Functional and organic foods show double-digit growth in U.S.

The US health and wellness sector surged 15 per cent in 2007 and broached the US$100 billion mark for the first time, according to the Natural Marketing Institute (NMI). And double-digit growth will continue with projected sales of $170 billion by 2012.

The Pennsylvania-based market analyst said its statistics related to health and wellness packaged good sales across both retail and direct-to-consumer channels and were part of its 2007 US survey conducted among more than 6,000 households.

Source: Foodnavigator.com

Link to the full report:
Functional and Organic Foods Show Double-Digit Growth in US.

[This speaks volumes of our industry’s opportunity to increase market awareness for all our fitness and nutrition facility offerings and draw more public to our locations as there are clearly more of them becoming conscious and spending more discretionary funds on health and health products including fitness, diet, foods and supplements.]

Nanoemulsions show potential for fighting cancer

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts are exploring the potential of using “nanoemulsions” containing bioactive compounds to reduce the growth and spread of cancer cells. The bioactive compounds looked at include antioxidants like lycopene; curcumin (curcumin is the principal curcuminoid found in turmeric); vitamin E; omega-3 fatty acids; and plant sterols.

Preliminary results show promise. Animals injected with neuroblastoma to promote the growth of cancer cells and then exposed to antioxidant nanoemulsions experienced a shrinkage in tumours by 65 per cent. A nanoemulsion of curcumin was found to inhibit the spread of melanoma cancer cells by about 89 per cent.

The majority of the results presented had yet to be published in peer-review journals.

Source: NutraIngredients.com Research Link