino acids such as threonine, lysine, and methionine to name a few are very popular as they are the primary amino acids needed by small children to grow well. Infant nutritional premixes are now becoming more functional as they are designed to help improve bone health, digestion, and immunity of infants.
Infant nutritional premixes are gaining traction and are now competing with the sports nutrition market as one of the industries that use nucleotides, vitamins, and other dietary supplements. Formula producers are looking for more natural premixes from fruits and vegetables to create more attractive packaging.
The company Future Market Insights (FMI) released a report titled “Infant Nutritional Premix Market: Global Industry Analysis (2012-2017) and Opportunity Assessment (2018-2028)” which revealed that there are now a lot of critical players taking a bite of the infant nutritional premix niche. These include Plc, Glanbia, Royal DSM N.V., GmbH & Co, BASF, Watson-Inc., Hexagon Nutritional Pvt. Ltd., Farbest Brands, Vitablend, ADM company, and Jubilant Life Sciences to name a few.
The market for customized infant nutritional premix is becoming popular and is expected to get stronger as more and more people are looking for infant food products that contain more value than the usual conventional baby formula products.
Inspired by thefinancialconsulting.com
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The idea that our genes contain the blueprint for personalized nutrition is the driving force behind personalized nutrition testing. Websites and food companies are currently proliferating such as Nutrigenomix, Profile Precise, and Habit to name a few who provide these personalized services. But, is this true? Well, the answer is not straightforward. But, here are a few details on the idea behind genes and diets.
So, what is personalized testing for? In one article, a writer tried Habit. And the first step in the process is getting tested. You can do it yourself with the use of an at-home test kit for DNA and blood samples. Blood samples are taken twice. The first time is before drinking a high fat and sugary test drink and the second one is after taking the drink.
Then the samples are analyzed and based on the results you will be categorized into one of the seven diet types. Examples of which are range seeker, balance seeker, protein seeker, and fat seeker to name a few.
With the writer’s results, she was analyzed as a protein seeker which meant that her diet should consist more of high protein than any other food group. Other details are also included in the report, which would give you great insights into your personalized diet as well as further cementing your theories about your food response. As an example, the writer’s detailed report confirmed her thoughts on caffeine—that she has a gene variant that makes her sensitive to caffeinated food and drinks.
The high sugar drink acts as a fasting blood test, although it tests a person’s glucose response, it is not a test based on DNA. Further, the test also studies the FTO gene which is linked to weight gain in people who have this gene variant.
Based on the example above, the personalized testing is not merely based on genes. It is a systems approach that is integrated together, and from there, each is given a customized recommendation.
The idea behind these personalized testing is that it gives people reliable evidence of what their body is currently experiencing. And these values can be instrumental in helping them to rein in their food urges and resist temptation—and maybe even embrace a healthy lifestyle.
Plenty of experts have pointed out that when it comes to pieces of advice on diets, it is quite deceiving to say that our genes are the blueprint because they are not. Although DNA does influence our weight, it is minimal. Our DNA cannot ever dictate to us when it comes to eating that piece of moist and delicious cake. It’s your behavior towards food that dictates which food you put into your body. According to studies, genes only account for five to ten percent of the risk connected with diseases related to diets like type-2 diabetes and obesity.
Inspired by www.npr.org/sections/thesalt
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Sugar has long been a battle for soda companies and shelf-stable juices, but premium juice brands are now facing the challenge of reducing sugar in their healthy drinks. Premium juice brands typically use fresher ingredients without any added sugars. However, adding some fruit juices and flavors can quickly increase the sugar content in their drinks. In response to the growing fight against sugar, juice brands are innovating the formulations, processing methods, and marketing to take sugar head on.
It is no easy task to eliminate the sugar in these juice brands. CEO of Suja Juice, Jeff Church, says he has watched the market evolve in just the past five years. When Suja Juice started, it had roughly 25g of sugar per bottle, but after listening to consumers, they have decreased the sugar to 10 grams or less per bottle. Church believes that consumer demographics have played a considerable role in the lower sugar options in the market. Baby boomers are more tolerant of higher sugar content than millennials. However, both carry significant weight in sales. Church believes this has forced brands to take a broad focus on reducing sugar.
