Digestive Health

Edouard Brochu, a pioneer in probiotics and cofounder of Institut Rosell (Montreal, QC), passed away on July 25, 2007, at the age of 96.

There is little doubt that digestive issues have reached epidemic proportions.Though many suffer, few have to. Nearly every digestive complaint is caused by an inability to properly digest food. The natural solution in such cases is enzymes, which are responsible for breaking down the foods we eat, delivering the nutrients found in those foods to every cell of the body, and removing any toxins or ingredients that may be in the food, and from which the body will not derive any benefit.

More-rigorous scientific investigation today is bringing enhanced understanding of the mechanisms of these actions, which in turn will lead the way to more-precise clinical targets, higher-quality microbial preparations, and more-credible claims for probiotics.

Digestive health is now on the radar of the federal government. In September, National Institutes of Health (NIH; Bethesda, MD) director Elias Zerhouni, MD, announced that the newly formed National Commission on Digestive Diseases is ready to assess state-of-the art science to address the needs of gastroenterologists and their patients.

Many natural-products consumers take probiotics and prebiotics for a host of issues, reasoning that by recolonizing the friendly flora in the gut, the body is much better equipped to exert proper immune response, leading to increased well-being.

The dietary supplement industry is on an upward curve, spurred by more university research and scientific partnerships linking together U.S. and international developers, suppliers, and research centers. One result of this positive trajectory is that raw-material suppliers are now refining and introducing compounds backed by science that address the issues that matter most to consumers: cardiovascular health, antioxidant and immune support, healthy glucose levels, smooth digestion, weight control, energy and stress reduction, and detoxification.

Consumers and food companies understand that dietary fiber provides a healthy, sustained glycemic response to glucose spikes.