Digestive Health

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Postbiotics – What Are They and How Are They Different from Other -Biotics?

Author(s): Tri Duong, PhD and Sara Llamas-Moya, PhD

A postbiotic is defined as a “preparation of inanimate microorganisms and/or their components that confers a health benefit on the host”. Emerging science on postbiotics is showing a role in digestive health and even mood for humans, as well as the potential to improve the safety and efficiency of our food supply by improving animal health.

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Acacia’s Role as a Functional Fibre

Author(s): David Carr and Liz Lalor, BSc

Choosing fibre sources can be difficult because different fibres have different health benefits as well as different functional properties in food. This article provides an overview of Acacia fibre, including its origin, high digestive tolerance, and examples of how it can help formulation of different foods and beverages.

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How Do Probiotics Work?

Author(s): Maria Marco, PhD

Many people are familiar with probiotics and the health benefits they can have, like digestive health and immunity, but how do they actually work in the body to cause a health benefit? Some interact with other microorganisms in our microbiome, while others interact directly with the body’s organs.

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The Dairy Matrix: Beyond Individual Nutrients

Author(s): Aoife Marie Murphy, PhD

Is dairy fat healthy or unhealthy? Why do we see recommendations to reduce saturated fat intake, while at the same time see headlines from studies showing full-fat dairy may be healthy for us? The answer lies in the fact that food can often be more than the sum of its parts. Dairy, saturated fat &… Read more »

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Postbiotics, Fermented Foods, and Health

The boom in microbiome research in recent years has led to a greater understanding of how we interact with the microbes that live in the human body. It has also brought a multitude of different ways to manipulate the microbiome to improve health along with it, including probiotics, prebiotics, and now the postbiotics. Probiotics are… Read more »

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Immunity Ingredients At-A-Glance: Probiotics

Probiotics are not just for digestive health. The gastrointestinal tract is where our body is able to determine which parts of the foods we eat should be allowed passage into our body, and which should not be allowed entry. We want to absorb nutrients from the food we eat, but we do not want to… Read more »

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Webinar – Fermented Foods: Stacking Up the Science

This program qualifies for Certified Food Scientist (CFS) recertification contact hours (CH). CFS Certificants may claim a maximum of 1.0 CH for their participation in this program. For more information, please visit ift.org/certification or email ifscc@ift.org. Fermented foods have appeared on countless food and nutrition trends lists this year, seemingly rocketing to a top industry… Read more »

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Your Favorite Nutrition, Food, and Health Articles of 2019

Our most popular content among our readers in 2019 reflects what we do best: digging into the science behind the most popular trends in nutrition, food, and health. Most-read articles from 2019 1. Nutritional Benefits of Plant Proteins Taking Root with Consumers The plant-based trend continues to surge, so it’s no surprise this article topped… Read more »

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Dr. Maria Marco, Scientific Advisor to KHNI: “Cultivating Our Microbial Gardens: Tailoring Diets for Gut Health”

In a recent article on Nutrition Insight, our Scientific Advisory Council member Dr. Maria Marco answers key questions about the future of digestive health, including: How can the microbiome space inform food product development? What are the key opportunities for the food industry in gut-health? How important is the nutritional aspect of fermented foods? Read… Read more »

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The FODMAP Diet for IBS – An FAQ

What is the FODMAP diet? The FODMAP diet is an eating pattern designed to help people with irritable bowel syndrome or other gastrointestinal discomfort choose foods that can help them with their symptoms like bloating and abdominal pain. Many consider it to be the next wave of the gluten-free trend. Researchers from Monash University in… Read more »

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Best Articles of 2018

What better way to start 2019 than reflecting on some of our readers’ favorite content from 2018? It’s no surprise that our most popular content is aligned with top nutrition trends in 2018, like digestive wellness, beverages redefined, and clean label. Be sure to check out our updated 10 Key Health and Nutrition Trends for… Read more »

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Webinar – Digestive Health: Know Your Ingredients

Summary (scroll down for an infographic summary) Consumers across all psychographics and life-stages are seeking better digestive wellness. Weighing the evidence on claims and technologies is the best way to know what benefits you’re offering consumers.  In this webinar, learn about established claims, dive into what consumers are seeking out in each region, and get a crash… Read more »

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Your Guide to the Gut-Brain Axis

Author(s): Suja Senan, PhD

Long before we knew about a gut-brain axis, people have experienced events that impact both their brain and their bowels. For me, one I recall quite vividly is waiting for my name to be announced at a public speaking event. While I waited, all that I could think of was “should I fight it out… Read more »

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Are Fermented Foods the Same as Probiotics?

Author(s): Mary Ellen Sanders, PhD

Consider the fundamental change from milk to brie cheese or grapes to wine. Such is the power of fermentation. Fermented foods result from the growth and metabolism of live cultures, transforming a precursor food (such as milk) into a fermented food (cheese). The fermentation process may result in changes in taste, texture, aroma, nutritional value,… Read more »

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Three Trends from IFT 2018

Author(s): Nathan Pratt, PhD, RD

IFT 2018 – over 23,000 people came together to learn the latest and greatest updates in food science and innovation. Walking the expo floor, a few things stood out. At this point in the world of the food and beverage industry, clean labels and protein are almost table stakes for many products, so I wanted… Read more »

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The Value of Fermented Foods for Health

Fermented foods have been gaining popularity as the next ‘functional food’. Yogurt is a fermented food that has been a mainstay in the diet for quite some time, but new foods that may offer health benefits are now getting more attention. This infographic from the International Scientific Association of Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) highlights potential… Read more »

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Probiotics: Dispelling Myths

Products containing probiotics are becoming more and more common due to increasing interest in digestive health from consumers. To help navigate the world of probiotics, the International Scientific Association of Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) created an infographic to help dispel myths and provide science-based answers to common questions about probiotics. For more trustworthy information, be… Read more »

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Where Do Fibers Come From and What Role Do They Have in Food and Health?

Author(s): Bryan Le, MA

Dietary fiber has become an important functional ingredient in recent times due to growing consumer interest in the many health benefits of fiber touted by the scientific community (Anderson 2009).  Fiber has been recently defined by the FDA as “non-digestible soluble and insoluble carbohydrates (with three or more monomeric units) and lignin that are intrinsic… Read more »

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Study Shows Wellmune® May Help Our Intestine Protect Us From Infection

“The body’s intestinal barrier function allows for the absorption of things like nutrients and water, while simultaneously maintaining an effective defense against toxins and pathogens that can be harmful to our health,” explained Donald Cox, Ph.D., Kerry’s Director of R&D for Wellmune. “While these are preliminary results and more research is needed, Wellmune may protect… Read more »

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What Digestive Health Benefits Do Consumers Want?

Author(s): Caroline Cummins, MS, RNutr

This blog explores the consumer perspective and market of digestive health. Read What Does Digestive Health Really Mean? to learn more about digestive health and some of the terms used in this blog, like microbiome and FODMAPs. Optimum digestive health has been a mainstay consumer desire for over 20 years, but it has been experienced an… Read more »

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What Does Digestive Health Really Mean?

Author(s): Barbara Hopkins, MMSc, RD, LD

Digestive health is one of the top 10 nutrition trends for 2017, but what does it mean? This blog takes a closer look at what digestive health really means.