With a growing number of nutraceutical companies based in Greater Lincolnshire, Rachel Linstead, workplace health and wellbeing specialist, member of the Greater Lincolnshire LEP Health and Care Board, and owner of Firecracker UK, explores the health benefits for individuals and businesses alike.
When I first qualified as a nutritionist over 13 years ago, supplements and functional foods were mainly available only in health food shops and used by a low number of the population. As our lives get busier many people are turning to nutraceuticals as a short cut to maintain health and wellbeing, and with this demand comes greater availability. These products are now commonplace, and according to a survey of UK consumers in 2018, 59% of respondents said they took some form of nutraceutical in 2018 with 34% saying they take a supplement daily (38% female, 29% male).
Nutraceuticals is the collective word use to describe dietary supplements and functional food and beverages. Function foods are products that deliver additional or enhanced benefits over and above their basic nutritional value, such as fibre yogurt, probiotic drinks and high-protein snack bars. In the last few years more and more products have been launched in this sector.
Although only a few nutraceuticals are supported by robust research that they benefit health, they must all conform to stringent nutrition and health claim regulations. This sector has been booming and is estimated to be worth nearly £500m in the UK with the potential to double growth as the global pandemic continues to put health into sharp focus.
As product personalisation now reaches most areas of our lives from food to beauty products, nutraceuticals are following suit with a raft of companies launching personalised nutrition services. These include companies asking for blood or saliva that is then analysed to give a nutrient status tailored to a supplements pack delivered to your door. Other products include patches which monitor blood and communicate with a mobile app to generate real-time data which is then translated into a personalised nutrition and supplement plan.
These products are still in their infancy, but as we embrace more digital health, technological advances and consumer demand bring huge scope for nutraceuticals to become mainstream in availability and price.
But the elephant in the room is: do we actually need to take them? And the answer to this complicated. Some people believe we can gain all the nutrients we need from the food and drink we consume, while others believe that the additional pressures and strains we now put on our minds and bodies, and the global food supply chain and modern farming practices of monoculture which deplete soils of nutrients, point to a need for nutraceuticals in our diet.
There is also a parallel argument running of ‘devoid of disease’ versus ‘optimum health’.
No matter which camp you are in, there is no doubt that as a nation we do need to find a way to improve our health and wellbeing, both individually and for the health and resilience of businesses, and I believe that nutraceuticals have a place in this drive for better health. Greater Lincolnshire is well positioned to drive and deliver the research, innovation, and solutions in the fast growing nutraceutical sector.
Rachel Linstead
