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Saying No to Meat. What’s Behind the Rising Interest in Plant-Based Protein?

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With names like Impossible Foods, Beyond Meat and Memphis Meat, there is a new breed of food companies emerging that is focused on creating meat alternatives to meet consumers’ increasing interest in adding more protein to their diet. We might regard Carl’s Jr.’s partnership with Beyond Meat to produce a meatless version of its classic Famous Star burger and White Castle’s offering of Impossible Sliders as a harbinger of innovation in fast food burgers. Impossible Slider burgers (developed by Impossible Foods) are described as plant-based patties “that look, taste and ‘bleed’ just like real meat.” Real meat indeed.

Today’s consumers increasingly prefer meals that are healthier and better for the environment. More consumers than ever are experimenting with their diet and are trying various approaches to eating — many of them involving plant-based foods.

Consumer interest in plant-based foods has been gaining momentum for several years. Our own Diners’ Changing Behaviors report in 2015 found almost one-fifth (18%) of consumers said they were ordering more plant-based foods than before when dining out.

What’s driving consumers toward plant-based proteins? The rise in consumer demand for meat analogs is being driven by three dynamic trends in food culture today: health and wellness, sustainability and culinary engagement.

Health and Wellness. Consumers are expressing greater interest in enhanced mind/body functionality by replacing refined carbohydrates with a wide range of proteins and fat-rich foods. They are also looking for a greater diversity of nutrient sources in their diets while expressing concerns relating to the perceived health impacts of industrially processed red meat, notably chemicals (e.g., antibiotics, hormones).

Sustainability. Sustainability is playing a role in the demand for meat substitutes; namely, in desires to promote animal welfare coupled with a growing awareness of the ecological impacts of meat-eating. Underscoring such thinking, our Sustainability 2017 report finds that 71% of consumers say that when making purchase decisions, “It is important that companies avoid inhumane treatment of animals.”

Culinary Engagement. As consumers broaden their culinary engagement through new food and beverage experiences, meat substitutes are proving fertile territory for experimentation and novelty in their diets. Culinary engagement is also creating greater exposure to and interest in vegetable-focused cuisines and traditions.

Consumers today are trying to manage their diets by avoiding “harmful” ingredients while increasing the intake of plant-based foods. Our Health + Wellness 2017 report finds that consumers are seeking plant-based ingredients like fiber, and an array of plant-based products can help with their protein priorities. Among the ingredients consumers are adding to their diet, they continue to look to fiber (63%), protein (60%), vitamin D (59%), whole grains (58%) and nuts and seeds (57%) to help them feel full — with a sense of sustained energy — throughout the day.

Meat Alternatives Continue to Improve, Proliferate and Perform

Although consumers in the U.S. still eat a great deal of meat, dollar-sales growth of meat alternatives has bested animal-based protein for several years. Hartman Group’s analysis of Euromonitor data finds that retail sales for “meat substitutes” in 2018 were $1.4 billion, with a CAGR of 21% in the period 2015 to 2018. This growth occurs even though mainstream consumers are just getting their bearings in the category.

Conventional grocery shoppers, for example, are most likely to navigate the category by format and brand rather than protein source. This behavior is driven in part by meat substitute brands rarely stating protein sources clearly on the front of the pack. Instead, consumers are more likely to find:

  • Packaging and ingredient labels that offer general language, like “plant-based protein.”
  • An emphasis on the amount of protein, rather than its source.
  • Emphasis on what the product is free from (e.g., animal products, soy, gluten, GMOs), rather than what it is.

Such marketing certainly doesn’t seem to be impeding growth in meat analog sales (nor consumer interest), and we anticipate that buying by format and brand will change as consumers become more familiar with the category and protein sources used. Going forward, in parallel with growth in demand for plant-based alternatives in other protein categories, such as dairy, we see that:

  • Consumer interest in meat analogs is likely to continue to grow.
  • At present, it is likely that knowledge of which meat analogs contain which protein is weak among mainstream consumers or light users of the category.
  • When conscious of their protein choice, consumers are weighing up a range of different considerations, including their experience of the product, accessibility of the product and attitudes around health and wellness, sustainability and culinary engagement.
  • Protein choices are therefore likely to be highly influenced by consumer engagement with health and wellness and sustainability.

Source: www.hartman-group.com

HYPOTHRYOIDISM: A reader asked if there is any medication out there suitable for vegans?

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There are a number of different causes of hypothyroidism. Depending on your specific condition, certain medications may or may not be appropriate. We cannot recommend specific medications. We have not evaluated ingredients that are used in medication so cannot say with confidence whether or not a product is vegan.

A starting place, if you are trying to make decisions about medications, is to discuss options with your physician. Once you have a list of medications, websites like PDR – Prescribers’ Digital Reference can help you identify ingredients. You can also search online for specific medication names and the company that makes them. You can contact the company for more information. Your pharmacist may also be able to help with this research.

