The key to inner well-being? Gut health spotlighted for holistic health

07 Jul 2021 --- Consumer awareness and knowledge of immune and mental health has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. But the question that remains is: What is the key to overall health and well-being? NutritionInsight speaks with Lallemand Health Solutions and Sensus about the demands for inner well-being and the themes dominating the space.

According to Morgane Maillard, marketing manager at Lallemand Health Solutions, the pandemic has changed the immune market for good. 

“In a blink of an eye, all the attention was on available health solutions, consumers did their research, tried products and found what suited their needs,” she says. 

In some ways, the pandemic also secured the existing consumers and brought new consumers to the market that might not have been interested in probiotics in other ways.

Lallemand Health Solutions provides a selection of yeast-based ingredients to further support natural defenses.“Probiotics can be provided in addition to a list of compatible ingredients, including vitamins B6, B9, C, D, and minerals such as magnesium, selenium and zinc for extra claims,” Maillard continues. 

Lallemand Health Solutions has developed many dosage forms and packaging options for these solutions, including capsules, sachet, “on-the-go” or dispersible sticks and chewable tablets. 

Gut health space heats up
Consumers are not only conscious about immune health, but they also want to take care of their mental health. They also understand the connection between gut health and overall health. 

Having a healthy digestive system plays a crucial role in overall health, according to Sensus. 

“Key to the gut system is the enormous number of microbes present in the human colon, often referred to as the gut microbiome,” comments Dr. Veerle Dam, health science and regulatory affairs specialist at Sensus. 

“Studies have shown that these gut microbes interact with their human host in numerous manners. An essential function of the gut microbes is the fermentation of dietary fibers, improving the host’s bowel function, synthesis of vitamins and mitigating the effect of potentially harmful bacteria,” she continues. 

Gut-brain axis a touchpoint for holistic health
Dietary fibers or prebiotics are increasingly influencing solutions beyond the gut. 

The microbiota improves the gut wall barrier and produces organic acids that positively affect the whole body. Recent publications show stimulating effects of prebiotics on the immune system, metabolism in relation to energy and fat burning and more recently, mental health within the gut-brain axis, explains Dam. 

“The gut microbiome has become a touchpoint for all aspects of health and well-being. Over the last decade, it has become clear that the health of our digestive system, especially including the microbiome, plays a role in overall health. Poor diet and insufficient fiber intake are considered primary drivers for a dysfunctional or unhealthyThe gut microbiome has become a touchpoint for all aspects of health and well-being, says Sensus. microbiome.”

According to Dam, this so-called dysbiosis can negatively affect the body, contributing to potentially inflammation, lethargy, and longer-term chronic health issues such as diabetes. To learn more about this, Sensus is participating in a research project aiming to measure real-time microbial fermentation via breath for the first time. 

“This unique and new measurement method will provide us with fundamental data on the interplay between food, including our prebiotic inulin fiber, other environmental factors, the fermentation in our gut and our health,” Dam adds. 

“Furthermore, at the recent International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) symposium, the involvement of gut microbiota influenced by prebiotics on brain health, the gut-brain axis, was discussed, a topic that gets more and more attention,” she says. 

Increasing research shows that SCFAs, produced from dietary fiber by the intestinal microbiota, may positively modulate the immune system, adds Dam.

According to Lallemand Health Solutions, studies are ongoing to explore how the gut microbiota communicates with distant organs like the brain. 

“Over the last months, recent successful production trials led to mixing Cerebiome with another innovative active ingredient carefully: Safr’inside encapsulated saffron extract,” notes Maillard.

“The natural psychobiotic formula, combined with the natural and effective botanical ingredient, makes stress-management supplements with new applications and complementary actions through the brain-gut axis.”

Boosting health naturally
Consumers seek natural ways to bolster their inner well-being because they recognize the challenges of a hectic, time-constrained lifestyle and desire products that can support their bodies. 

“Prebiotic fibers, such as chicory inulin, offer an easily accessible way for most consumers to improve the health of their gut microbiome,” notes Dam. 

Chicory root fiber responds to plant-based, gut microbiome trends and the reduction revolution (sugar, fat, calories, etc.), which all seem to link with inner well-being positively. 

“Chicory root fiber stimulates the beneficial microbes in all individuals and gives increased production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in the intestine. Chicory root fiber can be applied to maintain a balanced diet that supports immunity and helps healthy people to stay healthy,” she outlines. 

A well-functioning immune system that can effectively fight infections is an asset in today’s world.Defining prebiotics
The ISAPP defines a prebiotic as “a substrate that is selectively utilized by host microorganisms conferring a health benefit.” 

“Inulin and oligofructose extracted from the roots of the chicory plant are among the few ingredients, and the only plant-based ones, that are officially recognized as prebiotics by ISAPP,” explains Dam.

Chicory inulin and oligofructose reach the human colon intact, where bifidobacteria ferment them as an energy source to SCFAs while growing and increasing in number. 

This selective fermentation of chicory inulin and oligofructose by bifidobacteria, the so-called “bifidogenic effect,” is key to health benefits and inner well-being. 

A European Food Safety Authority health claim is approved for chicory inulin as it contributes to normal bowel function by increasing stool frequency, Dam highlights. 

By Elizabeth Green 

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