In our recent post “5 Healthy Food Trends,” I listed five of ten nutrition trends that are driven by consumer preferences. As promised in that post, you can now read the other five from my article “10 Nutrition Trends to Watch,” for IDEA Fitness Journal.
I’ve excerpted from that article below, and if you want access to the full piece, please contact IDEA – the health and fitness association – at 800 999-IDEA.
Superfoods
What do moringa, hemp, algae, purple corn, red palm oil, reishi mushrooms, turmeric and maca root have in common? They have joined blueberries, cinnamon and ginger root as must-have superfoods.
High in antioxidant and vitamin content, these health-promoting foods have passed $130 billion in sales. At the recent Natural Products Expo it was common to find people at booths tasting moringa protein drinks, turmeric rice, ginger hummus, and purple corn cereal.
Gluten-Free
Twenty percent of Americans say they actively try to eat gluten-free foods in their diets, and sales of gluten-free foods increased by 63% between 2012 and 2014. According to the poll, “Far more U.S. adults say they actively try to include gluten-free foods in their diets than actually suffer from celiac disease.” People with celiac disease or wheat allergies have to eat a gluten-free diet, as they cannot tolerate gliadin and glutenin, the two proteins found in gluten.
Sugar Substitutes
Sweets will probably never go out of style, but sweeteners sometimes do. The demand for “natural” plant–based sweeteners is currently driving the market, and a few have moved up to the front row lately. Monk fruit, stevia leaf, and erythritol are just three substitutes rocketing up in popularity.
Wine is 1 of 5 healthy food trends. Are the other 4 as intriguing?
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Wine
You might say wine has always been in style, yet recent research about resveratrol has made red wines even more popular. Some preliminary research also shows that resveratrol can prolong life for mice and pigs, although this benefit has not been tested in people. Other research shows that it can help prevent heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s and diabetes—all diseases of great importance to the market drivers, Boomers. Besides, WINE!!!
Other Beverages
Combinations that would have been considered “weird” a few years ago are now found in refrigerators everywhere. For example, Uncle Matt’s Organic Juice now has orange turmeric juice, while REBBL makes tonics and elixirs such as ashwagandha chai and reishi chocolate coconut milk. Bulletproof and nitro cold-brew coffee are amping people up, bone broth has moved from the soup bowl to the tea cup, drinks based on roots and trees (neem, anyone?) are vying with coconut milk for shelf space, and flavored kombucha is now mainstream. Bolthouse Farms has a new line of cold-pressed juices, and Orgain produces an organic cafe mocha nutritional shake with ingredients that include grass-fed milk proteins, brown rice syrup, sunflower oil, kale, beets and açai.
Having just spent several days at the Natural Products Expo West, I am energized by the growth in demand for foods, products and services that help, not harm our health (both corporeal and environmental). Look for an upcoming post that focuses specifically on organic products. Some of the statistics will surprise (and alarm) you.
Alexandra Williams, MA