As an example of how you could approach this, suppose your provider told you that medications to treat hypothyroidism include Levoxyl and Synthroid. Products containing thyroid hormone from pigs are occasionally used but these have largely been replaced by synthetic hormones such as those in Levoxyl and Synthroid.

According to the company’s website, “The active ingredient in LEVOXYL (levothyroxine sodium) is a synthetic hormone that is identical to the thyroxine hormone naturally made by the thyroid gland.”

According to the PDR, Synthroid’s ingredients include lactose monohydrate (http://www.pdr.net/full-prescribing-information/Synthroid-levothyroxine-sodium-26). According to the company’s website, Levoxyl does not have lactose as an ingredient (http://labeling.pfizer.com/ShowLabeling.aspx?id=688). This is an obvious difference but we can’t say for certain whether or not either of these products contains animal ingredients. We also don’t know whether or not animal testing was used in their development.

The recent book, Even Vegans Die, offers some advice about medications. “It is also not practical to refuse medications that you need when no alternative exists. There are times when the only choice is a non-vegan choice. We work toward a world where there are alternatives to all products that involve animal use. But that world does not yet exist.”

Please discuss your specific needs and concerns with your physician.

The contents of this posting, our website and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

Source: The VRG Blog Editor

New technology better controls type 1 diabetes

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More than 1 million children and adults in the United States have type 1 diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) note that about 5%Trusted Source of all people who have diabetes have type 1.

Type 1 diabetes can significantly impact a person’s life, as people need to monitor their blood sugar levels regularly to ensure they do not become dangerously high or low.

Currently, people with type 1 diabetes measure their blood sugar levels by pricking a finger several times a day or wearing a glucose monitor. Depending on the measurements, they may have to administer insulin using an injection or insulin pump.

But a new form of technology trialed recently and showcased in the New England Journal of Medicine could replace these conventional methods.

Automatic insulin
The trial looked at a particular type of artificial pancreas, or closed-loop control. These devices continuously monitor and regulate blood glucose levels. When the monitor detects that a person needs insulin, a pump releases the hormone into the body.

The trial involved the use of the Control-IQ system — a new type of artificial pancreas that uses algorithms to adjust insulin doses automatically throughout the day.

“By making management of type 1 diabetes easier and more precise, this technology could reduce the daily burden of this disease, while also potentially reducing diabetes complications, including eye, nerve, and kidney diseases,” says Dr. Griffin P. Rodgers, director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).

The 6-month trial is part of a much larger research initiative known as the International Diabetes Closed-Loop (iDCL) Study, which involves the testing of several artificial pancreas systems to determine a variety of factors, such as safety, effectiveness, and user-friendliness.

The trial recruited 168 people with type 1 diabetes and with a minimum age of 14.

The researchers assigned over 100 people to use the Control-IQ system, while 56 people formed a control group that used sensor-augmented pump (SAP) therapy. This therapy does not alter insulin doses automatically.

Researchers wanted to replicate day-to-day life, so they did not monitor the systems remotely. Participants did, however, contact researchers every few weeks to check data from the device.

24-hour control
The researchers were interested in the amount of time that blood glucose levels reached a target range of 70 to 180 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl).

The results showed that the blood sugar levels of the people who used the Control-IQ system were in the target range for an average of 2.6 hours per day longer than previously. Those using the SAP therapy saw no notable change throughout the trial.

Vitally, the system also improved the participants’ blood glucose control overnight as well as during the day. This is a crucial advancement for people whose levels drop significantly when asleep.

None of the groups experienced severe cases of hypoglycemia ⁠— when blood sugar levels become very low.

One participant using the artificial pancreas system developed diabetic ketoacidosis, which is a shortage of insulin. However, this was due to an equipment issue.

Reducing the burden
According to Dr. Guillermo Arreaza-Rubín, the study’s program scientist and director of NIDDK’s Diabetes Technology Program, these findings indicate that this system “has the potential to improve the health of people living with type 1 diabetes, while also potentially lifting much of the burden of care from those with the disease and their caregivers.”

Boris Kovatchev, Ph.D., director of the UVA Center for Diabetes Technology, says the technology’s glucose control is “beyond what is achievable using traditional methods.”

The team has submitted the results of the trial to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). They are waiting to find out whether the device can go to market.

Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com

How we learn things shapes our memory

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As humans, we have not only survived, but thrived throughout time thanks to our ability to learn and adapt to new situations.

Learning itself is a complex process, and there are different types of learning mechanisms through which the brain stores new information and updates old information.

In general terms, there are two ways of learning that humans use to acquire new information in the long term.

One is by association, or through experience. This is when we learn new things incidentally, just because we happened to come across them, or because we are in a new environment that we are learning to navigate little by little.

