Healthy ageing

Singapore personalised health and nutrition outfit reveals $150m IPO plan

01-Aug-2017 By Cheryl Tay

Singapore-based personalised and preventative health firm Novena Global Lifecare Group is seeking to raise US$150m through an IPO in Taiwan.

Coffee consumption a counter to sarcopenia in elderly men: Korean study

19-Jul-2017 By Cheryl Tay

Consuming at least three cups of coffee a day could lower the risk of elderly men developing sarcopenia, according to a Korean study.

Cuban sugarcane ingredient gaining traction in Korea for weight, heart and anti-ageing benefits

11-Jul-2017 By Cheryl Tay

A series of Korean studies have discovered the potential of a Cuban ingredient in helping to minimise the risk of a range of health concerns, including heart problems.

Vitamin D supplementation 'essential' for Chinese osteoporosis patients in South East Asia: Study

11-Jul-2017 By Cheryl Tay

One in four Chinese women with post-menopausal osteoporosis (PMO) living in the tropics are vitamin D-deficient, a Malaysian study has reported.

Eye health and vitamins: Supplement intake ‘can increase degeneration’, review reveals

10-Jul-2017 By Cheryl Tay

Scientists have cautioned that antioxidant consumption in supplement form is not as effective as a nutrient-rich diet to improve eye diseases, with some evidence suggesting they can actually worsen existing conditions.

Coffee and anti-ageing: Consumption 'contributes to the prevention' of age-related diseases

10-Jul-2017 By Cheryl Tay

Coffee consumption has been shown to offer anti-ageing benefits and contribute to improved insulin resistance, according to new research from Japan.

Functional foods for the elderly could be the next big growth opportunity for Singapore firms

21-Jun-2017 By Cheryl Tay

Functional foods for Asia’s ageing population have been identified as a core growth opportunity for firms in Singapore, with multinational outfit DSM, the government, market analysts and SMEs joining forces to share knowledge.

Supplements in Singapore: What’s hot and what’s not as sales rise in the City State

20-Jun-2017 By Cheryl Tay

Supplements sales in Singapore rose 4% to $574m by the end of last year, amid growing health concerns and increasing consumer spending.

Chinese red dates: Ultrasonic power and microwave extraction boosts functionality

13-Jun-2017 By Staff Reporter

Polysaccharides from Chinese red dates can provide a host of functional benefits, but certain extraction methods can boost their yields, a review reveals.

GALLERY: The top 10 most-read nutrition and health stories from APAC in May

09-Jun-2017 By Cheryl Tay

Here's a recap of our top 10 most read nutrition stories from May, featuring the latest on vitamin D, infant nutrition, natural health supplements and more.

Looking ahead to the IPA World Congress + Probiota Americas 2017

Ghosts of our African guts: What traditional hunter-gatherers can teach us about gut health

18-May-2017 By Stephen Daniells

Understanding how our ancestors lived and how this affected their gut microbiome may boost prebiotic and probiotic formulations, and give companies a compelling story for consumers, says an expert.

VITAFOODS 2017

Sports nutrition scoring in the mainstream: The latest trends driving the sector’s growth

15-May-2017 By Gary Scattergood

The blurring of boundaries between sports nutrition and mainstream food and beverages is fuelling the sector’s growth, alongside new product development (NPD) tackling consumer needs according to their age, gender and lifestyle.

OPINION: Why positive biology is crucial to understand how we can achieve healthy ageing

03-May-2017 By Karen Hocking

Queen Elizabeth was reported to have sent out 300 birthday wishes to British centenarians in 1955, 1200 in 1970, and 7500 in 2014. Now it is estimated that there is somewhere in the vicinity of 300,000 centenarians worldwide, writes Karen Hocking from...

Aging population in China boosts myostatin-inhibiting ingredient's prospects

28-Apr-2017 By Hank Schultz

The growing population of older consumers in China and other countries bodes well for muscle-support ingredient Fortetropin, says the developer Myos Rens.

Hong Kong billionaire to pour $25 million into ChromaDex

27-Apr-2017 By Hank Schultz

ChromaDex, an ingredient development and analytical testing firm, has announced a large investment by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing.

Why outdated regulations risk thwarting Indonesia’s supplements growth: Botanical supplier

26-Apr-2017 By Millette Burgos

Growth in the health supplements space is being "slowed down" by outdated regulations in Indonesia, with industry players clamouring for new rules.

Major international project to understand how events in pregnancy affect healthy ageing

20-Apr-2017 By Gary Scattergood

An international project has been launched to better understand how events during pregnancy and childhood influence the development of disease later in life, with the University of Western Australia and medical research organisation The Telethon Kids...

