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Gut appeal: Healthy microbiome thanks to food processing waste

15 Feb 2019 --- New research from Maastricht University (UM) has uncovered a novel use for waste from the food processing industry: boosting the microbiome. Using the TNO in vitro model of the colon (TIM-2), research by Carlota Bussolo de Souza has shown that fermenting fiber from fruit and vegetable peel can help improve the gut flora of people with obesity.

False energy boosting claims? Dextro Energy advert deemed misleading by UK advertising watchdog

15 Feb 2019 --- The UK’s advertising watchdog, Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), has ruled that a recent advertisement for Dextro Energy Glucose Tablets wrongly implies that the product has energy boosting capabilities and exaggerates the product’s vitamin C content. An energy boosting claim would need to be authorized on the EU Register of nutrition and health claims made on foods to be allowed.

“Ready for the keto comeback”: Abitec Corporation pegs keto-friendly ingredient range

15 Feb 2019 --- Nutritional and functional lipids manufacturer Abitec Corporation is “close to launching” an MCT powder on a fiber carrier that will be keto friendly and dairy free. This comes as there is huge market potential for its portfolio of keto-friendly ingredients, as the diet’s popularity continues to spike.

Weekly roundup: Ulrick & Short launches “scilia” range of insoluble fiber, PURIS partners with Midwestern BioAg

15 Feb 2019 --- In nutrition news this week, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) Director General, Dr. Shenggen Fan, has become a member of the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Food Systems for Nutrition. Food Supplements Europe (FSE) welcomed leading European trade bodies AFEPADI, SANI, SFSA and SISTE, and Australia-based Swisse Wellness in order to make positive contributions to the supplement sector. PURIS has entered a partnership with Midwestern BioAg (MBA) to promote organic farming in the US and Ulrick & Short has launched “scilia”, a range of insoluble fiber ingredients.

Indena’s Centella Asiatica extract touted as beneficial for heart and skin health

14 Feb 2019 --- Botanical ingredients company Indena’s Centella asiatica extract holds potential in a wide range of medicinal applications in diabetic neuropathy, cardiovascular diseases and skin health. This is according to a new monograph by several researchers, commissioned by the company and coined “Centella asiatica: entering a new era” which takes note of the pre-clinical and clinical studies that confirm the plant’s properties for broader applications.

Resilient in nutrition: DSM reports “very strong” 2018, reveals €1 billion buyback strategy

14 Feb 2019 --- DSM has reported a “very strong year,” including robust Q4 figures, organic sales growth of 6 percent and adjusted EBITDA up 26 percent, including €290 million (US$327 million) due to temporary exceptional vitamin effects. With Q4 core profit topping expectations, the company has announced that it will buy back €1 billion in shares.

Long-term school meals improve children’s learning abilities, Berlin study finds

14 Feb 2019 --- Children who ate lunch for a period of three to five years scored 18 percent higher in reading test scores and 9 percent higher in math test scores than those with less than a year of school lunches. This is according to a European School of Management and Technology (ESMT) Berlin study. The findings enforce the significance of long-term nutrition for school children, with the researchers noting that the effects of nutrition on cognition are cumulative. The researchers highlight the importance of free school meals and call for governments to take notice.

Gut bacteria and depression: “Compelling” further support to the “gut brain axis” notion

14 Feb 2019 --- Researchers have established a correlation between depression and a group of neurotransmitter-producing bacteria found in the human gut, further expanding clinical evidence of the gut-brain axis. Interestingly, an inverse relationship between specific gut bacteria and brain activity in areas connected to depression were identified in the animal study. Published in Nature Microbiology, the findings could lead to the development of bacterial therapeutics for depression, including a growing role for probiotics, but significant work is first required, the researchers note.

“Aging well starts young”: Preventative approach widens NPD scope

14 Feb 2019 --- Health and wellness are important for consumers across all age groups and life stages, united by a common goal of “aging well.” The nutrition industry is increasingly approaching the topic of aging in a broad manner, tapping into a range of market areas from bone and joint health to energy and alertness. Long gone is a negative “anti-aging” philosophy and celebrated is an approach touting “positive aging” or “aging well,” according to industry experts.

Stressed cells for better beer? Cell manipulation may produce better yeast and benefit health

13 Feb 2019 --- Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have come up with a new method to study how single biological cells react to stressful situations. Understanding these responses could help develop more effective drugs for serious diseases, as well as improve a range of food ingredients, such as yeasts. The study has been published in the scientific journal Nature Communications.