The other one is learning by reinforcement. This is when we purposefully set out to learn new information — when we take a language course, for example.

A new study conducted by researchers from the Department of Experimental Psychology, the Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, and the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences — all in Oxford, United Kingdom — indicates that different learning mechanisms have links to memories stored in different parts of the brain.

The researchers add that not only do we store information differently depending on how we acquire it, but that it may be more or less easy for us to lose or change this information for the same reason.

The researchers report their observations in a study paper that appears in the journal Nature Communications.

The implications of the current findings
For this study, the research team recruited 27 participants aged 19–35 and used the data of 26 of these participants for analysis.

The participants agreed to take part in MRI scans while they completed learning tasks that offered a reward. During the MRIs, the investigators paid attention to any changes taking place in brain regions associated with learning.

Following these observations, the researchers found that different modes of learning — incidental versus goal-oriented — activated different neural pathways in the brains of the participants.

“We know that humans can learn in different ways,” says first author Miriam Klein-Flügge. “Sometimes we learn simply by observing relationships in the world, such as learning the layout of a new town, or relationships between people,” she adds.

“But another way to learn is by setting particular goals, like children learning to operate toys by trial and error.”

Klein-Flügge continues, “This research shows that we have multiple networks in the brain that help us store learned knowledge or associations, which means that damage to one part of the brain will still leave alternative mechanisms available for learning.”

The researchers also explain that the findings indicate that the brain can store information learned through reinforcement for a long time, while other types of information remain more available for updates.

“We also learned that some of this knowledge is very persistent, and the brain does not forget about it even when it becomes irrelevant, while knowledge acquired through an alternative learning mechanism is more flexible and can more easily be changed to new knowledge,” notes Klein-Flügge.

When it comes to unlearning or forgetting information, the researchers also note that information acquired incidentally through associations is easier to discard than information acquired through goal-oriented learning.

“It is well known that it is good for our brains to continue to learn new things throughout life, which is why understanding the different ways in which we learn and store knowledge could be beneficial and help each of us to find out which way of learning suits us best.”
Miriam Klein-Flugge

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Fact checked by Paula Field
Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com

Bucking the Trend: Preventing Childhood Obesity

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We’ve all heard about it – the number of U.S. children classified as obese has increased dramatically over the past 30 years. In the 1970’s, only around 1 in 20 children were classified as obese, whereas the most recent surveys show this proportion has tripled.1 Obese children are at higher risk for a whole host of problems that were once thought to only affect adults, such as type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and heart disease. These scary statistics mean families need to be aware of the factors that contribute to childhood obesity so they can encourage healthy habits and growth patterns early on.

Vegetarian families have a head start on preventing childhood obesity, as research shows vegetarian children and adults tend to be leaner than their non-vegetarian peers. In fact, in a position statement released July 2009, the American Dietetic Association (ADA) concluded appropriately planned vegetarian diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may prevent and treat certain conditions, such as heart disease, obesity, hypertension, type II diabetes, and cancer.2 However, the development of childhood obesity is complex and does not arise from only one or two behaviors (for example, drinking soda or watching television), but from a great many factors that occur throughout a child’s development. Thus, although the ADA’s statement suggests a vegetarian diet is a great first step towards preventing childhood obesity, there are even more steps that can be taken to further reduce the risk of childhood obesity.

Obesity develops when too many calories are consumed relative to the amount of calories used, which can happen regardless of whether children are eating a vegetarian or a non-vegetarian diet. There are contributors to childhood obesity at each developmental period. By being aware of how actions and choices can contribute to childhood obesity, families can be ready to make as many of the best choices as possible.

Pregnancy
An incredible amount of growth and development occurs in the womb, so this is a prime time to give children a healthy start! There are several steps pregnant women can take to decrease their unborn children’s risk for obesity later in life. The main focus of research in this area has been on factors that influence infants’ birth weights because infants born too small or too large have an increased risk for obesity later in life. Very low protein diets increase the risk of having a baby with a low birth weight, while diets that are very high in carbohydrate or in fat can lead to a very large baby. Additionally, children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy or who were overweight before or during pregnancy are at increased risk for obesity. Pregnant women, or women planning to become pregnant soon, can work with registered dietitians to create vegetarian eating plans that ensure adequate amounts of calories, fat, protein, vitamins, and minerals. For more information about vegan diets during pregnancy, see http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/veganpregnancy.php

Infancy
Much research has shown that children who were breastfed during infancy have a lower risk of being obese. We are still trying to understand exactly why this is, but it is probably because the unique ratio of nutrients in and properties of breast milk help infants gain and maintain an appropriate amount of weight during infancy and later in childhood. Breast-feeding may also help preserve infants’ natural ability to feed in response to hunger and fullness. Specifically, the visual cues afforded by bottle-feeding (e.g., the amount of formula in a bottle) may make it tempting for parents to encourage their infant to finish the bottle, regardless of whether the infant is hungry for the whole bottle or needs that much formula. Because breast-feeding parents do not have these same visual cues, they may be more attentive to the infant’s expressions indicating fullness and better able to trust their infant’s ability to self-regulate intake in response to need.

