The estrobolome regulates estrogen levels, impacting women’s reproductive health across different life stages, explained Jordi Riera, chief business officer at Kaneka Probiotics.
Women’s hormonal fluctuations can lead to mood swings, cognitive challenges and more, illustrating the potential of targeted natural solutions to enhance women’s hormonal health.
Riera highlighted KABP menopause, Kaneka’s probiotic that modulates the estrobolome. The product recently took home the award for Microbiome Modulation at the NutraIngredients-USA Awards.
Built around Levilactobacillus brevis KAB-052, it offers a hormone-free approach aimed at enhancing gut health and brain function. Riera said KABP Menopause not only addresses menopause symptoms but also enhances overall quality of life, showcasing the vital connection between gut health and hormonal balance.
When it comes to probiotic awareness, it’s a mixed bag. Many practitioners and consumers are educated on the topic, while many others still see them as digestive health products, he said.
“For the general population, unfortunately still, probiotics are seen as a digestive health product, right? So you expect from a probiotic to improve your diarrhea or improve your gut transit,” he said. “What we do see is that gradually there is a shift and there’s more and more people that are aware that the microbiome works as our second brain, as a common center for different gut axes to different parts of the body from gut-liver, gut-lung, gut-skin, gut-brain.
“And sometimes it’s the consumer that explains that to their doctor or their naturopathic doctor, and then the doctor finds the right product. So I think that the paradigm now with this democratization of the information is changing a little bit.”
Riera said Kaneka hopes to get closer to the end consumer in these education efforts. While CFU matters for assessing the potency of a product, he also wants consumers to understand that different strains are for different purposes.
Looking ahead, Riera noted future research directions, including postbiotics, topical applications and innovative delivery formats.
To hear more on the research and what’s next for Kaneka Probiotics, listen to the NutraCast above or on your preferred podcast platform.
If you enjoy listening to the NutraCast, feel free to leave a review. You can subscribe on Apple, iHeart, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