On the other hand, Ryne O’Donnell, CEO of Sol-ti, is taking a different approach. He believes consumers need to understand that not all sugars are created equal. He believes that adding beneficial fruits and vegetables that may be high in natural sugars outweighs the potential negatives.
Some of the first juice brands have faced courtroom controversy from anti-sugar crusaders. Odwalla, a subsidiary of Coca-Cola, faced backlash and a class action lawsuit for the phrase “evaporated cane juice” on its ingredient label. The lawsuit was ultimately withdrawn, but the Odwalla was hit with another suit based on their “No Sugar Added” phrase on their packaging. They are currently in private mediation with no expected ruling or settlement until the middle of 2018.
Center for Science in the Public Trust also filed a lawsuit against Pepsi’s Naked Juice brand in 2017. CSI believed naked was mislead consumers through marketing products with the wrong fruits and vegetables on the packaging and use of phrases like “No Sugar Added.” Pepsi settled and agreed to update its packaging with more accurate ingredients and decrease the font size of “No Sugar Added.”
Edit Fruit Juice was founded in 2013 with the idea to solve the technical issue of eliminating natural sugars from fruit. The company’s patented process enables them to extract 90% of all natural sugars from the fruit so that their 100% fruit juice contains less than 1g of sugar per serving.
Other brands are adapting by adding natural sweeteners like stevia and monk fruit. However, some premium juice brands don’t like the idea of adulterating pure juice. It will be a battle of brands trying to create the most premium juices while decreasing sugar at the same time. They still have to taste delicious and make consumers feel like they are making a healthy choice.
Inspired by bevnet.com
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The Center for Disease Control released new research in November 2017 detailing the issues with adult fruit and vegetable consumption in 2015. The new study found that just 1 in 10 adults meet the U.S federal recommendations for fruits and vegetables. Depending on age and sex, the national guidelines recommend adults to eat at least 1.5 to 2 cups per day of fruit and 2 to 3 cups per day of vegetables.
An average of only 9 percent of U.S. adults met the intake recommendations for vegetables in 2015; ranging from 6 percent in West Virginia to 12 percent in Alaska. An average of only 12 percent met their intake recommendations for fruit in 2015; ranging from 7 percent in West Virginia to 16 percent in Washington D.C. The overall results pointed to an alarming trend that consumption was lower among men, younger adults, and adults living in poverty.
“This report highlights that very few Americans eat the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables every day, putting them at risk for chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease. As a result, we’re missing out on the essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber that fruits and vegetables provide.”
Seung Hee Lee Kwan, Ph.D
CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity
The CDC has indicated again as it has revealed in previous studies that there are significant barriers to consumption. They have found that high cost, limited availability, limited access, and perceived lack of cooking and preparation time are the top barriers stopping people from eating more. How can we can we fix these issues?
It’s understood that consuming fruits and veggies is critical to reducing your risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and obesity. The CDC developed a guide with strategies to increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables. Here are a few:
NutriFusion has worked hard to create a nutrient-dense fruit and vegetable powder that stabilized and concentrates the natural vitamins and minerals. This is incredibly important to processed food manufacturers and brands. You are now able to add the nutritional equivalent to 2 servings of fruits and vegetables with pinky nail’s worth of powder. Interested in learning more about how GrandFusion can make your products healthier with essential micronutrients? Visit your industry-specific page to learn more.
Nielsen recently released a report that showcased the growth happening in the produce aisle. According to their report, branded produce dollar share grew by 7.7% between 2012 and 2016. Based on this kind of growth, it should be no surprise that branded produce is ripe for more sales.
In just the last year, branded produce sales grew by 8% with unbranded equivalents’ sales decreasing by 8.6%. Consumers are not attracted to produce brands like traditional brands instead they emphasize the information that brands share on packaging like organic, non-GMO, vitamins, etc.
The branded produce snacks market has started to take off with items like hummus and carrots, guacamole cups, pre-made salads, etc. The category now represents $1.1 billion in sales with branded options controlling 72% of the market share.
Everyone wants kids to eat healthier, but it is still the biggest challenge for parents and food manufacturers. Dole partnered with Disney to feature famous characters from Frozen, Star Wars, and more on their point of purchase displays and packaging. This has helped Dole sell healthier snacks to parents because their kids are putting the products in the cart.