Another benefit of breastfeeding is that flavors from the mothers’ diet are passed to the infant through breast milk (for example, if a lactating mother eats a garlicky meal, her infant will receive garlicky milk). Although this may sound strange, this experience is actually very important for infants to learn about the flavors and foods their families eat and helps infants be more accepting of commonly rejected foods, like vegetables, during the introduction of solids. Getting young children to accept healthy foods can be one of parents’ and caregivers’ biggest challenges during infancy and toddlerhood; by breastfeeding and eating a wide variety of flavors and foods during lactation mothers can help children be more accepting of healthy foods, and maintain healthy weight gain patterns during infancy and later childhood.

Childhood and Adolescence

Portion Sizes
The average portion size of foods offered in most stores and restaurants has increased over the past few decades. For example, 20 years ago the average bagel had a 3-inch diameter and contained 140 calories whereas today’s average bagel has a 6-inch diameter and contains 350 calories. Both children and adults tend to eat more when served a larger portion of food, regardless of how hungry they are or how many calories they need. Educate yourself and your children about what portion sizes are appropriate; the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Guide Pyramid’s website it a great place to start (www.mypyramid.gov). Additionally, check out http://www.bcm.edu/news/packages/visualcues.cfm to learn some easy tricks for estimating appropriate portion sizes for many typical foods (for example, a serving of raisins is ¼ cup, which is about the size of a golf ball). You and your children can even make a game out of coming up with visual cues for portion sizes for your family’s favorite foods.

Food Away from Home
In addition to coming in larger-than-necessary portions, restaurant foods, and fast foods in particular, also tend to be higher in calories, fat, salt, and sugar, and lower in fiber, than foods prepared at home. This means that even if your children eat a smaller portion of these foods, they still may be eating more calories than they need. If your family’s schedule makes taking the time to prepare meals at home difficult, take advantage of the increasing number of ready-prepared foods at your local grocery store. You can throw together a quick, healthy, and satisfying meal in minutes by purchasing pre-washed, bagged salad greens; pre-cut vegetables in steamer bags; marinated tofu; and quick-cooking grains. Additionally, as your children grow older and take more control over their food choices, help them to recognize healthy choices at their favorite eateries. The Vegetarian Resource Group’s online restaurant guide (http://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.htm) has some great suggestions for vegetarian-friendly restaurants and the USDA has a variety of resources to help you and your children make healthy choices when eating out (http://fnic.nal.usda.gov/nal_display/index.php?info_center=4&tax_level=3&tax_subject=358&topic_id=1611&level3_id=5972&level4_id=0&level5_id=0&placement_default=0). Note that not all of the USDA’s suggestions are geared to vegetarians.

Sweetened Beverages
The term ‘sweetened beverages’ is used to describe drinks like regular (non-diet) soda, fruit punch or any fruit juice that is not 100% juice, or sports drinks. Increases in sweetened beverage consumption have been associated with increases in obesity. The high-fructose corn syrup that sweetens most of these beverages may contribute to excess weight gain. Additionally, children who drink more sweetened beverages tend to drink fewer healthier beverages. Encourage your children to drink water, fortified soy milk, low-fat or fat-free milk, or 100% fruit juice instead of sweetened beverage (note that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends limiting even 100% fruit juice consumption to 4 to 6 oz/day for children aged 1 to 6 years, and 8 to 12 oz/day for children aged 7 to 18 years3).

Physical Activity
Regular physical activity is important for helping children stay fit and maintain a healthy growth rate. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends children get 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (that is, activity that ‘works up a sweat’) every day. Unfortunately, many schools do not offer recess or physical education, or only offer PE a few days a week. Thus, it is up to you to encourage your children to engage in some sort of physical activity after school and on the weekends. Structured sports programs are a great way to keep children active, but unstructured activities like jump rope, hopscotch, riding bikes, skating, walking the dog, marching band, dancing, climbing or even active games like Wii or Dance Dance Revolution, all fit within what the CDC considers moderate to vigorous physical activity. Even better, engage the whole family in regular physical activity by planning active family time. Create a habit of taking a walk together after dinner or going for hikes in your local parks on the weekend. Play active games with your children and be a good role model by being open-minded about and enjoying active endeavors. Active family time will both help your family bond and improve your family’s health.

