Medicine

Probiotics, dietary fibre intake shown to reduce medicines-induced weight gain – 12-week RCT

07-Jun-2022 By Tingmin Koe

The supplementation of both probiotics and dietary fibre was shown to reduce weight gain induced by antipsychotic-medicines, according to a 12-week RCT conducted in China.

‘Probiotics are on the verge of exploding in China’: Recent conference shows vast potential of market in its infancy

08-Feb-2018 By Stephen Daniells

Growth in probiotics is outstripping all other categories in dietary supplements in the US, but on the other side of the world the market is only now beginning to develop.

CAM use on the rise among women: Survey

17-Nov-2017 By Stephen Daniells

The use of complementary and alternative medicine, including dietary supplements and teas is increasing, with 89% of Hispanic women and and 81% of non-Hispanic white women reporting that they use the products, says a new survey.

NattoPharma builds patent portfolio for MenaQ7 ingredient

09-Nov-2017 By Hank Schultz

Vitamin K2 supplier NattoPharma ASA has announced three new process patents for its MenaQ7 ingredient in the US, Australia and Israel.

More education called for after survey finds med students ‘overconfident, underprepared’ on nutrition guidelines

01-Nov-2017 By Adi Menayang

A study by Ohio University researchers found that out of 257 medical students surveyed, more than 55% were confident they could give nutrition recommendations, but half did not achieve the passing score on a nutrition quiz.

Article trashing TCM based on faulty notions of the sacrosanct nature of Western medicine, expert asserts

26-Sep-2017 By Hank Schultz

A recent article in The Economist magazine bashing Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) as “state sponsored quackery” is an example of the arrogance of the Western point of view on science and medicine, a view which denies the roots of all medical knowledge,...

Market report shows growing trend toward integrative medicine

18-Sep-2017 By Hank Schultz

A new market survey from consultancy Pure Branding claims that more and more doctors are incorporating concepts of integrative medicine into their practices, a development that can be seen as good news for the supplement industry.

Medical food category continues to develop with Fiber Choice acquisition

28-Aug-2017 By Hank Schultz

Caret Pharma, subsidiary of a company that focuses on medical foods for intestinal conditions, announced that it will acquire Fiber Choice, a line of fiber supplements.

Online curriculum could boost supplement knowledge among doctors, paper finds

23-Aug-2017 By Hank Schultz

Online training of physicians in integrative medicine could help boost the number of family doctors educated in the value of dietary supplements in health and prevention.

Australian supplements exports to China double in two years

26-Jun-2017 By Gary Scattergood

More than half of all Australia’s supplements exports are now going to China or to Hong Kong, with the overall value of industry exports doubling in the past two years.

Supplements' 'smart role' underlined as report reveals sorry state of Australia's preventive health spending

15-Jun-2017 By Gary Scattergood

Trade body Complementary Medicines Australia (CMA) has backed a new report into preventive health, which details how the country is lagging behind fellow OECD nations Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

East meets West to create 'world's first' catalogue of genomic references for TCM products

17-Mar-2017 By Gary Scattergood

A new project has been launched to create the ‘world’s first’ catalogue of genomic references for medicinal plants used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).  

Deal to develop microbiome analysis for clinical nutrition

Day Two link with Johnson & Johnson on personalised microbiome analysis for diabetes nutrition

15-Feb-2017 By Eliot Beer

Gut microbiome analysis firm DayTwo will collaborate with Johnson & Johnson on personalised clinical nutrition for diabetes, and plans to open up its nutrition recommendation platform to new partners.

The top trending Ayurveda ingredients right now…and why they are destined to remain niche products in the West.

14-Nov-2016 By Gary Scattergood

Tulsi, ashwagandha and cardamom are three of the hottest Ayurvedic ingredients right now, but the likelihood of them gaining mass appeal in Europe and the US is limited by scepticism of complementary medicine, it has been claimed.

The cost of malnutrition in the US? $15.5 billion for medical costs

26-Sep-2016 By Stephen Daniells

The US spends upwards of $15.5 billion per year in direct medical costs on malnutrition associated with eight diseases, says a new study published in PLoS ONE.

DSM Launches omega-3 campaign for healthcare practitioners

19-Sep-2016

The Know Your Ω campaign, launching at the 2016 AAFP Family Medicine Experience (FMX), is designed to educate healthcare practitioners on the health benefits of EPA + DHA omega-3s.

Ayurvedic herbs shows joint health support potential: RCT

16-Jun-2016 By Stephen Daniells

Extracts from Terminalia chebula, a plant commonly used in ayurvedic medicine, may improve joint health in people with joint discomfort, says a new study.

