“The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach"—who’s heard that saying before? Interestingly, that statement is starting to ring true, and not only for men. Evolving research continues to show a healthy body (the heart included) starts with a healthy digestive tract.
Unfortunately, many consumers struggle with digestive problems such as irritable bowel syndrome, food intolerance, gas, bloating and other issues that can lead to diarrhea, constipation or other digestion-related discomforts. These issues not only affect the body’s ability to obtain nutrients, but can interfere with some of life’s simplest pleasures. Pizza, anyone?
In order to steer clear of digestive doom, consumers struggling with digestion issues can turn to a variety of natural products, including probiotics and prebiotics, enzymes and other natural ingredients backed by research to support positive effects on digestion. However, in order to successfully develop digestive health products, manufacturers must consider challenges when formulating with digestive health ingredients, and be privy to trends in the digestive health market.
Increasingly, consumers are turning to natural products not only to absolve digestion issues, but because research shows a healthy gut is critical to overall health and wellness.
According to David Daguet, Ph.D., scientific manager, Nexira, there are two primary reasons that explain
the crucial role of the gut in overall health and wellness: 1) the essential function of the gut is to nourish the entire organism, and all the nutrients coming from the digestive tract enter into the organism following very specific and precise mechanisms; and 2) the gut is the second main barrier against the outside after the skin.
Austin Soejoto, sales representative at American Laboratories, elaborated: “With a poor functioning gut, the nutrients from consumed foods are not utilized efficiently and a number of problems can arise. By keeping the digestive tract healthy and fine-tuned, there are numerous systemic health benefits from adequate vitamins, proteins, and other nutrients to keep the body’s organs and systems well supported."
To read about the research behind digestive health ingredients, as well as formulation tips and current market data, check out the article “Healthy Gut, Healthy Strut," in INSIDER’s Digestive Health Content Library.