Screen Time and Sedentary Behavior
With all of the new technologies available, children are spending an increasing amount of time in front of televisions, computers, or video games, and less time being physically active. Time in front of TV and computer screens has been shown to promote childhood obesity in several different ways: (1) children are less active (in fact, one study found children’s metabolisms are actually lower when watching TV than when resting!); (2) children are influenced by the food advertisements that occur during commercials that are predominantly for foods high in fat, salt and sugar; and (3) children who eat in front of the TV are more likely to snack on more energy-dense snack foods, leading them to eat more calories throughout the day. Additionally, because it is easy to “zone out” while in front of a TV or computer, studies have shown that eating in front of a TV or computer screen may lead both children and adults to eat mindlessly, or to eat more than they intend or need because they were distracted from their hunger and fullness cues. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends limiting children’s television, computer, and video game time to less than 2 hours per day. Also, encourage your children to separate eating and screen time to help them avoid mindless eating.

Sleep
Children who sleep less than the amount recommended for their age group are more likely to be overweight. Sleep deprivation seems to lead to increased hunger, as well as cravings for foods high in fat and sugar, which can lead to overeating and obesity. Be familiar with how much sleep your children need and encourage them to meet sleep recommendations on most nights.

Parents’ Feeding Practices
Feeding practices are the choices you make about which foods you offer; when, how frequently, and how much food you offer; and how you interact with your children over food. You can help your children develop healthy food preferences and eating behaviors by employing feeding practices that are patient, positive, and attentive to your children’s hunger and fullness levels. Here’s how:

With respect to the foods you offer: make a wide array of healthy foods readily available in your home. Keep pre-cut and -washed fruits and vegetables in the fridge or on the counter and encourage your children to choose them when they are hungry for a snack. Plan meals that include a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and plant-based protein sources.

With respect to when, how frequently, and how much food you offer: set structured meal- and snack-times for your family, and try to eat together as often as possible. Family mealtimes are a great opportunity to interact with your children and teach them about wholesome foods, healthy eating behaviors, and appropriate table manners. Additionally, be aware of the portion sizes you serve (see the Portion Size section above) and allow your children to eat in response to their hunger and fullness levels. Try not to restrict your children’s intakes or pressure them to eat, as these types of feeding practices can inadvertently teach children to eat in the absence of hunger, leading to habitual over-consumption and excess weight gain. Talk to your children about whether they are hungry or full and help them learn to pay attention to and eat in response to these feelings.

With respect to interacting with your children about food, keep mealtimes positive and fun. Adopt the attitude that feeding responsibilities should be shared between parents and children: parents get to decide when, where, and what to eat, while children get to decide how much to eat.

Parents as Role Models
Parents provide their children with both genes and environments. Thus, overweight parents have a higher risk for having overweight children than normal weight parents because these parents may pass on genes that predispose their children to be overweight, as well as lifestyle patterns and habits that also contribute to overweight. You can’t change your genes, but you CAN change your lifestyle patterns and habits! Adopt a ‘do as I do’ not ‘do as I say’ motto with your children by maintaining healthy dietary, physical activity, and sleep patterns as a family.

Summary: 10 Tips for Preventing Childhood Obesity in your Family

  1. Give your child the best start by maintaining a healthy diet and weight during pregnancy; consult with a registered dietitian to make sure your pregnancy diet meets all requirements for calories, fat, carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, and minerals.
  2. Breast-feed to promote healthy growth, responsiveness to hunger and fullness cues, and acceptance of a broad array of healthful solid foods for your infant.
  3. Educate yourself and your children about what portion sizes are appropriate for their specific nutritional needs. Serve these portions sizes on a regular basis.
  4. Strive to cook balanced meals at home; if this is not possible, educate yourself about the healthiest fast-food and food away from home options.
  5. Encourage your children to drink water, low-fat or fat-free milk, soy milk, or 100% fruit juice instead of soda.
  6. Get your family moving! Encourage your children to get 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity most days of the week by making exercise a family affair.
  7. Limit screen time (television, computer and video games) to no more than 2 hours per day.
  8. Be familiar with how much sleep your children need and encourage them to meet sleep recommendations on most nights.
  9. Practice responsive feeding by recognizing your children’s levels of hunger and fullness, setting limits, and sharing feeding responsibilities with children.
  10. Adopt a “do as I do” not “do as I say” attitude; model healthy eating and physical activity behaviors for your child.

1 Hedley, A.A. et al., Prevalence of overweight and obesity among US children, adolescents, and adults, 1999-2002. JAMA 2004. 291:2847-2850.

2 Craig WJ, Mangels AR. Position of the American Dietetic Association: Vegetarian Diets. J Am Diet Assoc. 2009;109:1266-1282.

3 American Academy of Pediatric. The use and misuse of fruit juice in pediatrics. Pediatrics 2001;107:1210-1213.

Source: www.vrg.org

Common drugs may alter gut bacteria and increase health risks

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Prescription drugs help treat diseases, ease infections, and manage the symptoms of certain chronic health conditions.

