Scott Gottlieb’s FDA Will Continue to Push Food Transparency Measures

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With the focus on deregulation by the Trump administration, many food industry experts worried that the newly appointed commissioner of the FDA, Scott Gottlieb, would roll back pending changes to nutrition labels and consumer information. However, at a recent conference, Gottlieb made it clear that the FDA is going to continue to push for food transparency with Nutrition Facts, labeling, and definitions playing a significant role in the agency’s new nutrition innovation strategy.

Improving the Health of Americans Through Food Transparency

At the National Food Policy Conference in Washington, D.C., Gottlieb let everyone know that the nutrition innovation strategy is meant to improve the health of all American regardless of socioeconomic status.

“Our challenge is to help create more healthful choices and foster inovation and competition, and also make these choices more afordable.” – Scott Gottlieb, FDA Commissioner

A study found that 20% of American deaths in 2015 could be attributed to poor dietary factors. Gottlieb made sure to emphasize the importance of research and facts on everything his agency does. He said that clear science-based information is the central pillar of the work we do at the FDA and is essential to helping drive better consumer choices.

Nutrition Facts Labeling Updates

 

Gottlieb indicated that the new Nutrition Facts labeling initiative is of the utmost importance, but he wants to make sure it is right. He wants to roll out the new label with a consumer educational campaign to help the average American better understand how many calories they should be consuming each day.

On top of the new label, he promised to handle the definition of “healthy” and “natural” for labeling. A core definition of “healthy” is critical to help consumers better understand what they are buying. The new definition will consider nutrient content. Consumers also want more clarity on “natural” which has never been defined by the NDA. While Gottlieb did not offer up much on this definition, he did indicate that it will need to be science-based.

Streamlining the Labeling Process for Food Manufacturers

Gottlieb believes the regulatory labeling process is currently too lengthy and time consuming for food manufacturers. He has added to his docked to streamline the labeling process to modern times. He wants it to be easy for consumers to understand the health benefits of a product.

He wants to make it easier for the food companies to clean up their labels. Interestingly, he used vitamins as an example since they typically appear by their chemical name on the ingredient statement. We believe it should stay this way as most of these vitamins do not come from whole food sources and are chemically derived. Our GrandFusion products concentrate these natural vitamins from fruits and vegetables and as a result, allow products to use a much cleaner ingredient statement.

Conclusion on Gottlieb’s Remarks

The FDA is overall in good hands with this Trump appointee. He is committed to pushing forward all of the Obama-era regulations and making decisions on scientific fact. He believes some of the processes in the FDA are archaic and need updating to work faster in today’s environment. It will be interesting to see all the changes that move forward under Scott Gottlieb’s leadership.

Inspired by www.fooddive.com

B-Vitamins and The Best Whole Food Sources

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People who are following a plant-based diet often overlook their intake of B-Vitamins. But while many people focus on protein and calcium, these vitamins are essential as this group has a direct impact on your overall health from your heart, mood, to your digestion. These vitamins are used up for the production of healthy red blood cells, and they are also used to maintain the function of the cardiovascular and nervous system.

Why Is Food Important for Your Daily Dose of B-Vitamins?

B-Vitamins are essential to the body as this group of vitamins is used for the different physiological functions of the body. They are naturally found in food, and they are water-soluble except for Vitamin B-12. Aside from being water-soluble, these vitamins are destroyed by heat, so foods that are overcooked and highly processed contain lower amounts of B-Vitamins.

Foods That Contain High Amounts of B-Vitamins

Eating a nutritious and well-balanced diet is the best way to get your daily dose of B-Vitamins except for Vitamin B-12. Unfortunately, Vitamin B-12 is obtained from bacteria in the soil and the condition of our soil today is getting more impoverished due to intense synthetic agricultural practices. B12 can be found in a few plants and NutriFusion has developed a process to concentrate and stabilize naturally occurring B12, which once believed to be unobtainable in whole food sources. While you can get B Vitamins from eggs, milk, and red meat, plant sources are the best as you can also get other benefits such as antioxidants. Below are significant plant-based, whole food sources of for B-Vitamins.

  • Seeds: Seeds such as chia, flax, sesame, sunflower, amaranth, and pumpkin to name a few are excellent sources of B-Vitamins such as Vitamin B1 (thiamin), Vitamin B2 (riboflavin), Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), and Vitamin B9 (folate).
  • Vegetables: Vegetables such as broccoli, sweet potatoes, leafy greens, leeks, and cauliflower are good sources of folate. Folate is necessary for synthesizing new cells as well as supporting both the immune and nerve functions.
  • Fruits: Fruits like avocados, bananas, dates, and figs are good sources of Vitamin B6 that is necessary for nervous system functions. They are also rich in Vitamin B5, which plays a prominent role in converting food into energy.
  • Beans and legumes: Beans and legumes contain high amounts of B-Vitamins except for Vitamin B12, so you get a lot of benefits eating them. Plus, they also provide high amounts of fiber for proper digestion.
  • Grains: Grains are some of the best sources of B-Vitamins except for Vitamin B12. Eat barley, brown rice, and wheat germ as much as you can to get your daily dose of B-Vitamins.

