"nutraceuticals" news and stories

If you thought that the grocery store was the only place you'd ever find Nestlé products, think again. As of last week they're on the cosmetic counters at Neiman Marcus.

The food-making giant launched the Glowelle brand, their entry into the nascent beauty nutraceutical industry. While nutraceuticals specifically for the beauty market have been popular in Japan for the last few years, that use is virtually unknown in the US.

Beauty nutraceuticals are generally drinks or juices that are aimed at some beauty issue, such as skin appearance. Drink the product and your skin will be glowing, or that's the idea. Nestle's Glowelle comes in two flavors: natural jasmine and natural pomegranate lychee.

Here in the States, we're familiar with all manner of nutraceutical snacks like fiber cookies and sweet chewable calcium supplements. These items are often marketed to women with nary a trace of sexism. Sadly, that's not the case for these Japanese cookies I just encountered.

The makers of F-Cup Cookies claim women can increase their breast size by eating two of these cookies a day. Each biscuit is said to contain 50mg of a breast-enhancing herb. No indication has been given as to how many days it takes to eat your way to an F cup or what size your butt will grow to as you snack your way to a bigger bosom. Obviously, the very idea of breast-enhancing cookies is ridiculous. Surely everyone knows F-Cup Cookie is the name of a famous Japanese porn star.

[via: Gizmodo]

Food Business Review Online had an interesting piece on 10 trends to watch for in 2007. I was glad to read that healthful food for kids and local sourcing of ingredients made the list. On a separate note, I was especially happy to learn that nutraceutical beer is in the offing.

Here's the full list:

• Calorie burning beverages: Look for more products like Celsius and Enviga that purport to help shed pounds without exercise.
• Satiety-enhancing foods and drinks: Products that increase the feeling of fullness are just starting to hit the market. Among them is LightFull Satiety Smoothie, which is high in fiber and protein, but has only 70 calories per serving.

Source

The Food and Drug Administration has a thing or two to say about the heart-healthy claims made by Mars' CocoaVia chocolate, launched last year. A letter to Mars' parent company Masterfoods USA from the FDA describes CocoaVia as "misbranded," due to what the FDA believes are conflicts between the antioxidant-rich chocolate's saturated fat content and its claim to be a heart healthy product, NutraIngredients-USA.com reported. Claims of health benefits make CocoaVia more drug than food, and would, in turn, require pre-market approval and a change in how the chocolate is marketed. The FDA also takes issue with the amounts of folic acid in some CocoaVia products, citing their recommendation of 1 mg per day. Masterfoods USA must now notify the FDA of how it plans to comply with the group's complaints, according NutraIngredients-USA.

The other day, Sarah Gilbert posted about the skin-moisturizing benefits of drinking sake. Well, if you're looking for a non-alcoholic beverage option to improve your complexion, there's Skincola, "the first skincare beverage". Not really a cola, Skincola is a clear, uncarbonated, lemon-lime flavored drink fortified with zinc and vitamins B, E and C as well as oxygen, collagen and biotin, all of which are intended to inhibit "tissue breakdown."

While Skincola isn't available directly through the company's website, I understand prices range from $1-$2 per bottle. What you will find on the site is some background on the drink's creators and very poorly worded press release.