Frailty and low income causing poor nutrition among Japanese elderly

20-Apr-2017 By Millette Burgos

Poor social support, economic disadvantage and frailty have been identified as key factors for low dietary variation and therefore poor nutrition among elderly Japanese adults.

Chinese herb has anti-ageing potential due to potent free radical scavenging powers

20-Apr-2017 By Millette Burgos

The Chinese herb Chuanmishen violaceum (CVPS) helped improve antioxidant activity and increased free radical scavenging capabilities in tests on ageing mice, revealing it’s suitability for anti-ageing products.

GALLERY - Botanical boom? The outfits with high herbal hopes for South East Asia

10-Apr-2017 By Millette Burgos

Suppliers of plant extracts were out in force at the recent Health Ingredients South East Asia show, at the same time as it was revealed the sector will be the fastest growing globally to 2022.

Indian herbal firm expands product portfolio and explores e-commerce opportunities

21-Mar-2017 By Millette Burgos

Herbal ingredient manufacturer Mrida Greens has added five more nutrient extracts to its herbal extracts product portfolio, and announced plans to venture into the business-to-consumer space.

The ‘enormous challenge’ of ageing China’s cognitive and physical health needs revealed

14-Mar-2017 By Gary Scattergood

China’s ageing population has poorer cognitive and physical function compared with their counterparts from 10 years ago, according to the largest study of its kind, published in The Lancet.

Sarcopenia and poor nutrition: Significant association found in elderly Chinese population

14-Mar-2017 By Millette Burgos

Malnutrition is a prime risk factor for older Chinese adults suffering from sarcopenia, an age-related condition of declining skeletal muscle mass and function. 

Gallery: Six of the top functional foods, health and supplement products launched at FoodEx Japan

13-Mar-2017 By Millette Burgos

This year’s FoodEx Japan show featured well over 3,000 exhibitors, from more than 80 countries, and attracted over 80,000 delegates.

'Intervene in the community': Supplements boost nutrition in elderly and help maintain independence, Korea trial reports

09-Mar-2017 By Gary Scattergood

A two-week course of a liquid supplement improved the nutritional status and reduced inflammation in elderly people living in community settings, a new trial from Korea reports.

Herbalife partners with Indian pharma firm for new R&D lab

07-Mar-2017 By Millette Burgos

Herbalife has launched its first R&D lab in India, in partnership with pharma research and manufacturing firm Syngene.

Thailand’s top three supplement and functional food trends as beauty bubble begins to burst: Infographic

06-Mar-2017 By Gary Scattergood

Healthy ageing, natural supplements and personalised nutrition: these are three emerging trends in Thailand offering ample opportunities for industry growth.

Ayurveda extract helps reduce knee pain in elderly: Sabinsa Japanese RCT

26-Feb-2017 By Gary Scattergood

A clinical trial evaluating the effects of Sabinsa’s Boswellin Super supplement on knee pain reduction revealed improvements in pain management, a study funded by the company has found.

Six Japan food, nutrition and consumer trends set to shape 2017

21-Feb-2017 By Gary Scattergood

We pinpoint six of the must-know food, nutrition and consumer trends taking shape in Japan, from superfoods to sports nutrition, ahead of one of the country's biggest trade shows, FoodEx Japan, which takes place next month.

Singapore centre seeks to increase science standards for home-grown supplements, TCM and food firms

16-Feb-2017 By Millette Burgos

A recently established Singapore centre is seeking to increase the standard of evidence-based data for SMEs in the supplements, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and functional foods space.

Boosting Singapore's brain health: ‘We’re trying to change the slope of cognitive decline’, says supplements boss

15-Feb-2017 By Millette Burgos

A new cognitive health supplement firm which recently opened a base in Singapore is targetting consumers in their 40s as it seeks to expand across the region. 

Vitamin vending machines: Is this the future for supplements retailing in APAC?

14-Feb-2017 By Millette Burgos

The man who has launched Australia’s first store selling vitamins solely via vending machines wants to launch hundreds more in locations across the country, while also expanding to overseas markets such as China, Singapore, India and New Zealand.

Daily calcium intake for Japanese women should be increased to 600mg: Review

06-Feb-2017 By Millette Burgos

Most Japanese women are not getting enough calcium and vitamin D, increasing the risks of osteoporotic fractures and other diseases, states a new review.

