Currently browsing posts about: Aging

I came across this item too late to sign up for it, but I do want to comment on it.

As an aging person myself (aren’t we all), I never thought of myself as a market opportunity, but under late-stage capitalism everything is a market opportunity.

Here’s the item that caught my eye [my emphasis].

Healthy ageing – market opportunity: Healthy ageing is probably the biggest market opportunity for the food industry.  So why food and beverage products for seniors are hard to find on store shelves?  It’s a sensitive subject, that’s why. Nevertheless, don’t miss out on this opportunity! Find the right way to talk about targeted products for seniors and the right formulations to make a difference… click here 

My translation: Let’s make money making highly processed, fortified-with-vitamins products we can advertise as “better for you.”

As I always say, a “better-for-you” ultra-processed food is not necessarily a good choice for health, no matter how much money it makes for its manufacturers.

I’m always interested in how the food industry tries to sell products to specific groups.  Here’s one of FoodNavigator’s Special Editions (collections of articles) on products the food industry is designing and trying to sell for older adults.

Special Edition: Healthy ageing: Food for an older population

Europe is ageing. By 2050 the population of over 65s is expected to reach almost 150m in the region. Gains are expected for products that cater to this older demographic by boosting immunity, as well as bone, joint, muscle, cognitive, heart, skin, eye and digestive health. FoodNavigator looks at some of the innovation strategies food makers are developing to meet the needs of older people.

• Keto for healthy ageing: F&B brands tap into ketone production with older generations in mind:  How are brands responding to growing demand for keto-friendly food and drink that supports healthy ageing?.. Read
• Nut supplier Importaco cracking the healthy ageing market: ‘Everybody is targeting older people’:  Nut and dried fruit supplier Importaco is leveraging innovation and deep consumer insight to build a portfolio of products targeting older people. We spoke to Teresa Cercós (PhD), Director General of Quality, Environment and Innovation, to learn more about the company’s long-term ambition to develop ingredients that support healthy ageing… Read
• Food for ageing populations: What, how and where will the elderly be eating in 2030?  What will the everyday diets of elderly people living at home in 2030 look like? Where and when will they consume their meals? And how will it reach their plates?.. Read
• ‘The narrative on ageing needs to evolve’: Barclays sees innovation opportunity in healthy ageing:  The food industry should do more to meet the nutritional needs of the ageing population, according to new research out from Barclays. This is, after all, a demographic that is only going to grow… Read
• Ajinomoto talks ‘nutrition without compromise’ and ‘first mover advantage’ in healthy ageing:  Ajinomoto has launched a nutrition strategy that the company believes will enable it to leverage its unique expertise in amino acids to deliver solutions that meet its two global strategic priorities: salt reduction and optimal protein intake for the ageing population… Read
• The role of citrus in brain health: ‘Citrus bioactive compounds improve general cognition’:  Eating citrus fruit and drinking citrus juices can have a positive impact on brain health, particularly during ageing, according to new research… Read
• Study finds microbiome ‘signature’ associated with healthy aging:  A large set of longitudinal data revealed a distinct gut microbiome signature that is associated with healthy aging and survival in the latest decades of life… Read
• Ketogenic drink boosts brain in cognitively impaired, says Nestlé study:  A Nestlé-produced ketogenic (kMCT) drink could improve cognitive function in individuals suffering from Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), the firm’s study suggests, as the product is set to be launched in Europe by the end of the year… Read

When I saw this ad in last Thursday’s New York Times, I immediately clipped it out.

What is this?

It is an ad for a dietary supplement, Telos95, with a classic structure/function claim (a type invented for dietary supplements of less-than-established efficacy): “telomere & DNA chromosome health support—-telomere lengthening and lowering cellular age in just 6 months.”

Telos95 is the only plant-based dietary supplement that aids in the chromosome stability during the process of cell replication.  It’s vital that normal cell replicative senescence takes place, so the cells divide in a healthy state and telomeres remain at the same length or lengthen, which biologically ensures a health centrosome matrix and repetitive nucleotide sequence at each end of the chromosome.

Got that?

What’s with telomeres?

All of this refers to work that got a Nobel Prize for Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider, and Jack Szostak in 2009.  They showed that telomeres, caps on the end of chromosomes, protect chromosomes from degradation.  Shorter telomeres are associated with cell aging.

What got my attention in this ad was its report of a 2018 clinical trial finding that this supplement reduced cellular age by more than 7 years.

Really?  I had some immediate questions.

What’s in the supplement? 

The ad doesn’t say anything other than “all natural food grade polyphenols.”  But I managed to find a Supplement Facts Label online.

Highly purified polyphenols extracted from grape and olive leaves?

These, by the way, cost about $100 for 30 capsules.

Whatever.

What’s the study? 