Is B-Vitamin Deficiency Dangerous?

Contrary to what most people think, a deficiency in B-Vitamins can spell serious health problems such as anemia, constipation, heart problems, brittle nails and hair, lack of appetite, and poor digestion. And since B-Vitamins also affect the mood of individuals, people who lack these essential nutrients may also suffer from depression, fatigue, poor memory, confusion, moodiness, and anxiety. With the many effects of B-Vitamins deficiency, it is important to know which foods great sources are so that you always get your daily dose of this important and highly underrated group of vitamins.

Inspired by www.onegreenplanet.org

GrandFusion Concentrates Plant-Based B-Vitamins For Food Industry

Did you know that NutriFusion developed a process to stabilize and concentrate the naturally occurring vitamins in fruits and vegetables into powder form? With the GrandFusion product line, food and beverage manufacturers can easily add essential micronutrients to their products without impacting the flavor or texture of the end product. Interested in learning more? Download our GrandFusion R&D kit to get started!

Bowery Startup Building World’s Techiest Indoor Farm

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With space becoming limited in urban areas, people are looking for ways to start indoor farms. Vertical farming is popular in urban areas because you can grow food in vertically-inclined surfaces or layers. Buildings and warehouses are being transformed to create vertical indoor farms.

When it comes to vertical farming, startup company Bowery is taking the lead by building a facility that allows people to do indoor vertical farming. The facility will be in Kearny, New Jersey and what makes this facility different is that it will be the most tech-savvy in the world. The company was able to raise $20 million from investors like GGV, General Catalyst, and GV to build its new indoor farm.

The Technology is the Key to Indoor Farm Production

The new facility can grow 30 times more than current indoor farms and it can supply 100 types of leafy greens to its customers. Recently, the company partnered with companies like Foragers and Whole Foods. The company is increasing efficiency by using machine learning, robotics, and predictive analytics to grow food. Bowery has developed a proprietary software system with a robust network to automate the farming practices.

Bowery CEO, Irving Fain, noted that the software is the brains of the farm. It can make small adjustments to changes in water flow, humidity, temperature, and light intensity to grow the best crops. The use of precision-level technology to control the environmental parameters is seldom used in agriculture and the company is keen on being the first to deliver this technology at an unparalleled level.

With this technology, Bowery is able to be 100 times more efficient when it comes to growing food compared to a square-foot of farmland. There is also no downtime as Bowery can grow food all year round and is not at the mercy of the changing seasons. The startup also does not use agri-chemicals like synthetic pesticides and fertilizers to grow food but surprisingly is able to produce higher yields for each crop cycle. This is definitely not doable when implemented out in the open field.

 

Fewer Middlemen Between Food and Consumers

The crops are grown through a system called hydroponics. This “soil-less” system uses substrates such as pebbles and rocks submerged in nutrient-rich waters to grow crops. But while the National Organic Standards Board has voted hydroponics as organic, Bowery is focused on growing post-organic food. The thing is that organic produce still uses pesticides, but Bowery does not use it at all.

This urban vertical farm provides food immediately to the neighborhood. Since the farm is located in the heart of New Jersey, the food produced goes to the local tri-state area. And since the food is grown close to the consumers, there are not so many players that sit between the food and the consumers which keeps the cost of the food down.  If more of these farms are built in the United States, it can provide fresh and healthy foods to all income levels and areas.

Inspired by fortune.com

Vitamin Pills and Supplements Not Helping Most People

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Many people are willing to pop vitamin pills and supplements since they expect them to provide the body with essential vitamins and minerals that the body needs to function correctly. In fact, an article published in the journal JAMA noted that 52% of Americans reported that they take in at least one (1) dietary supplement a day.

While there are so many dietary supplements sold in the market these days, is taking supplements effective? Dr. JoAnn E. Manson, chief of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, seems to think otherwise.

The popularity of supplements is part of the marketing ploy for many companies. Many detractors of vitamin pills and supplements believe that the best way to get the necessary micronutrients into the body is by eating the right kinds of food. A healthy diet is the best way for the body to absorb and get a wide array of nutrients into the body. Below are the few key things that you need to know when it comes to the consumption of synthetic vitamins and supplements.

Don’t Pop Pills, Eat Healthy!

