Keto trend bolstered by supplement sprays and weight loss research

21 Aug 2020 --- Suraksha Naturals has expanded its retail portfolio of four Keto-Vedya supplement sprays. They are touted as allowing people practicing the keto diet to benefit from Ayurvedic products, all while avoiding pill fatigue. The move comes as the low-carbohydrate and high-fat ketogenic (keto) diet is increasingly perceived as a lifestyle. Meanwhile, the potential weight loss benefits of avoiding carbohydrates have been highlighted in a UK study. Here, older UK adults consuming a very low-carbohydrate diet (VLCD) lost more weight and total fat mass than the control diet group.

“While sprayable vitamins have only recently grown in popularity, Suraksha Naturals is already putting out an entire line-up of keto-friendly supplements, using only the very best in Ayurvedic herb,” the company states.

As one of the fastest ways to absorb vitamins, sprayable supplements are generally taken under the tongue where there are hundreds of blood vessels. Suraksha Naturals states its most popular sprayable supplements are the vitamin B12 spray and a sprayable version of the popular antioxidant, Glutathione. 

Two other supplement sprays in the Keto-Vedya line are the skin and nail supporting Rejuvenation spray and the Anti Stress spray that has a “calming effect” and “enhances mood,” says the company.

The low-carb diet helped older test participants lose weight.According to Innova Market Insights, consumer trends are driving innovation in supplement dosage forms. Traditional tablets and capsules continue to be the preferred supplement dosage forms for EMEA consumers, but functional food and drinks are now in second and third place. Meanwhile, 7 percent of EMEA consumers prefer gummies. 

However, industry has started making moves toward sprays, with Pharmalinea recently developing two oral health sprays targeting adults and children. The company’s 10 mL spray format facilitates convenience and on-the-go use, aside from avoiding pill-fatigue. 

Meanwhile, a study late last year found that oral sprays are just as an effective delivery format for vitamin D as tablets are. 

Low carbs, low weight?
Illustrating the power of a VLCD, researchers with the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Nutrition Obesity Research Center have found improvements of 34 test participants, aged 60 to 75 years, in terms of body composition, fat distribution and metabolic health in response to a VLCD.

While participants adhering to a low-fat diet lost an average of only 2 percent total fat, those following the VLCD lost 10 percent. Additionally, the VLCD group experienced an approximately three-fold greater loss in visceral adipose tissue (VAT) compared to the low-fat diet group and a greater decrease in thigh intermuscular adipose tissue (IMAT).

“Depletion of these adipose tissue depots may be critical for reducing the risk of metabolic disease with advancing age,” the study authors write in Nutrition and Metabolism.

“Furthermore, despite significant loss of fat mass, those consuming the VLCD retained greater thigh skeletal muscle volume. Weight loss in response to a very low carbohydrate energy-restricted diet also improved hepatic and peripheral insulin sensitivity, suggesting a reduced risk of cardiometabolic disease,” they affirm.

NutritionInsight attended the keto trend presentation held as part of The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT)’s virtual meeting and food expo, dubbed SHIFT20, last month. This emphasis on creating a lifestyle brand, achievable via the keto diet, ties in with the mass personalization from everything from entertainment to the way we eat.

Over 65 percent of consumers aged 18 to 45 specifically shop for products to meet their individual needs and tastes, according to a 2018 Innova Market Insights Consumer Lifestyle and Attitudes Survey. While younger consumers feel more strongly about this, nearly 60 percent of those aged 46 and above still express this as a priority. 

Edited by Anni Schleicher and Katherine Durrell