Foods to kill? Ultra-processed foods linked to increased mortality risk, study finds

13 Feb 2019 --- A 10 percent increase in the consumption of ultra-processed foods has been linked to a 14 percent increased risk in all-cause mortality, including obesity and cancer, according to a new Journal of the American Medical Association study. Published at a time when aspects such as fat, salt, sugar, and their impact on overall health, are under intense government and industry scrutiny, the study highlights the repercussions of a diet high in processed foods and their possible correlation with negative health outcomes.

First-ever International Food Safety Conference opens: Driving the food safety changes needed to fix food security

13 Feb 2019 --- “There is no food security without food safety” – that is the key message coming out of the inaugural International Food Safety Conference (IFSC) which begun in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), yesterday. In a bid to give the issue of food security the political attention it deserves, delegates from around 130 countries – including health and agriculture ministers, leading scientific experts and representatives of consumers, food producers and distributors – are gathering on the world stage to drive the changes needed to improve food safety. The idea is to align strategies across sectors and borders, reinforcing efforts to reach the Sustainable Development Goals and supporting the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition. These include cutting the risks of foodborne diseases on an international level with the ultimate aim to ensure safe, nutritional and sustainable food availability.

Joint cartilage protection: Stratum Nutrition's second trial of NEM eggshell membrane underway

13 Feb 2019 --- Stratum Nutrition has launched a progressive joint health clinical trial to evaluate its eggshell membrane joint health ingredient, NEM. The trial is being conducted in an exercising, healthy population and is an expanded follow up to Stratum’s 2018 healthy, post-menopausal women trial. With a second randomized controlled trial, the company hopes to substantiate future labeling and advertising claims.

Alleviating hypertension: Grocery-store based nutrition education can improve eating habits

11 Feb 2019 --- Grocery store-based nutrition counseling is effective in changing the dietary habits of patients being treated for hypertension, a study published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behaviour has found. The researchers note that the location of the counseling may help to reinforce dietary changes as it is an environment where food decisions are made. Hypertension affects over 60 million adults in the US, yet less than half have their condition under control.

Mapping the human gut: Researchers identify 2,000 gut microbes

12 Feb 2019 --- Researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory's (EMBL) European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI) and the Wellcome Sanger Institute have identified almost 2,000 gut bacterial species, using a range of computational methods. Since the findings are mostly based on European and Northern American samples the researchers are highlighting the need for more data from other regions of the world.

Rooting out the “bad actors”: US FDA promises sweeping regulatory changes for dietary supplements

12 Feb 2019 --- The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is seeking to significantly “modernize” dietary supplement regulations, in an attempt to root out “bad actors” that distribute and sell dangerous products. Promised to be the most “significant modernizations” in 25 years, announced steps will seek to ensure that the US regulatory framework is flexible enough to adequately evaluate product safety while also promoting innovation, developing new enforcement strategies and engaging in a dialogue with dietary supplement stakeholders.

Maternal supplementation can increase infant birth size, but access barriers remain, study warns

12 Feb 2019 --- For women in resource-poor settings, taking a daily nutritional supplement before conception or in early pregnancy may provide enough of a boost to improve growth of the fetus, according to a study funded by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). Maternal under-nutrition in low-income countries has repeatedly been linked to negative outcomes for their children, such as chronic nutritional deprivation. However, a further study published in BMC Nutrition highlights how many barriers remain in accessing women in more impoverished and rural areas to provide adequate nutritional interventions.

Algatech launches potent astaxanthin in whole-food format

11 Feb 2019 --- Israeli-based Algatechnologies has launched AstaPure Arava, an all-natural, algae complex that contains naturally occurring constituents of the Haematococcus Pluvialis algae. The company claims that this species of microalgae is the “richest known source of astaxanthin” and its properties are supported by research from NIS Labs, a research institute based in the US. Led by Dr. Gitte Jensen, the research has shown that Arava algae powder is highly potent and has the synergistic effects of natural astaxanthin and the whole-algae complex.

Fermentalg to “ramp up” omega 3 platform following strong growth in 2018

11 Feb 2019 --- Microalgae innovator Fermentalg has reported accelerated industrial and commercial growth across three of its major platforms for the 2018 period, particularly regarding its foray into premium omega 3. The other platforms include protein and pigments and its algal biofilter. The success has placed the company in a prime position to “ramp up its business” in 2019 on the omega 3 platform, according to Fermentalg.

Consuming sodium may increase dizziness, not alleviate it, study finds

11 Feb 2019 --- Contrary to popular belief, a higher intake of sodium can increase lightheadedness instead of alleviating it. This is according to a new study from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), which examined the link between sodium intake and lightheadedness as part of the DASH-Sodium trial (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension). Published in the Journal of Clinical Hypertension, the results challenge traditional ways of tackling low blood pressure-related dizziness.