A well-balanced diet is a great way to get essential micronutrients from food. Make sure that your diet is comprised of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean meats, seafood, nuts, and seeds. Not only will you get micronutrients but also fiber, antioxidants, and many other benefits. Make sure that you avoid foods that are highly processed as they are stripped of essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

You Can Overdose on Supplements

Many people believe that taking high doses of supplements such as folic acid, beta-carotene, and Vitamin E is beneficial to the body. However, clinical trials have noted that overdosing on supplements can have harmful side effects such as a stroke. Our bodies are not entirely sure what to do with a synthetic form of a nutrient and can sometimes react to high dosage.

Supplements Do Not Boost Immunity

If you believe that taking supplements can boost your immune system, then think again. So, if you have been popping Vitamin C supplements to ward off the flu, realize your magic supplement will not reduce the risk of developing flu or cold. However, there are some pieces of evidence that Vitamin C can shorten the symptoms of flu but only when taken in as food instead of supplements.

The Importance of Vitamin D

There is a lot of buzz going on about Vitamin D supplements and how it is vital to driving other processes in the body. While, studies have indicated that Vitamin D can reduce the risk for developing cancer, stroke, and heart disease, the consumption of pill supplements is not necessary as you can get 600-800 IU of Vitamin D daily by sunbathing early in the morning. Other natural sources include mushrooms and milk.

Take Supplements If Directly Recommended by a Doctor

While taking vitamins is not recommended for the general population especially those who are usually of good health, those who are in particular life stages or at high risk of developing diseases should consume supplements only if they are required by their physicians. For instance, people who suffer from osteoporosis can benefit from taking 1,000 IUs of Vitamin D but not too much as it can be linked to kidney stones especially if you are taking in calcium.

The conclusion here is to be careful about what supplements you are putting into your body. The best way to get the essential micronutrients you need is to consume them in whole foods. NutriFusion has figured out a way to help supplements companies create better products with whole food vitamins. Our powders concentrate the natural vitamins from fruits and vegetables into a blend that can be easily added to any product. Interested in learning more? Vist our supplements page.

Inspired by www.today.com

Why is Everyone Trying the Whole30 Diet?

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With the start of the year, people are making resolutions on how to stay fit for the entire year. The drive to lose weight at the beginning of the year is usually followed by an increase in sales of healthy foods. One specific company reaping the benefits is Applegate.

Recently, Applegate announced that it would go into a licensing partnership with Whole30 – a type of diet regimen that encourages people to consume only whole food ingredients minus other types of food categories for 30 days. This program is a spinoff to the Paleo Diet and was created by Melissa Hartwig. Touted for its anti-inflammatory benefits, the Whole30 diet became an instant hit among many people who want to lose weight and also correct some of their health problems.

Why Experts Don’t Like the Whole 30 Diet

But while there is a considerable number of followers of the Whole30 Diet, many dieticians are less enthusiastic about it. In fact, it was ranked as 37 out of the 40 diets list in the US News and World Report citing that this particular diet has no independent research, extremely restrictive, and has nonsensical claims. Many health professionals are concerned about the restrictive characteristics of the diet wherein grains, legumes, and dairy are not allowed on this particular diet considering that they are essential to healthy weight loss. Moreover, dieticians also claim that because of the restrictive characteristics of this specific diet regimen, it does not teach good eating habits to people.

Still, Whole30 Diet Remains Popular Today

 

And while many experts are rejecting the Whole30 Diet, this type of rejection is helping boost the popularity of the diet. Thrive Market co-founder, Gunnar Lovelace noted that they partnered with Whole30 because people do not trust where their food comes from anymore. This diet gives certainty, and that makes it appealing to people. With this particular diet regimen, it guides the dieters by creating boundaries that make eating a simpler and straight-forward task.

Many people all over the world have made positive claims about the diet saying that they felt a lot of improvement after following the diet. These include weight loss, stable blood sugar, and blood pressure levels. The Whole30 Diet for many is a way of life as it taught them how to eat mindfully without the need to restrict calories.

The thing is that there are so many diet regimens out there that people can try but what makes the Whole30 Diet very receptive to many dieters out there is that it offers them something novel and innovative that people have never experienced with other diet programs before. While some diets focus on caloric restriction, this diet focuses on the nutrition of the consumers. Fortunately for the Whole30 Diet, many people are savvier about their food choices, and they opt for nutrition first before calories. After all, calories are just calories, but nutrition determines the quality of food that you are eating. And that removes the great confusion in dieting!

Inspired by fortune.com

New Study: Mice Lost Weight and Lowered Cholesterol with Fiber Supplement

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The Holy Grail drug to effective weight loss has yet to be discovered. But recently, a new study conducted by the researchers from the Georgia State University might change the way we will deal with weight loss. The secret? The fermentable fiber inulin.

What did the Study Analyze?