Traditional Chinese Medicine firms should target international dietary supplements market, China Premier says

02-Feb-2017 By Millette Burgos

China’s Premier Li Keqiang says Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) manufacturers should look to develop mainstream dietary supplements using Western medical knowledge in order to boost export potential.

Curcumin can be ‘as big as omega-3’ with correct science and marketing: OmniActive MD

31-Jan-2017 By Millette Burgos

Curcumin can become as big as omega-3, according to the boss of Indian nutraceutical supplier OmniActive, which has recently received a significant funding boost and made a high-level acquisition.  

Herbalife facing investigation over anti-corruption compliance in China

23-Jan-2017 By Millette Burgos

Herbalife has confirmed that it is facing a probe from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding anti-corruption compliance in China. 

Finding the fish: Rethinking nutrition amid modern diets

19-Jan-2017 By Gerald Quigley

In a perfect world you would get all the omega-3s you need by eating fish, but less than 10% of Australian adults consume the required level of fish regularly, writes Gerald Quigley.

CVD: Blinkered training pushes young doctors away from supplements

19-Jan-2017 By RJ Whitehead

Doctors show low willingness to recommend omega-3s to their patients because the training they received lacked any attention to nutrition and lifestyle.

Probiotics and Alzheimer’s: Personalised nutrition tipped to become crucial area of treatment research

16-Jan-2017 By Gary Scattergood

Modulation of gut microbiota through personalised diet or probiotic intervention will increasingly become a key focus for treating brain disorders including Alzheimer’s Disease, Chinese academics have concluded in a new review.

Functional food and supplement manufacturers urged to get creative with whey protein offerings

13-Jan-2017 By Millette Burgos

South East Asia functional food and supplement firms need to help educate consumers that whey protein isn’t just for body builders, and formulate new products that can help treat the rising number of sarcopenia cases among the elderly in the region.

Chicory extract found to improve memory loss in mice: China study

12-Jan-2017 By Millette Burgos

Chicoric acid (CA), a nutraceutical component from the chicory plant, could slow down memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases, a study revealed.

Supplements and functional foods driving APAC fish oil market growth to 2020

05-Jan-2017 By Gary Scattergood

The Asia-Pacific fish oil market is forecast to grow by 5% to 2020 helping the global total to hit US$1.5bn, with supplements and functional foods tipped to be the region’s fasting-growing industry segment.

Exclusive interview

How Australia’s omega-3 map will feed frenzied fatty acid research

03-Jan-2017 By RJ Whitehead

“We are building it while we’re flying it,” says William Harris, the distinguished American omega-3 researcher, of a mapping project to find out the true level of omega-3s in Australians’ blood, at a time when three-quarters of the population are believed...

Asian VC invests €33m in Indian botanicals specialist; acquisitions targeted

02-Jan-2017 By Shane Starling

Indian-based but global-facing herbals player OmniActive Health Technologies has won a $35 million (€33m) investment from venture capitalist Everstone Group, as it pursues expansion and acquisition targets.

APAC anti-ageing demand driving growth in global antioxidants market

21-Dec-2016 By Gary Scattergood

Demand in Asia Pacific for for anti-aging supplements and products is driving global growth for antioxidants, presenting suppliers and manufactures with a lucrative opportunity to boost sales, new market research suggests.

India’s new functional food and supplements rules: The key requirements every firm needs to know

07-Dec-2016 By Gary Scattergood

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued its long-awaited rules for functional foods and supplements – publishing a 79-page set of criteria on its website.

Soapbox

Vitamins, supplements and intelligent ageing

17-Nov-2016 By Miho Kikuchi

They say that grey hair is a symbol of wisdom. This is so true as many Australian seniors are now taking a more proactive approach to their own healthcare by doing independent research to stay healthy and active. 

The Daily Wellness Company readies for China launch with major authentication deal

16-Nov-2016 By Gary Scattergood

Hawaii supplement firm The Daily Wellness Company is preparing to launch its first products in China in early 2017 – and has signed a deal with TruTag technologies to authenticate its products.

Myanmar: Half of population over 40 has high cholesterol, one-in-three has hypertension

19-Oct-2016 By Gary Scattergood

Specialists in Myanmar are warning that unhealthy lifestyles and the low intake of essential vitamins and minerals is leading cardiovascular problems to spiral out of control.

‘World-first’ rapid Vitamin B12 deficiency test could boost fight against cognitive decline

18-Oct-2016 By Gary Scattergood

Australian researchers have developed a world-first optical sensor that can detect vitamin B12 in diluted human blood – something they believe is a first step towards a low-cost and portable, vitamin B12 deficiency test.