Branded fruits and veggies have plenty of room to grow over the next ten years as more people engage in healthier lifestyles. Don’t expect a huge advertising spending spree from these brands, but look out for new packaging, labeling, and social media efforts to resonate with younger millennial shoppers.
Inspired by www.nielsen.com
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, also known as CTE, is a degenerative brain disease that is being found in many professional football players and athletes who have experienced repeated head trauma. The sad fact about CTE is that currently it cannot be diagnosed until the person dies. What a difference it would in these people’s lives if we could diagnose CTE while they are living. Well, researchers at Boston University may have just figured it out.
Researchers at Boston University’s School of Medicine identified an inflammatory protein, CLL11, as a possible reflection of the presence of CTE in people’s brains. They believe the protein can be found in spinal fluid as well as the bloodstream in living patients.
Dr. Ann McKee, a co-author of the study, believes this is just the beginning, and the key to this discovery is to start finding the disease at its earliest stages. She directs the medical school’s Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center, which earlier this year found evidence of the degenerative disease in 110 of 111 of professional football players who donated their brains to the program after their death. McKee says the research is still far away from where it needs to be to help these players. Researchers will need to find that the protein is a reliable sign of the disease, which will include precisely understanding the levels of CLL11 in the bloodstream and how that relates to concentrations in the brain.
The research team at Boston University tapped into several brain banks including 23 brains from former athletes, 50 brains with Alzheimer’s disease, and 18 healthy brains. Researchers measured the levels of CLL11 in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex which they found is the most affected area of the brain by CTE.
They found that levels of CLL11 were remarkably higher in brains with CTE versus brains with Alzheimer’s. The levels were even greater than the healthy brains. Another correlation that the study concluded was that CLL11 levels rose as a function of years playing football.
McKee and team stumbled onto CLL11 as a possible biomarker because it is a universal sign of inflammation in the brain’s tiniest blood vessels. She believes that looking closer at the small vessels that carry oxygen to brain’s farthest recesses may be the promising tell for CTE. Stay tuned to more research from McKee and team as they are determined to help find a way to diagnose this degenerative disease.
Inspired by www.latimes.com
The World Health Organization reports that around 235 million people suffer from asthma and children lead the list. To make matters worse, the number is predicted to increase to 400 million by the year 2025.
Asthma is a global health threat, and reports indicate that 50% of children are more sensitive to one or more allergens. This respiratory epidemic has been rising over the last 50 years, and the unlikely cause is the change in diet.
If your child is suffering from allergies, then chances are that the culprit is your sweet tooth. In a study published in the European Respiratory Journal, women who consume sugary foods during pregnancy may increase the risk of their baby developing allergies.
According to the lead author of the study, Annabelle Bedard from the Queen Mary University of London, there has been a rise when it comes to the intake of free sugar in the form of high fructose corn syrup over the last five decades. Free sugar is not found naturally in fruits and vegetables, and these include syrups, honey, sweeteners, and table sugar to name a few.
The researchers used data obtained from 9,000 mother and child pairs in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. This is a long-term and ongoing research study that tracks the health of families with children who were born between April 1991 and December 1992.
To investigate the connection between the diet of the mother and the allergies of their children, the researchers calculated the number of free sugars consumed by women during their pregnancy through questionnaires. The researchers then looked into the sugar consumption and the allergies of their children.
The study shows that 62% of children in the study do not suffer from any allergies, but the rest suffered from common allergies (22%), eczema (16%), and asthma (12%). On the other hand, the researchers looked into the sugar consumption of moms during pregnancy.
Children from moms who had a high sugar intake have a 38% increased risk of developing allergies compared to those who are born from moms who consumed less sugar. The researchers calculated that kids from moms who consumed more sugar are also likely to suffer from two or more allergies such as asthma, hay fever, and eczema. For instance, the risk of allergic asthma increased by 101% for kids born from moms with high sugar consumption group versus the low sugar group.
Although there is a strong link, researchers emphasized that the results are inconclusive such that there are other factors that can lead children to suffer from allergies. Allergies are complex diseases that are associated with different factors such as genetic defects, pollutants, and many others.
In fact, senior lecturer in immunology at the University of Manchester, Sheena Cruickshank, noted that more studies should be carried out to determine the cause of the relationship between sugar consumption of mothers and the allergies of their children.
Inspired by www.cnn.com