The Importance of Food Supplements

The Importance of Food Supplements
  • 14.06.2022
The Importance of Food Supplements in a Balanced and Healthy Diet Today, a balanced and sufficient diet directly affects people’s quality of life. Serious chronic diseases may occur in people who have a diet that does not contain diversity and do not take enough vitamins and minerals. In today’s work and life pace, high quality and regular food consumption can be ignored by most people. In addition, there may be a loss of nutritional value in the supply chain processes due to the stocking of the products to be consumed until they reach the end consumer. Even after the consumer buys the product, there may be losses in nutritional values during the preparation and cooking processes. As a result, additional food supplements have an important place in the nutrition of today’s society. In addition to a healthy diet, food supplements are at the top of the categories that consumers apply to have a good appearance or feel fitter. We see that the Covid-19 pandemic, which has been the first agenda item of almost everyone since the beginning of 2020, has also significantly changed the opinion on food supplements. Consumers now expect their products to contain more compact solutions. They also demand the vitamins and minerals they get from vegetables and fruits from different foods and beverages. As a result, foods and beverages with enhanced functionality appear in the market today. Day by day, we see different types of sugar-reduced or sugar-free snacks, protein bars, functional drinks supplemented with vitamins and minerals, even protein added/increased. In addition, we see that vitamin and mineral complex products sold without the need for a prescription have made a serious growth in the market. We anticipate that both the products with added functionality in the food and beverage category and the vitamin and mineral complex products that do not require a prescription will diversify and dominate the market in the upcoming period. In the preparation of functional foods and beverages, we can say that besides vitamins & minerals and proteins, another important component is herbal extracts. We know that plants, which are used with traditional methods especially in Asia and the Middle East, have an important place among the people, although their benefits have not been proven within the scope of regulations. Extracts obtained from the leaves, roots, flowers and seeds of plants are used more frequently in the food and beverage sector today. It is possible to see products containing green tea, thyme, lemon balm, sage, hibiscus, rooibos and aloe vera everywhere. Consumers are also very interested in products containing extracts of these plants, of which they know the benefits with traditional methods. Naturalness is one of the most important issues in the food supplements used along with the consumed food and beverages. The components in natural ways and organically produced products must also be produced and added naturally. For this reason, we can say that natural flavours, natural colorants, fruit powders obtained directly from the fruit are important components of food supplements. Colours such as yellow, red tones, pink and brown obtained from safflower flower, black carrot, beet and malt, acerola fruit powder used as a direct source of vitamin C, and natural flavours that are much related to health, especially citrus fruits, are widely used in food supplements.  Food Supplements We can say that another important issue that the world focuses on is the increasing population and sustainability for consumers who prefer a vegan diet both as a diet and because of ethical concerns. The increasing number of conscious consumers who support sustainability stimulates producers to diversify plant-based product alternatives. The use of sustainable products in almost every product, especially in protein sources, makes a difference in the eyes of consumers. While pea, chickpea and broad bean proteins, which are plant-based proteins, are used in functional foods and beverages, nuts and cereals such as almonds, oats and coconut are also widely used in plant-based milk alternatives. In addition to these, people who do intense sports or are interested in bodybuilding are also seeking for plantbased solutions in supplements such as BCAA. In the last two years, we see through various researches that a significant portion of consumers who have decreased mobility and turned to ready-to-eat products due to the effect of the pandemic have developed health problems of intestinal and digestive origin, and that consumers have turned to products that can be beneficial for these problems. Probiotics, as beneficial bacteria traditionally taken into the body from milk and dairy products, play an important role in the regulation of intestinal and digestive functions. Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium are among the most widely known probiotics that help maintain the natural balance in the intestinal flora. Of course, we can say that the effects of these beneficial bacteria on consumer health largely depend on the individual organism. In addition, since probiotics are not substances such as vitamins or minerals and are living organisms, more detailed studies may be required to determine the certainty of their health benefits. Food supplements also come into play for consumers who adopt a vegan diet, or consumers who use milk and dairy products but want to take more probiotics. With probiotics added to various breakfast cereals or snack products, consumers can take these organisms into their bodies as supplements. We, as Döhler Gıda, support our business partners with our wide portfolio that includes fruit puree / puree concentrate, fruit juice / juice concentrate, fruit powders, natural flavours, natural colorants, natural extracts, vitamin & mineral mixes, plant-based BCAA varieties, our probiotic granules and many more options. We bring new ideas to life with the functional food and beverage solutions we have developed! Oğuz Çolak Market Segment Manager Döhler Turkey Koray Damar Account Manager Döhler Turkey

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