How can a nation be great if it’s bread tastes like Kleenex? – Julia Child

We had a bit of a discussion going with JP over at Healthy Fellow regarding the challenges of incorporating natural, healthy alternative ingredients into mainstream food products. One challenge is economic as some of these more innovative ingredients come at a price. For example, outside of colour, coconut sugar could be used in most places that refined sugar is used today, however it costs more.

JP suggested that consumer demand and taste were the main factors in adoption of healthier ingredients, rather than cost, and we tend to agree. Clearly there is a growing awareness of food quality and functionality with modern consumers and this is leading to a growing demand for healthier ingredients in the foods we eat. Basic economics would tell us that growing demand will also drive supply and lead to lower costs. So it really comes down to taste. As JP pointed out:

For instance, I can buy a large bag of “bakers stevia” such as Stevia in Raw for about the same amount as a comparably-sized Splenda package. On the other hand, I couldn’t get my wife to accept the taste of stevia – regardless of the price. Unfortunately, she’s not the only one that feels this way…The regulatory status of stevia is what it is today because there was sufficient demand for it. But even so, the market is somewhat limited because of tepid consumer acceptance of the current products on the market.

The overall sentiment is that if manufacturers can somehow produce products based on natural, healthy ingredients that taste as good as the current mainstream products, they’ll be adopted by consumers. For food manufacturers, achieving this ideal combination of health and taste may require changes to processes and formulation. According the the recent article Building Better Desserts at FoodProcessing.com:

The dessert items receiving the brunt of healthy treatments certainly would be baked goods, such as cakes and cookies…the incorporation of ingredients such as whole grains can readily make them healthier…But these ingredients do change the baking aspects of products — such as the mixing — so processes and formulas need to be adjusted.

Besides processes and formulation, the taste challenge can also be addressed by innovation with the basic constituents themselves, for example, various suppliers of food ingredients are developing healthier fats and oils as well as unique whole grains, fibers and beta glucans. In fact, we saw a new version of stevia at the IFT Food Expo in Chicago just last week that does not need any masking agents (i.e. flavours) for its lingering sweetness.

Lastly, the push for healthier retail food products is not just driven by consumer demand but by regulation, which provides yet another challenge for food manufacturers when pursuing consumer acceptance. Afterall, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink it. It all comes down to taste.

I suppose we all want to look good. Thick, healthy, beautiful hair is a big part of having an attractive appearance. This is probably one reason why hair care products have the highest sales volume of all non-food items in the United States. It’s estimated that the hair care market in the United States is worth over $6 billion!

Now I’m not so sure chia is the natural Rogaine, however, equestrians have been using chia seeds for some time to naturally provide horses with a healthier skin and coat, and to promote strong hoof growth. So does it have the same effect with human hair? According to a recent article by Alexsis Grovenor:

If you want to ensure you always have healthy hair you should follow a routine. In much the same way you have a skin care regime you should have a hair care regime. In order to have lovely hair you need to use a hair loss product or hair growth product to treat the hair. However, you should go one step further by taking a daily supplement. Chia seeds contain all the goodness your body needs to produce healthy hair.

We’re going to leave this one alone! However, as we’ve noted before, chia is pretty amazing. It’s gaining a lot of attention as a nutritional powerhouse. We think it’s a great candidate for use in food applications, providing a boost in nutritional content. And who knows, maybe it’ll help with that bald spot!

Chia Seeds for Natural Hair Growth

photo credit: andydr

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We’ve already been extolling the virtues of coconut sugar: a granulated brown sugar, it’s 100% natural, and the perfect alternative to refined sugars in applications such as confectionery, desserts and savoury products such as sauces. It has a low glycemic index and unlike refined sugar, some actual nutritional value. We see coconut sugar as a great way for food manufacturers to offer “guilt free” indulgent sweets.

We were really pleased to see coconut sugar featured on the San Francisco ABC affiliate’s show the View from the Bay. In a segment called Make over your pantry with healthy foods, they look beyond counting calories and grams of fat, and instead look at the ingredients which make up the food we eat. The very first ingredient to be featured was coconut sugar, where they specifically made mention of it’s amazing characteristics, including the fact that it tastes like (refined) sugar, and can be used in place of refined sugar in most recipes. According to the show:

The average amount of refined sugar we eat on average in the US is over 150 pounds of refined sugar per person. Refined sugar pulls nutrients from our body making us deficient and actually lowers our immune system after eating it for a few hours making us more susceptible to colds. I love coconut sugar because it has a glycemic index of about half that of sugar so it won’t cause blood sugar fluctuations. It’s also high in Potassium, Magnesium, Zinc and Iron and is a natural source of the vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6 and C.

We encourage you to check out the segment in it’s entirety for other interesting ingredient ideas:

Make over your pantry with healthy foods

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A significant portion of our population suffer from major depression at some point in their lives. A recent study conducted at the University of Montreal, McGill University in Montreal, Laval University in Quebec City and Queen’s University in Kingston has shown that omega-3 supplements help patients with major depression (excluding those with anxiety disorders). The double blind study had half of the participants taking three capsules a day of an omega-3 supplement containing fish oil over an eight week period and the other half taking a placebo. According to the CBC:

The study found that the supplement helped about half of the sample of patients — those who had depression without anxiety disorders…The researchers could not say if food with omega-3, such as fish, would have the same effect, because their test involved only the supplement form.

The consumption of omega-3 is already a growing trend amongst those in search of a diet that may help improve cardiovascular health, strengthen the nervous system and stop cell aging. Chia seeds are the superior vegetarian source of omega-3 since it contains 18 grams of α-linolenic acid for every 100 grams of seeds. It is also felt that vegetarian sources provide other benefits over fish as a source of this essential fatty acid. Others go further in linking the relief of depression to chia:

The omega-3 fatty acids found in chia seeds has shown some success in the relief of depression symptoms. Research has shown that deficiencies in omega-3 fatty acids are contributing factors in many mood disorders, depression among them. Supplements rich in omega-3 fatty acids have shown promising results in many who suffer such disorders, decreasing symptoms substantially in some cases.

Chia seeds can easily be added to a variety of food applications such as salads, yogurt, soups, cereal, and even drinks, without altering the original flavor.

By the way, we are not medical professionals. This is simply an interesting study result that we’d like to pass on – yet another potential benefit of chia. People with major depression should discuss the use of omega-3 with their physicians before supplementing their diets with the unsaturated fatty acid.

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Omega-3 eases depression: study

Chia seeds have been featured this week on CNBC, where they wonder whether chia is the next big superfood. Chia isn’t mainstream yet, but has a growing following amongst the nutritionist and health community. Thanks to Christopher McDougall’s book Born to Run, which describes the use of chia in a drink called iskiate, long distance runners and other athletes are beginning to extol the virtues of this amazing seed. According to CNBC:

The next superfood though is a name you might know: Chia seeds. Yep, the very same seeds that you spread over your kitchen pet are now valued as a superfood…its filled with fiber, potassium and antioxidants, and it’s good for athletes of endurance sports because it holds water well.

Here’s the video segment:

Mentions of chia in the mainstream press should bump demand. It’s a versatile seed that food manufacturers might consider using in some of their products to leverage this growing awareness amongst consumers. If you’re a manufacturer looking into chia, we can help you with your application and supply both standard, and certified organic chia. Contact us to arrange for a sample. Consumers can purchase chia both online and in a growing number of traditional retail outlets.