However, they can sometimes bring side effects, ranging in severity. Doctors and researchers are not always aware of all the possible adverse outcomes.

A new study from the University Medical Center Groningen and the Maastricht University Medical Center, both in the Netherlands, has found evidence to suggest that many common drugs — from antibiotics to antidepressants — have a significant impact on the gut microbiome. They can even disrupt the delicate balance of bacterial populations.

This, the researchers say, could increase a person’s risk of developing intestinal infections and other health problems, including obesity and antimicrobial resistance.

The research — which the team presented yesterday at the United European Gastroenterology Week in Barcelona, Spain — investigated the effect of 41 common types of prescription drugs.

To do so, they collected and analyzed 1,883 fecal samples from people who had either inflammatory bowel disease or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and from a group of healthy control participants.

18 common drugs impact the gut
The researchers compared the results of people who took prescription drugs with those of people who did not. They also looked at the effects of individual medications versus combinations of drugs.

They found that 18 common drug categories have an important impact on the bacterial composition of the gut microbiome, which could lead to undesired consequences for health. Such consequences could include intestinal infections, obesity, and various conditions linked to gut health.

Eight of these categories seemed to increase resistance to antimicrobial drugs.

Also, four drug categories appeared to have the strongest impact on bacterial balance in the gut. These were:

  • proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), which reduce the production of stomach acid
  • metformin, which helps people manage the symptoms of type 2 diabetes
  • antibiotics, which fight bacterial infections
  • laxatives, which help treat constipation

The analyses revealed that people who took PPIs had more upper gastrointestinal tract bacteria, and that their bodies produced more fatty acid. Meanwhile, those who took metformin had higher levels of Escherichia coli, a bacterium that can cause diarrhea and urinary tract infections.

Also, a class of antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors was associated with increased levels of Eubacterium ramulus — another potentially harmful bacterium — in people with IBS.

Meanwhile, oral steroids were associated with higher levels of methane-producing bacteria, which could contribute to weight gain and obesity.

“We already know that the efficiency and the toxicity of certain drugs are influenced by the bacterial composition of the gastrointestinal tract, and that the gut microbiota has been related to multiple health conditions,” says lead researcher Arnau Vich Vila.

“[T]herefore, it is crucial to understand which are the consequences of medication use in the gut microbiome,” he adds.

Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com
By Maria Cohut, Ph.D.
Fact checked by Jasmin Collier

Celiac disease: New treatment shows promise in trial

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Celiac disease is an autoimmune condition affecting 1 in 141 people in the United States, and up to 1% of the world’s population.

In celiac disease, foods that contain gluten trigger damage to the small intestine. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. As a result, foods such as bread, pasta, cookies, and cakes contain gluten, as do other prepackaged foods, cosmetics, toothpaste, and food supplements.

In celiac disease, gluten triggers the body’s immune system to overreact and cause inflammation. New research, however, hopes to induce immune tolerance to gluten in people with celiac disease.

Stephen Miller, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, IL, together with his team, spent years developing a technology that enables people with celiac disease to consume gluten without causing as much inflammation.

The technology involves biodegradable nanoparticles that “teach” the immune system to tolerate gluten. The researchers hope that they can transfer this technology to other similar autoimmune conditions or allergies, such as multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, peanut allergy, or asthma.

Prof. Miller and colleagues presented their findings at the United European Gastroenterology Week conference, which took place in Barcelona, Spain.

Treatment slashes immune reaction by 90%
The technology involves a biodegradable nanoparticle that “hides” gliadin — the main compound in gluten — in a shell, “tricking” the immune system into not realizing that it contains gluten.

“The vacuum cleaner cell presents the allergen or antigen to the immune system in a way that says, ‘No worries, this belongs here,'” explains Prof. Miller. “The immune system then shuts down its attack on the allergen; the immune system is reset to normal.”

At the conference, the presenter explained how the trial worked. It involved giving a group of participants the COUR nanoparticle CNP-101, then asking them to eat gluten for 14 days.

Participants who had not taken the nanoparticles developed immune inflammatory responses to gluten and markers of small intestine damage.

By contrast, people who took the nanoparticle showed an immune response that was 90% lower than those who did not receive the treatment. As the treatment stopped the inflammatory reaction, the gluten did not damage the small intestine.

Prof. Miller emphasizes the significance of the findings, considering that there is currently no treatment for celiac disease. “Doctors can only prescribe gluten avoidance, which is not always effective and carries a heavy social and economic toll for celiac patients,” he says.

“We have also shown that we can encapsulate myelin into the nanoparticle to induce tolerance to that substance in multiple sclerosis models, or put a protein from pancreatic beta cells to induce tolerance to insulin in type 1 diabetes models,” he continues.