To conduct the study, the researchers fed mice with a supplement containing inulin and observed the progress. After a few weeks, those that consumed the inulin supplements showed reduced metabolic syndrome even when fed with a high-fat diet. Those that were fed with the fiber had decreased weight gain, better cholesterol levels, and a limited spike in their blood sugar levels.

But aside from inulin, there are still other compounds in fiber-rich foods that make them good for the overall gut health. For instance, resistant starch called amylose is found in fiber and has the ability to protect against genetic damage that can lead to colon cancer. It can also help fight against Type 2 diabetes.

A multitude of studies have underestimated the role of dietary fibers in weight loss. But only recently did scientists find out that dietary fibers play a role in the growth of good bacteria in the gut or colon. Studies show that those who consume a high-fiber diet are able to balance their blood sugar level, lower cholesterol levels, lower the risk of heart problems, and have better digestion than those who consume high protein-rich foods.

The role of fiber in maintaining good health has always been touted by many health experts.  But it is only recently that most consumers have started to eat more fiber. In fact, market research indicated that 87% of the consumers consider it to be healthy and 60% of the respondents actively seek products containing more fiber.

Fiber is Growing as an Important Health Claim

 

Food and beverage manufacturers have quickly responded to the demands of the consumer for more products that contain high amounts of fiber. Currently, products like Fiber One ice cream and Activia yogurt contain high amounts of fibers. Other beverage companies have also followed suit and started adding soluble fiber into their beverages.

Aside from the food industry, the trend has also reached government institutions. This is the reason why the US Food and Drug Administration is thinking of releasing a new Nutrition Facts label about putting the measurements of dietary fiber on food products. Unfortunately, the institute has not yet fully defined what counts as dietary fiber.

It is interesting to take note that fiber-rich foods are not only popular among older consumers but also the millennial generation. Younger consumers particularly millennials are consuming high-fiber products because of their touted health benefits. This opened opportunities for companies whose target markets are the millennials and younger consumers to produce products that are rich in fiber.  These include Dannon, General Mills, and Tale & Lyle.

The thing is that consumption of soluble fiber has been found to be very effective in improving not only the weight loss capacity of individuals but also their overall health. Fiber is gaining traction because consumers are getting more conscious about their food choices.

Inspired by www.fooddive.com

Check out our GrandFusion Plus Fiber product to get the benefits of 12 vitamins from fruits and vegetables and a good source of fiber claim.

Personalized Diets: Can Your Genes Really Tell You What to Eat?

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The idea that our genes contain the blueprint for personalized nutrition is the driving force behind personalized nutrition testing. Websites and food companies are currently proliferating such as Nutrigenomix, Profile Precise, and Habit to name a few who provide these personalized services. But, is this true? Well, the answer is not straightforward. But, here are a few details on the idea behind genes and diets.

Personalized Testing Pairs Genes With Nutritional Needs

So, what is personalized testing for? In one article, a writer tried Habit. And the first step in the process is getting tested. You can do it yourself with the use of an at-home test kit for DNA and blood samples. Blood samples are taken twice. The first time is before drinking a high fat and sugary test drink and the second one is after taking the drink.

Then the samples are analyzed and based on the results you will be categorized into one of the seven diet types. Examples of which are range seeker, balance seeker, protein seeker, and fat seeker to name a few.

With the writer’s results, she was analyzed as a protein seeker which meant that her diet should consist more of high protein than any other food group. Other details are also included in the report, which would give you great insights into your personalized diet as well as further cementing your theories about your food response. As an example, the writer’s detailed report confirmed her thoughts on caffeine—that she has a gene variant that makes her sensitive to caffeinated food and drinks.

The high sugar drink acts as a fasting blood test, although it tests a person’s glucose response, it is not a test based on DNA. Further, the test also studies the FTO gene which is linked to weight gain in people who have this gene variant.

habit nutrition plan for genes personalized

Systems Approach

Based on the example above, the personalized testing is not merely based on genes. It is a systems approach that is integrated together, and from there, each is given a customized recommendation.

The idea behind these personalized testing is that it gives people reliable evidence of what their body is currently experiencing. And these values can be instrumental in helping them to rein in their food urges and resist temptation—and maybe even embrace a healthy lifestyle.

Experts Take

Plenty of experts have pointed out that when it comes to pieces of advice on diets, it is quite deceiving to say that our genes are the blueprint because they are not. Although DNA does influence our weight, it is minimal. Our DNA cannot ever dictate to us when it comes to eating that piece of moist and delicious cake. It’s your behavior towards food that dictates which food you put into your body. According to studies, genes only account for five to ten percent of the risk connected with diseases related to diets like type-2 diabetes and obesity.

Inspired by www.npr.org/sections/thesalt