Harris Poll results found younger generations more likely to embrace ‘alternative’ treatments

12-May-2016 By Adi Menayang

After surveying 2,252 US adults, The Harris Poll found that 25% of Millennials are using alternative therapies for their health than conventional options.

Special edition: Ayurveda

Continuing science will boost Ayurveda, even given tension over best research models to use, experts say

24-Mar-2016 By Hank Schultz

Accelerating interest in the personalization of medicine and the accumulation of a body of research will help drive increasing acceptance of Ayurveda in the West, experts say, albeit with a continuing tension between synergistic and single-ingredient...

Special Edition: Ayurveda

Ayurveda awareness spreads through North America, but do locals understand it?

23-Mar-2016 By Adi Menayang

Ayurveda practitioners notice an increasing trend of North Americans looking to the ancient South Asian medicinal practice after dissatisfaction with conventional Western medicine.

Special Edition: Ayurveda

Ingredient supplier applies Ayurvedic principles to new line of finished products

23-Mar-2016 By Hank Schultz

The principle of synergy embodied in Ayurveda figured into the formulation of a new line of finished products being launched in the US market by Indian phytochemical company Alchemlife.

Increasing use of medications raise risk of drug-supplement interactions: JAMA papers

22-Mar-2016 By Stephen Daniells

The increased use of multiple medications and dietary supplements among older people is potentially raising the risk for drug-supplement interactions, says a new study.

50%+ weight loss botanicals laced with pharma: French research

18-Mar-2016 By Annie Harrison-Dunn

Over half of so-called 100% natural botanical slimming supplements are adulterated with unlabelled pharmaceuticals, according to French tests of 164 products.

2015 ABC Varro E. Tyler Award for Phytomedicinal Research recipient announced

26-Feb-2016 By Stephen Daniells

The American Botanical Council (ABC) is giving its Varro E. Tyler Award for Phytomedicinal Research to MediHerb of Warwick, Australia.

HG&H Pharmaceuticals adopts sceletium through ABC’s Adopt-an-Herb Program

23-Feb-2016

HG&H Pharmaceuticals has ‘adopted’ the South African herb sceletium through the ABC Adopt-an-Herb Program.

RCTs the only way for probiotic acceptance, says leading professor

09-Feb-2016 By Will Chu

The only way probiotics will be accepted into mainstream medicine is to conduct randomised clinical trials that conform to drug standards, a leading gastroenterologist has said.

Omega Pharma criticised for pushing poor body image in slimming ads

05-Feb-2016 By Annie Harrison-Dunn

The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) says adverts for Omega Pharma’s weight management aid presents an “irresponsible approach to body image and confidence”.

Biotech start-up aims to unlock potential of the gut-brain axis

14-Dec-2015 By Stephen DANIELLS

Kallyope Inc. is aiming to harness the potential of the gut-brain axis to develop consumer products and transformational therapeutics that improve human health and nutrition.

Nestlé Health Science to open $70m product technology center in Bridgewater, NJ, in 2016

12-Oct-2015 By Elaine Watson

Nestlé Health Science (NHS) is investing $70m in a product technology center in Bridgewater, New Jersey, that will become its new US HQ and research hub.

Breaking

Reports: Chinese formula company snaps up Swisse in A$1.5bn deal

17-Sep-2015 By RJ Whitehead

Australian vitamins and supplements manufacturer Swisse has reportedly been bought by Hong Kong-listed infant formula maker Biostime.

$35 million for cognitive & metabolic resilience, women’s health & cutting edge technologies: NIH’s natural product research projects

10-Sep-2015 By Stephen DANIELLS

Five research centers will focus on topics ranging from high-throughput functional annotation of natural products to botanicals for women’s health, with funding coming from the National Institutes of Health’s Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) and the...

Pure Encapsulations gives $1 million to Cleveland Clinic for functional medicine

05-Aug-2015

Healthcare practitioner channel brand Pure Encapsulations has gifted the Cleveland Clinic $1 million to support its Center for Functional Medicine.

Properly prepared, herbs remain stars of immune health field, expert says

29-Jun-2015 By Hank Schultz

While many newer players on the scene—such as probiotics or beta glucans derived from yeast or fungi—have gotten a lot of attention for their effects on the immune system, it’s wise not to forget the old standbys, herbs that have hundreds of years of...

Botanical Adulterants Program endorsed by four international health professional groups

06-May-2015 By Stephen DANIELLS

The Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine, Integrative Healthcare Policy Consortium, American Herbalists Guild, and Irish Register of Herbalists have thrown their support behind the ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Program.

AARP study on brain health attitudes points to opportunity for cognitive support ingredients, experts say

23-Apr-2015 By Hank Schultz

A recent study released by the AARP showed that brain health is becoming an increasing concern, and that more Americans are aware of the potential benefit that playing brain games and doing puzzles may have in combating cognitive decline. The results...