Dr. Ciaran Kelly, who is a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of the Celiac Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, both in Boston, also comments on the significance of the findings. He notes that “celiac disease is unlike many other autoimmune disorders because the offending antigen (environmental trigger) is well known — gluten in the diet.”

“This makes celiac disease a perfect condition to address using this exciting nanoparticle-induced immune tolerance approach.”

Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com

The Global Organic Snacks Market size is expected to reach $23.7 billion by 2025,

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Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report “Global Organic Snacks Market (2019-2025)” – https://www.reportlinker.com/p05807157/?utm_source=GNW

The organic snack foods are packaged and made to be portable, nutritious, healthy, and satisfying by the taste. The rapid market growth of organic snacks can be largely attributed to the increasing health awareness among the people. The young population is now more cautious while consuming organic foods that are beneficial for the body. This cautious behavior is rising because of the use of pesticides, GMOs, and chemicals in the food harvest. The reason being, it raises health concerns, and since consumers in emerging economies have higher spending power, people become more selective about what they consume as food. This trend has further led to the escalating adoption of organic snacks and has observed an extensive acceptance of organic snacks across the metropolitan cities and tier 2 and tier 3 cities.

The young population is now more cautious while consuming organic foods that are beneficial for the body. This cautious behavior is rising because of the use of pesticides, GMOs, and chemicals in the food harvest. The reason being, it raises health concerns, and since consumers in emerging economies have higher spending power, people become more selective about what they consume as food.

Based on Product Type, the market is segmented into Nutrition Bars, Candy, Salty Snacks, Nuts and Others. Based on Distribution Channel, the market is segmented into Retail Stores, Super Market/ Hyper Market, Online and Others. Based on Age Group, the market is segmented into Millennial, Generation X and Baby Boomers. Based on Regions, the market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America, Middle East & Africa.

The market research report covers the analysis of key stakeholders of the market. Key companies profiled in the report include SunOpta, Inc., YummyEarth, Inc., General Mills, Inc., Navitas Organics, Hormel Foods Corporation, Campbell Soup Company, The Kraft Heinz Company, Kewpie Corporation, The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. and United Natural Foods, Inc.

Scope of the Study

Market Segmentation
By Product Type

• Nutrition Bars

• Candy

• Salty Snacks

• Nuts

• Others

By Distribution Channel

• Retail Stores

• Super Market/ Hyper Market

• Online

By Age Group

• Millennial

• Generation X

• Baby Boomers

By Geography

• North America

o US

o Canada

o Mexico

o Rest of North America

• Europe

o Germany

o UK

o France

o Russia

o Spain

o Italy

o Rest of Europe

• Asia Pacific

o China

o Japan

o India

o South Korea

o Singapore

o Malaysia

o Rest of Asia Pacific

• LAMEA

o Brazil

o Argentina

o UAE

o Saudi Arabia

o South Africa

o Nigeria

o Rest of LAMEA

Companies Profiled

• SunOpta, Inc.

• YummyEarth, Inc.

• General Mills, Inc.

• Navitas Organics

• Hormel Foods Corporation

• Campbell Soup Company

• The Kraft Heinz Company

• Kewpie Corporation

• The Hain Celestial Group, Inc.

• United Natural Foods, Inc.

Unique Offerings

• Exhaustive coverage

• Highest number of market tables and figures

• Subscription based model available

• Guaranteed best price

• Assured post sales research support with 10% customization free
Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05807157/?utm_source=GNW

About Reportlinker
ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need – instantly, in one place.

Source: finance.yahoo.com

Fresh Routes mobile grocer launching in Edmonton on Wednesday

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Starting Wednesday, Fresh Routes will set up at the Clareview Community Recreation Centre every week and sell produce and other grocery items at near wholesale prices.

The organization has plans to expand over the next months to host between six and eight locations on Tuesday and Wednesday of every week.

“We want it to be a place where people get together and shop together in one place where they can have dignified access to food,” said Fresh Routes’ Edmonton lead, Morgan Allen.

The project is likened to a sibling of the University of Alberta Faculty of Extension’s Grocery Run program, which started providing food assistance to families in need in 2016.

In order to expand, it partnered up with Calgary-based Leftovers Foundation, which redirects food headed to the landfill to community services and agencies.

Last summer, Leftovers launched Fresh Routes in Calgary and has since doubled its number of locations to eight per month.

In Edmonton, Fresh Routes will operate year-round by using a refrigerated truck to bring the mobile market to each location.

“We purchase food at wholesale costs, which enables us to sell it at a large discount into the community,” Allen explained, adding that prices are usually between 40 and 60 percent cheaper.

While the group is working with the City to determine which communities would most benefit from the project, Allen said all customers are welcome. As a social enterprise, one of its objectives is to make revenue to support its operations, rather than relying on grants.

She said there was a misconception in Calgary that by shopping at a location, people were taking away from others with higher needs.

