Digestive health is necessary for one's overall general health and is a concern for all age groups, including infants, children, baby boomers and the elderly. In particular, demand for digestive health aids has shown a significant increase amongst teens and young adults for enhancing weight loss.
Factors Driving Growth of Nutritional Digestive Aids
Rise in digestive health concerns - Unhealthy lifestyles have negatively impacted digestive health in a number of ways. Poor dietary habits and stress lead to the loss of good bacteria, which often results in chronic digestive problems
Rise in obesity - Increased emphasis on the importance of diets and weight loss regimens to fight obesity has led consumers to seek digestive aids that optimize healthy digestion and weight loss.
Rise in digestive health research - Scientific advances in understanding how optimal digestive health can impact other aspects of health and well being are driving sales of digestive aids. The use of enzymes, prebiotics and probiotics separately or in combination is becoming more widespread.
Growing consumer awareness - Today, more Americans are familiar with herbal or natural ingredients for supporting digestive health. As a result, they are more open to trying new products based on scientific research that help:
• Boost immune health - About 70 percent of the immune system is located in the digestive tract. A variety of friendly bacteria in the intestines can help reduce the chances of infection and illness.
• Optimize digestive health - Proliferation of healthy bacteria assists in the synthesis of Vitamins such as K, B12 and other B complex vitamins. This also leads to the better absorption of nutrients and expulsion of unhealthy fats.
Consumers are finding nutritional supplements to be a better choice - Unlike pharmaceutical digestive drugs or aids that do not address the causes of poor dietary health, nutritional supplements for digestive and colonic health offer a more comprehensive approach and help people better meet their health needs.
Consumers prefer self-help - Herbal colon cleanse products and enzymes offer the best relief with minimal side effects. As a result, herbal colon supplements have experienced remarkable growth in the recent years.
Top Digestive Aids
Fructans
According to Global Industry Analysts, the world's largest market research company, fructans such inulin and FOS represent the biggest segment in the U.S. prebiotics market with mannan-oligosaccharide (MOS) predicted to be the fastest growing product. Fructans are used to help prevent chronic inflammatory disorders such as Crohn's disease.
Probiotics
Different bacteria strains play specific roles in digestive health. The most popular are Lactobacillus, bifidobacterium and acidophilus. These live bacteria provide the host with multiple health benefits.
Supplements for Digestive Health