‘Vitamin E helps preserve and protect our fat heads!’: NIH funded study shows role of vitamin E for brain health

17-Apr-2015 By Stephen Daniells

Vitamin E may help maintain levels of DHA in the brain, says a new study with zebrafish funded by the National Institutes of Health.

What do we know about caffeine and Alzheimer's?

01-Apr-2015 By Annie Harrison-Dunn

It is ‘imperative’ more research is conducted on the potential benefits of caffeine in the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer's disease, say scientists.

An apple a day: It won't keep the doctor away, but might keep the pharmacist away

31-Mar-2015 By Nathan Gray

While an apple a day won't keep the doctor away, it could mean fewer prescription medications, say researchers.

We shouldn’t recommend vitamin D supplements for chronic diseases: Researchers

03-Mar-2015 By Annie Harrison-Dunn

Vitamin D should not be recommended to prevent chronic disease because such benefits have not been confirmed and adverse effects of over-consumption can’t be ruled out, according to a review.

PLMI 2014 THOUGHT LEADERS CONSORTIUM

‘The whole field of nutrition is in the dark ages’: Dr Lee Hood

17-Dec-2014 By Stephen DANIELLS

The market capital of a wellness industry that aims to promote and maintain good health will vastly exceed the current treatment-focused disease industry, says Dr Lee Hood, MD, PhD, President & Co-Founder, Institute for Systems Biology.

PLMI 2014 Thought Leaders Consortium

‘Lifestyle medicine is the right idea at the right time’: Dean Ornish, MD

17-Dec-2014 By Stephen Daniells

Eat well, stress less, move more and love more: These four simple principles of lifestyle changes have been shown to have significant benefits in managing chronic disease risk, influencing aging, and reducing health care costs. And that’s why lifestyle...

Large scale trial to validate testing platform that measures metabolic health via urine

17-Dec-2014 By Hank Schultz

Zivo Bioscience Inc. has announced a large-scale test of its WellMetris testing platform that will validate a technology that the founders say will be a game changer for dietary supplement companies and, eventually, the traditional healthcare sphere as...

PLMI 2014 Thought Leaders Consortium

The dietary supplement industry and 21st Century healthcare

17-Dec-2014 By Jeffrey Bland, PhD, President, Personalized Lifestyle Medicine Institute

We are witnessing a revolution in healthcare comparable in impact to that which occurred at the turn of the last century with the discovery of the origin of infectious disease.

Two ends of market—highly committed and casual consumers—overrepresented in supplement sales, research indicates

10-Nov-2014 By Hank Schultz

Two ends of the supplement marketplace—one highly committed and the other far less so—have an outsized role in driving the continued growth of dietary supplements.  And for these and the other segments of consumers, health care practitioners are still...

Flavonoids may be ‘important to promoting broad health and wellbeing in aging’: Harvard study

03-Nov-2014 By Stephen DANIELLS

Higher intakes of flavonoid compounds in the diet during middle age may boost healthy aging in women, according to data from 1,517 women from the Nurses’ Health Study.

FDA warns consumers about mixing supplements and medications

28-Oct-2014 By Stephen DANIELLS

The US Food and Drug Administration has issued a consumer update to warn of the potential interactions between prescriptions and OTC medications and dietary supplements.

From the Vitafoods Live! vault

Can the rise of medical foods tackle ‘unsustainable’ public healthcare costs?

29-Aug-2014 By Shane STARLING

Pharmaceutical-reliant public healthcare systems are unsustainably expensive and governments around the world know it, but can medical foods go part way to breaching the gap and delivering real savings? Panellists at a recent NutraIngredients-hosted debate...

Swisse Wellness withdraws from US to focus on global brand building, but vows, ‘we’ll be back bigger and better!’

02-Jul-2014 By Stephen Daniells

Swisse Wellness’ global growth is continuing with new office set to open in Europe and Asia soon, but global expansion will require a re-allocation of US resources and a withdrawal from the US market, albeit for a couple of years.

Supplements are most popular complementary health approach: Survey

23-Apr-2014 By Maggie Hennessy

In 2012, 17.9% of US adults used nonvitamin, nonmineral dietary supplements—more than twice that of any other complementary health approach used, according to analysis of the 2012 National Health Interview Survey by the Center for Disease Control's...

Swisse Wellness CEO: ‘We need natural health companies to have power’

14-Mar-2014 By Stephen Daniells

The natural health category needs a power brand on a global scale to help further the spread of integrative medicine and health and wellness, says the CEO of Swisse Wellness.