“But in fact by shopping at the mobile grocery stores, it’s supporting our operations and helping us to expand to reach even more people who need access, too.”

Wednesday’s launch will happen in Clareview from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

The Community-University Partnership, City of Edmonton, Multicultural Health Brokers Cooperative, Edmonton Community Development Company, Communities United, and Edmonton Community Foundation are also partners on the project.

Source: edmonton.ctvnews.ca

Former PepsiCo, Heinz exec has big plans for plant-based cheese

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Justin Lambeth has been named chief executive officer at Treeline Cheese, a brand of soft french-style and aged plant-based cheese alternatives.

Previously, Mr. Lambeth held leadership roles at PepsiCo, H.J. Heinz Co., and Nabisco. He said Treeline appealed to him because its products capture two overlapping trends: plant-based and clean label.

“The plant-based cheese category is at a tipping point, not too dissimilar to where I think plant-based meat was 10 years ago,” he said. “There’s a lot of people in the space whose product quality and nutrition aren’t good.”

Most plant-based cheese alternatives start with coconut oil, which gives a creamy mouthfeel and allows the product to melt or spread like traditional cheese. The downside of oil-based vegan cheeses is they tend to have a weak nutritional profile and are high in saturated fat, Mr. Lambeth said.

Instead of oil, Treeline starts with cashews, which are ground and cultured with the probiotic Lactobacillus Acidophilus. Label-conscious consumers won’t find any food starches, oils, gums, thickeners or artificial preservatives listed on the package. Instead, the products are made with water, lemon juice, sea salt and natural flavors such as herbs, garlic, scallions, pepper, and chilies.

“The difference is simple ingredients versus artificial ingredients,” Mr. Lambeth said. “We culture our products like other cheeses and yogurts, unlike our competitors. The result is a soy-free, gluten-free product with simple ingredients, really good nutrition, and healthy fats.”

The process draws on traditional cheese-making methods. Treeline’s products are available in more than 3,000 stores nationwide, including Whole Foods Market and Kroger, as well as some regional restaurants. Additionally, Treeline has partnered with the vegetarian meal kit company Purple Carrot.

Mr. Lambeth’s first priority for the company is establishing mainstream distribution. Another focus is on expanding the company’s presence in fast-casual restaurants, schools, and universities.

Treeline launched its first dairy-free cream cheese last year. Before that, however, there wasn’t much product development beyond a handful of line extensions. That is something else Mr. Lambeth wants to change.

“We feel tremendous runway to mainstream our forms and flavors, whether that’s cream cheese or shredded cheese, grated cheese or sliced cheese, whether that’s mozzarella or cheddar or other types of cheese that are popular with flexitarian consumers,” he said. “We’re pivoting, because a lot of companies in this space really gear only toward vegans and not flexitarians. To do that, you have to meet those consumers where they are in their usage.”

Like most plant-based categories, vegan cheese alternatives are growing at double digits, with U.S. sales reaching $160 million last year, up 19% from the year prior, while conventional cheese was flat, according to the Plant-Based Foods Association. Innovation within the category is accelerating, as new brands introduce varieties and forms of dairy-free cheese to keep up with an increasingly competitive landscape. Since 2016, more than 200 companies have entered the North American market.

“I’m not worried about any particular upstart or new entrants,” Mr. Lambeth said. “For me, the category is still wide open for someone to take a real leadership position.”

While value brands claim the biggest share of plant-based cheese sales, Mr. Lambeth said he thinks smaller, premium brands like Treeline are better positioned to sustain long-term growth.

“Premium brands tend to be nut-based and high quality,” he said. “Value brands tend to be oil-based, and their nutrition is bad. I don’t think the future is in the value-oriented side. While they are some of the big brands, around $100 million in sales, I don’t see them growing, and I don’t think they’re on-trend.”

The growing interest in plant-based foods doesn’t necessarily correspond to an increase in vegetarianism or veganism. Many consumers turning to plant-based products don’t follow a strict diet and still consume animal products. To grow, plant-based companies must expand their customer base to include these crossover buyers.

“It’s not just more products in more stores,” Mr. Lambeth said. “It’s also the right product in the right forms at the right price point. Consumers won’t change their behavior to meet you. You have to change your behavior to meet them.”

A big part of Mr. Lambeth’s growth strategy involves in-store execution, which he said is critical to securing Treeline’s place as a leader in plant-based cheese alternatives. This includes a focus on merchandising, pricing, shelving, displays, branding and placement strategy.

“One thing I’ve learned along the way, and I think a lot of people forget this, is that the vast majority of product decisions that consumers try are made in-store,” he said. “It’s not a TV ad. It’s not a coupon. It’s not a digital place. It is literally a consumer in the store discovering your product, picking up your package, looking at it and saying, ‘Hmm, I’m going to try this.’”

Source: www.foodbusinessnews.net

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