Natural product trend watching

October 19, 3:56 PMNutrition ExaminerAnnie Kay

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 Photo: Annie K

The Natural Products Expo in Boston last week was a celebration of all things natural, from food to beauty products to nutritional supplements. No signs of recessionary panic here (OK, maybe a little), as this is the fast growing segment of the food industry.

The show was huge (think two or three football fields of booths), and the trends were evident:

• The organic home; now that there are significant numbers of people choosing organic foods (and paying extra for it), the natural next step is environmentally friendly soaps, cleaning products, packaging, clothing and furniture.
• The organic pet; another 'filling out' of the organic lifestyle. I saw several antioxidant and omega 3 supplements for cats and dogs, as well as foods, treats and on and on. Someone at the show told me that cats never got cancer until they started eating packaged cat food. Is that true? Beats me.
• The economic downturn means cocooning means comfort food. The sustain-ably minded are reaching for packages of organic spelt macaroni with soy cheese to sooth the stress of not being able to afford all these great but expensive organic and sustainable goodies (tip:try brown rice and black beans to tide you over).
• A couple years ago it seemed everyone was lactose intolerant. Now? Beware gluten. Tons of gluten free products. Oh, and gut health. Many many probiotics.
• Other hot products in multiple booths included goat milk, stainless steel water bottles, super fruits and food based beauty products. An interesting phenomenon was over-the-counter medications plus supplements. An example is aspirin with additional plant sterols for those taking it for heart health.

Surrounded by the sea of natural products, I was heartened that there is such a large market for clean and health food fueled by sunlight rather than petroleum (or moving in that direction). Healthy for people, healthy for animals, healthy for the planet. There was a more conscious approach at every level of business (and believe me organics have become big business) compared to the dietitian's convention that I'm off to end of this week. At that conference, the national Food and Nutrition Conference and Exhibition, it's Conagra, Unilever and other mega food-pharma groups. While the food industry as a whole needs to work together to solve the problem of too many calories and not enough nutrients in our food supply, it's the smaller natural guys who are bringing the ideas and shifting the paradigm. And, because people are buying the clean and simple food, the smaller natural guys are seeing more profits and growth than the big guys.

What caused me concern is how the average consumer is ever going to figure out how much of what to eat, and what to take, when so many foods are modified to be functional with added fiber and other nutrients, there are a dizzying array of dietary supplements, and a marketing approach of some natural food and pharma companies of distrust of the traditional medical system which easily bleeds over to distrust of science in general. Even as a dietitian with an interest in this area, it takes me a while to figure out what nutrients I'm getting in my food and which to supplement. With the downside of over supplementation being reported regularly by the scientific press (and because $ is on the side of more supplements, do you think we're getting all the negative reports?) it seems that self diagnosing and whipping up a regimen based on marketing information takes more time and effort to do well than the average person has. While this should be good news for nutrition professionals, I just fear that most people wing it on their own and pop a few pills, thinking they've got nutrition covered.

In one talk I attended by well known naturopath, a woman described her multiple medical issues and asked how she might incorporate the super fiber supplement being promoting. I wish he'd recommended that she work with a trained nutritionist as she developed a supplement regimen, but instead her told her to start with 3-6 supplement tabs (I myself am trying the supplement and am taking one daily with significant basketball belly, a side effect of an increase intake of fiber - and I started with a pretty high fiber diet) and that they may effect the absorption timing of her other medications. I really felt bad and feared for the woman, who definitely needed coaching and some expert guidance to stay safe if she followed his advice. He was a dynamic speaker who got me, an RD for 20 years to try his product, though I was looking for product like this (fiber for appetite suppression). I'll do another post about the product and fiber to help with appetite soon.