Lallemand’s fermented soy marries efficacy with naturality to target growing heartburn market

05 Nov 2021 --- There is a “unique” potential to use food supplements instead of drugs to treat heartburn symptoms resulting from food consumption.

This is according to Karen Dhanraj, technical marketing and sales manager at Lallemand Bio-Ingredients, who speaks to NutritionInsight ahead of an upcoming webinar about Gastro-AD, a fermented soy-based solution that targets the condition.

“Aside from Gastro-AD, the natural health products industry is not well suited to address heartburn, which remains misunderstood as an ailment of the elderly or overweight,” she explains.

Notably, younger populations of all walks of life are living with heartburn due to stress, poor diets, excess alcohol consumption, smoking and other precipitators.  

While heartburn may not be attracting the kind of attention that nootropics, sleep aids and adaptogens are – nor does it fit into a larger category like sports nutrition or weight management – Dhanraj points out that “it is becoming a bigger problem worldwide.”

“It can be an ongoing condition that people are trying to manage every day for weeks on end.” 

Additionally, the symptoms of heartburn and acid reflux are often misunderstood. For example, many people would not recognize that the regurgitation of food, difficulty swallowing or the feeling of having a lump in their throat could be heartburn.The diverse range of bioactive molecules in fermented soy has yet to be fully determined.

Traditional and OTC solutions pose issues
Dhanraj acknowledges that there are some traditional remedies for gastrointestinal distress, like peppermint or ginger tea, ginger tablets and other herbal remedies.

“Ginger has some good data behind it for nausea. The rest of this category, however, is based on an expectation that common natural plants and herbs should and will relieve symptoms.” 

She continues that many of these treatments have never been proven scientifically to provide relief and have no real mechanisms to provide such relief. “Most just don’t work, and consumers resort to over-the-counter (OTC) medication to ease their symptoms.”

However, many OTC remedies come with undesirable side effects. For example, an antacid may stop the burning sensation, and this might be fine for a few days. However, long-term use can cause other problems such as constipation or excess gas, and even more stomach acid being produced, which causes more heartburn.

“This is an automatic response by the body to ‘correct’ the lack of stomach acid resulting from the antacid intake. The consumer has tried to solve their health problem only to make it worse,” Dhanraj details. 

Dual impact without side effects
As industry learns more about what real health benefits can be achieved through natural products, it’s becoming easier for consumers to choose alternatives to synthetic options and incorporate them into their daily lives.  

Lallemand Bio-Ingredients’ Gastro-AD is not associated with side effects. 

“We don’t recommend it to anyone with a soy allergy, of course, but for others, it can represent an ideal long-term preventive treatment for heartburn and acid reflux without the fear that it will cause any other health problems. It’s basically a food because it is simply fermented soy,” explains Dhanraj.

The ingredient has a dual effect, providing immediate relief from heartburn. Studies have shown it reduces gastric fluid secretion and brings the gastric fluid pH to normal levels. In this way, it protects gastric tissue from damage by normalizing inflammation.

Taken daily over time, it has a long-term preventative effect on heartburn symptoms. This is at least in part due to the ability of the Lactobacillus strain used for fermentation (Rosell 187) to reduce inflammation, boost the immune response and heal the gastric mucosa. 

Last month, it also landed Canadian health claims for soothing symptoms of occasional heartburn and acid reflux.Heartburn is a global problem, and the prevalence of the condition is increasing every year.

Unlocking the benefits of fermented soy
According to Dhanraj, even unfermented soy is associated with many health benefits, including cardiovascular health and bone health. It may also help protect against breast and prostate cancers.

However, certain factors present in unfermented soy products can cause problems during digestion. 

“Fermentation seems to take care of this and can often reduce the negative effects of these factors. For example, the fermentation of soy has been shown to break down most soy proteins to much smaller peptides, possibly reducing their allergenic effect.” 

Onward applications
Gastro-AD has been repeatedly documented to treat gastritis and even ulcers, which are more clinical conditions requiring medical intervention.

“For us at Lallemand, to market Gastro-AD as a natural health product, we don’t focus on medical conditions. However, knowing the data supports these treatments tells us a lot about the potential for Gastro-AD,” says Dhanraj.

While the company has mostly studied Gastro-AD’s effect on heartburn and acid reflux, there is interesting data showing beneficial effects on nausea, bloating and diarrhea.

“We also know it is a great solution for hangovers, although we have not done formal studies on this topic,” she flags. 

Dhanraj also points to innovative delivery formats for Gastro-AD as an area of further opportunity.

“For example, we saw a great concept out of Asia where Gastro-AD was provided in a tiny pouch, along with a spice packet within a bag of potato chips. It allowed the consumer to spice their chips as much as they wanted and add Gastro-AD at the same time. They could enjoy the chips and suffer no consequences from the spice.” 

On November 11, Dhanraj will further explore the potential of Gastro-AD for gastrointestinal health in a free webinar. Registration is currently open here. 

By Katherine Durrell