For the past few years, we’ve noted in these pages that digestive health, and the probiotic bacteria and prebiotic fibers and starches that support it, would continue to be the hottest trends in “better for you” food and beverage development. And, true to our predictions, consumer interest in digestive health has only continued to expand. Constant publicizing that the digestive tract is often referred to as the body’s largest internal organ of immunity made the relationship between the two inextricable.
While the COVID-19 pandemic did not change that, it has created opportunities for consumers to widen their focus of food and ingredients for immunity beyond pre- and probiotics. Don’t worry; this is not a case of “replacement theology,” but an additive situation. Americans are not only more interested than ever before in digestive health to support the immune system but are grasping at any ingredients that can help them protect themselves from diseases, whether viruses or other nasties such as bacterial infections or cancer.