While fiber has a high place in the nutrition bar industry, there’s still room for a wealth of other functional ingredients-and new innovations are changing the market as we speak. Check out some of the notables.
While fiber has a high place in the nutrition bar industry, there’s still room for a wealth of other functional ingredients-and new innovations are changing the market as we speak. Check out some of the notables, below.
Carnitine: It may not be the most likely ingredient for a nutrition bar, but L-carnitine is now ready for bars. Earlier this year, Lonza (Basel, Switzerland) presented nutrition bars formulated with the company’s Carnipure brand L-carnitine at the Healthy & Nutritional Bars Conference in Cologne, Germany. Since then, the company has signed a multiyear deal on Carnipure with the British sports food company Multipower (Surrey, UK). Research suggests that L-carnitine may be an aid for exercise recovery and energy metabolism.
Pea protein: Consumers are often looking for a protein fix in their bars, but what about an alternative to whey and soy? What about peas? Nutralys is a protein source derived from yellow peas and suited for nutrition bars. Roquette America Inc. (Keokuk, IA), the group behind Nutralys, says that its pea protein provides dispersibility benefits and cost-effectiveness compared to soy and whey. Nutralys was recently named a recipient of Frost & Sullivan’s 2010 product-differentiation excellence award for its achievement of a more-neutral taste and odor profile for pea protein.
Omega-3s: In your milk and in your bread, omega-3s are showing up everywhere-and for good reason: they’re believed to have some serious health benefits, including for the heart and eyes. This is all part of why Cargill (Minneapolis) just introduced its Clear Valley brand omega-3 oil for nutrition bars. Clear Valley omega-3 oil is a blend of canola oil and flaxseed oil intended to allow customers the use of nutrient content claims related to alpha-linolenic (ALA) omega-3. The omega-3 oil is patent-pending and was recently self-affirmed as GRAS.
Recent animal study finds that Lysoveta may help reduce neonatal brain injury
July 17th 2024A recent animal study found that lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC)-bound omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs), marketed as Lysoveta by Aker BioMarine, protected against neonatal hypoxic-ischemic (HI) brain injury in mice.
Krill oil supplementation raises Omega-3 Index of Lupus patients in recent study
July 16th 2024The study was conducted at 20 research centers in the United States by Aker BioMarine and the Lupus Clinical Investigators Network with oversight by Lupus Therapeutics, the clinical research affiliate of the Lupus Research Alliance.
Meta-analysis does not find increased risk of bleeding events from omega-3 PUFA consumption
July 8th 2024Researchers reviewed 11 studies and found that there was no difference in the incidence of bleeding events between patients receiving omega-3 PUFAs and those not receiving them. High dose EPA consumption was associated with an elevated but modest risk.
Recent review states that pentadecanoic acid may support cellular stability for better longevity
June 25th 2024According to the paper’s author, Stephanie Venn-Watson, DVM, MPH, deficiency in pentadecanoic acid of ≤0.2% total circulating fatty acids increases the risk of ferroptosis, which a type of cell death cause by the peroxidation of fragile fatty acids in cell membranes that combines with iron thus increasing reactive oxygen species, and disabling mitochondria.