Healthy aging trends: Industry roundtable spotlights cognition and immunity ingredients

01 Apr 2021 --- Healthy aging is fast becoming a staple nutrition trend as the global senior population is growing. Demands for immunity, maintaining cognitive functions, heart health and vitality, as well as strength, are in the spotlight. NutritionInsight speaks to industry experts who discuss how this space is evolving to meet consumer expectations for health throughout the lifespan.

Anke Sentko, vice president of regulatory affairs and nutrition communication at Beneo, says that within the aging population, there has been a shift in focus away from managing acute and chronic conditions, such as cancer or heart health, and toward helping consumers to age healthily. 

“By aging, we don’t just refer to consumers who fall into a certain age bracket but really into a demographic profile of consumers who are proactively looking into the active management of their health as they get older,” notes Lay Kwan Goh, head of global marketing human nutrition at BASF.

Cognitive health
“Cognitive health is an ever-increasing concern for aging consumers and is expected to be a significant focus for future supplement development,” says Andie Long, manager of marketing and sales for AstaReal

“Adaptogens and nootropics are gaining ground, while probiotics are also being linked to this topic thanks to the so-called ‘’gut-brain axis.’ Ingredients include caffeine, which can boost the ability to focus, omega 3 fatty acids and medium-chain triglycerides for brain health, and even CBD for relieving anxiety.”

There are many trends in the aging-well space, but all converge toward a common goal: psychophysical well-being with holistic approaches. Therefore, it is important to offer products to maintain psychophysical health and, in the meantime, to slow down aging, says Giovanna Nicotra, scientific and marketing director for Estratti Piante Officinali (EPO).

Among the top concerns is mental health, where the natural decline of cognitive performance during aging is one possible factor for age-related memory decline, explains Alice Olufeso, product manager food and health, Mibelle Group Biochemistry.

Cognitive health is an ever-increasing concern for consumers and expected to be a focus for future supplement development. Trending demands
“Today, being old doesn’t automatically mean illness and inactivity, so the ability to continue normal activities when aging is a top concern for consumers over 55 years old,” Sentko says.

As a result, consumers are putting even more focus on prevention through an active lifestyle and balanced diet. This is now considered more important than treatment, with almost seven in ten over 65 year-olds saying they actively take steps to make their nutrition more healthy, she adds.

“Further concerns include the visually noticeable changes of the body, such as the increase of wrinkles on the skin and loss of hair. Consumers are looking for solutions to improve these signs of aging and they see taking supplements as one possible option to fight against it. Consumers look for safe and trust-worthy products and are today more than ever interested in the sourcing of the plant, the scientific proof and story behind the actives,” Olefuso adds.

Long says that more and more people are making an effort to educate themselves about what goes into their food or the use of dietary supplements and understand the benefits of preventing rather than curing diseases. 

“People over 50, or the so-called ‘Healthy Agers,’ are an important target group who are willing to make changes to their lifestyle in order to remain fit and healthy. They want to improve and extend their healthspan – the portion of our life during which we are generally in good health.” 

She explains that the top health concerns among these individuals are age-related issues such as mental agility, the ability to maintain an active lifestyle, good vision, heart health and bone strength. 

Ingredient spotlight
Within the healthy aging space, the most popular botanicals are antioxidants and depurative herbs, which include some evergreen extracts to retard the internal clock even further, according to EPO’s Nicotra.

In addition, extracts for prostate health and sexual dysfunctions are also trending because aging men wish to recapture the strength, vitality and sexual performance of their youth, she says.

“Metabolism boosters and extracts to improve lipid, cholesterol and carbohydrate homeostasis are also popular due to the physiologic slowing down of the body’s metabolism. Lastly, immune system boosters are trending, as there is a well-known tendency for immune senescence that causes more infections and immune-related ailments in the elderly people.” 

Ingredients that cater to immune health are trending currently, in part due to the pandemic. Violetta Insolia, Ph.D., scientific project and marketing specialist for EPO, says that the company’s has lately been focusing on the improvement of the best agronomic techniques to increase the yields of active compounds. 

This includes, for instance, the development of agricultural practices in mountain areas and the sustainability of the whole supply chain, to guarantee botanical extracts with the richest and safest phytocomplex. 

Immunity and gut-health trends
Beneo’s Sentko says that data across all regions of the world are highlighting the risk for severe progression if infected by COVID-19, with the chance of dying increasing by age. 

The reasons for this are certainly manifold. However, one should not forget that aging means the strength of the body’s inner defense forces, such as the immune system response and gut barrier, is weakening, she explains.

Also, blood management is often out of balance, with high blood glucose levels (i.e., metabolic syndrome, pre-diabetes, Type 2 diabetes and being overweight or obese affecting a significant part of the older population as well. 

“Consumers are already well-aware that the gut impacts the immune system as part of the wider mega-trend for digestive health and well-being. This explains why such a large majority of the global population already associates prebiotics with immune health.”

“However, the microbiota in the gut changes through age if not counteracted by eating gut-friendly enriched foods or drinks. In fact, 70 percent of our inner defense system is located in the gut.”

“It’s only logical to support our gut microbiome with the food it loves – prebiotics.As a result, there’s already a growing interest in ingredients that can support gut and immune health such as Beneo’s prebiotic chicory root fibers,” she highlights.

People over 50 are willing to make changes to its lifestyle to remain fit and healthy. 

A large market for immunity
Mibelle’s Olufeso sees an increase in demand for naturally sourced active ingredients, especially botanicals with their own clinical data within the area of immunity, mental health and beauty. 

“We are looking for unique plants or mechanisms and run our own human studies to demonstrate their efficacy. Our Timut Pepper extract called SaraPEPP Nu is a good example.”

“It has been specially developed to improve cognitive function, has its own clinical data where we were able to show in a clinical study a significant improvement on various cognitive parameters in healthy, mid-aged people,” Olefuso notes.

She adds that the company expects a continuous increase in demand for cognitive health products, as well as for beauty-related ones. 

Ingredients that cater to immune health, such as vitamin D3, are trending currently, in part due to the pandemic. But consumers also want to go beyond the standard solutions and are looking for more innovative solutions to fit their evolving preferences and lifestyle, says BASF’s Goh.

Future trends
“There will be more natural ingredients arising to improve our overall health and immune system, differentiating themselves by different modes of action impacting our health. We think that with the current uprising trend of less synthetic and more natural, natural ingredients from sustainable sourcing, GMO-free, safe and vegan will be in higher demand in the future,” Olefuso concludes.

Digital consumption is on the rise and consumers are concerned about the impact of spending too much time in front of their devices, says Goh.

“Hence, eye health is of increasing concern to these consumers – both for themselves and their family members, and health solutions containing ingredients like lutein are being sought to minimize the negative health impact as a result of increased screen time.”

By Kristiana Lalou