Gut health is now a permanent fixture of the food landscape. As science evolves around the significant influence of the microbiome on health, gut health as a food and beverage trend also grows in stature commercially. It is not a new trend, of course, but it shows no sign of slowing.
In fact, gut health has now moved beyond probiotics, expanding into mainstream wellness trends.
Dr Megan Rossi – gut health scientist, founder of the Gut Health Doctor and Smart Strains and co-founder of Bio & Me – believes that innovation can sometimes move too fast in food. This is the case, she tells us at Future Food-Tech London, in areas that have commercialised ahead of randomised controlled trials.
Nevertheless, in areas such as probiotics, she suggests, we haven’t yet innovated enough.
Consumers are getting more specific around what they want
Consumers are moving from wanting “more of everything – more calcium, more magnesium, more strains” – to looking at their needs specifically, Rossi suggests.
In the context of gut health, they’re looking at what specific microorganism strains will benefit them – essentially personalising their intake.
“I think there is going to be that shift where people are actually asking more specific questions around ‘what do I value out of it?’ instead of just adding in more of everything.”
These changing priorities mean an evolution in the way people view their intake of ingredients such as probiotics.
Precision fermentation
Rossi sees a lot of potential in precision fermentation, and the method has already helped her develop products.
Through precision fermentation, adding the right cultures into the process means that thickeners and emulsifiers do not need to be included; the right taste profile can be achieved without them.
This, Rossi explains, has been very useful in her own company, which produces gut health foods.
“Microbes not only in our gut, but through the fermentation process in the food industry, are going to really elevate and game change what’s in our products.”
Gut health and GLP-1s
We’re only at the beginning of the GLP-1-led transformation of the food sector, suggests Rossi.
With the transition from injectables to tablet form, she suggests, use of the drugs is likely to rise.
On GLP-1s, people are will likely become more interested in nutrients rather than volumes of food, given that they will consume smaller portions.
This, Rossi suggests, will make people pay more attention to their intake of nutrients such as fibre, which is heavily associated with gut health.
GLP-1s could also impact gut health directly. “From a clinical perspective, we know that there are a lot of common gut side effects of GLP-1s, things like slower bowel movements, a bit of nausea.”
This may have a knock-on effect on food itself, Rossi suggests, with people choosing foods that can help mitigate such side effects.
Gut health is no longer a fledgling trend. As it evolves, it interacts with the changing food industry around it. The uptake of technology such as precision fermentation can make gut health products easier to develop. Trends such as GLP-1s can make consumers pay more attention to the gut. And as consumers become more discerning, their choices around ingredients such as probiotics will be more discerning as well.
