Nutricia advances medical nutrition with plant-based, micronutrient-rich range

10 Sep 2024 --- Danone subsidiary Nutricia reveals it has reformulated its core medical nutrition tube-feeding range, Nutrison, with a higher plant-based protein content at the 46 annual European Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ESPEN) Congress on Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism in Milan, Italy. The range meets ESPEN’s latest macronutrient guidelines, including those for vitamin D.

Nutrison, the company’s top-selling adult medical nutrition brand, offers specialized tube-feeding nutrition options, designed for patients struggling with malnutrition due to critical illnesses or conditions like head or neck cancer. According to Nutricia, the product line has been redeveloped with a focus on patient needs and reducing CO2 emissions, aiming to replace the existing range by 2025 across all markets.

“Utilizing our 125 years of expertise in specialized nutrition has never been more important in order to drive better patient outcomes through tailored nutritional care,” says Katrien van Laere, the SVP of research and innovation and chief medical and scientific officer at Danone. 

Patient-centered nutrition

Nutricia says research indicates that 25% of patients admitted to hospitals are malnourished, totaling 33 million in Europe alone. This malnutrition can lead to longer recovery times, increased risk of infection and higher mortality. The new Nutrison tube feed range is designed to counteract this by providing state-of-the-art medical nutrition.

At the recent ESPEN Congress, Nutricia emphasized the critical role of nutrition in improving patient outcomes in cancer, critical and elderly care. The conference showcases the Nutrison range, plant-based supplements, tube-feeding innovations and specialized cancer care products.

“With these newly reformulated Nutrison products, we want to set an example of how leading companies should pioneer to keep improving the quality of life of the patients by managing malnutrition,” Van Laere explains. “At the same time improving our products’ carbon footprint by design.”

Plant-forward and micronutrient-focused

The reformulation is inspired by the EAT-Lancet Planetary Health Diet and emphasizes more vegetables and plant proteins, less meat and dairy. The range features a plant-dominant P4 protein blend composed of 78% plant proteins. The company highlights that the range also achieves a 17% reduction in CO2 emissions.

Moreover, it meets the latest ESPEN guidelines for vitamin D and boosts levels of vitamins B1, B2, B6, B12 and C to support immune function. It was also shown to be well-tolerated by long-term tube-fed patients and can help them maintain optimal body weight.