I was able to find it online: A randomized-controlled clinical study of Telos95® , a novel antioxidative dietary supplement, on the shortening of telomere length in healthy volunteers  

It’s in a journal I’ve never heard of previously: HealthMed, published in Bosnia and Herzogovina

The report of the study starts out rather peculiarly:

The objective of this study was to determine the deodorant effectiveness of a dietary supplement to halt the shortening of telomere length as measured through blood samples before and after product use.

Deodorant?  Maybe something is lost in translation here?

Who paid for the study?

The published paper doesn’t say.  It does, however, refer to a Sponsor responsible for the study’s protocols, safety evaluation of the products, and safety indemnification of Princeton Consumer Research Corp (PCR), the group that carried out the study.

PCR’s website, by the way, states that “PRINCETON CONSUMER RESEARCH IS NOT AFFILIATED IN ANY WAY TO PRINCETON UNIVERSITY”.  Whew.

PCR’s press release credits Certified Nutritionals as behind the study.

What is this all about?

The Daily Beast did an investigative report on something similar a couple of years ago.

Obviously, this is about selling a supplement made from rice at profits so great that Longevity by Nature can afford a full-page ad in the Times (these used to run in the $80,000 range, if not more).

It is also about the use of industry-sponsored research to sell products: the sponsored study –> press release –> huge advertisement –> increased product sales.

Will this product keep your telomeres from shortening?  If only.

NutraIngredients.com, a food industry newsletter published in the UK, has issued a collection of articles on healthy aging.  This should give you a good idea of where products targeted to the elderly are headed.

• WATCH: How to target the ageing consumer: Despite seniors showing a strong interest in functional food and supplements, the number of products launched with senior claims in Europe does not reflect the population which means brands are missing out on a huge market, says Mintel… Watch now
• Never mind timing: This is the whey to muscle gains in ageing women : Whey protein can help ageing women gain muscle no matter when they take the supplement, say researchers… Read
• Blueberries aid healthy ageing, studies suggest: A collection of new studies further quantifies how blueberry consumption can contribute to healthy aging… Read
• First human clinical trial suggests anti-ageing benefits of pomegranate molecule: A first in-human clinical trial has suggested that dietary supplementation with Urolithin A, a pomegranate metabolite, could offer an anti-ageing benefit thanks to its impact on mitochondrial and cellular health… Read
• Could the gut-brain axis be key to fighting age-related cognitive decline?  Modifying our microbiome with prebiotic fibres could help lower levels of brain inflammation and boost brain function during ageing, according to new research in mice… Read
• Calls for supplement uptake drive as vit D deficiency highest in adults aged 50+:  More than a quarter of adults aged 50 and over are vitamin D deficient, say researchers, who urge supplement uptake and a mandatory food fortification policy as most effective in tackling deficiencies… Read
• Could faecal transplant effects on the gut microbiome be the key to healthy ageing?  UK researchers have put forward a theory that links the enhancement of gut microbiome diversity with addressing age-associated symptoms to promote healthy ageing… Read
• Food for a ripe old age: Researchers develop nutrient-dense product for the elderly: A ‘yoghurt type’ product has been developed with the ageing population in mind. According to researchers from Lithuania, the food is nutrient-dense, fortified, and easy to swallow... Read

While the new website was in production, I got a bit caught up on my reading.  Here’s what’s been happening on the obesity front.

Middle-age spread: eat less or else! A new study proves what every woman over the age of 50 knows all too well: you just can’t eat the way you used to without putting on the pounds.  Muscle mass declines with age, calorie needs do too.    Activity helps some, but not enough.  I think it’s totally unfair, by the way, but I’m guessing the same thing happens to men (but they have more muscle to begin with).  Alas.

Turn off the TV: Common Sense Media looked at 173 studies of the effects of watching TV on child and adolescent health.  Of 73 studies examining correlations between TV-watching and obesity, 86% found strong associations.  TV-watching was also strongly associated with such unfortunate outcomes as cigarette smoking, drug use, early sexual activity, and poor academic performance.  Conclusion: if you want to encourage kids to be healthier, turn off the TV!

British government launched an anti-obesity campaign: The UK government’s Change4Life campaign is designed to promote healthier lifestyles.  This is causing much discussion, not least because of its food-industry sponsorship (uh oh).  Food companies are said to view the campaign as good for business (uh oh, indeed). The government wants everyone to help with the campaign by putting up posters and such, and its website is cheery.  Buried in all of this is some good advice, but most of it is phrased as eat better, not eat less or avoid.  That, of course, is why the food industry is willing to fund a campaign which, if successful, could hardly be in the food industry’s best interest.

I’ve been hearing lots of media announcements of the food guide pyramid for old folks produced by Alice Lichtenstein and her colleagues who do research on aging at Tufts University. This one is for adults age 70 and over and is published in the January issue of the Journal of Nutrition. The press announcement from Tufts compares it to the USDA’s MyPyramid of 2005. The differences: even greater emphasis on eating healthfully and staying active (because older adults don’t need as many calories to maintain weight) and, maybe, some supplemental vitamin D (bone health) and vitamin B12 (to overcome losses in absorption ability).