With populations in North America, Europe and Asia aging fast, there
continues to be a massive surge of growth in the functional foods industry, and
it is not showing signs of slowing down anytime soon. With this growth spurt has
come countless nutritional supplements and natural foods being touted as cures
of everything from arthritis to cancer. The challenge is sorting the hype from
reality, and that is where a new series of health-related websites comes in.
"In the U.S., baby boomers who started turning 50 in 1996 are doing so at a rate
of 300,000 per month. The interest in retarding the aging process and remaining
healthy will continue to drive the market demand for functional food products,"
noted Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada.
According to CNNmoney in 2000, "The market for functional foods has been
estimated at $20 billion annually in the U.S. alone, according to the reports.
It is expected to grow at some 15 percent each year."
However, consumers must be wary about where they put their money, according to
doctors such as Dr. Mercola of Mercola.com, as many of these products and
supplements may not be necessary and may have outrageous claims associated with
them that lead to highly overpriced juices, foods and supplements. In reality,
there are many things one can do to save money while benefiting from new
discoveries in health, especially when much of the research being done is
focusing on natural anti-aging agents found in such foods as goji berries (marketed
as Himalayan Goji Juice in North America), acai berries, sea buckthorn berries
and other highly beneficial super foods.
“There’s no reason why people can’t grow their own goji berries or other super
foods at home,” said Alan Rhode, webmaster of GojiJuices.net, a new website that
provides information comparing the companies selling goji juice and instructing
consumers how to grow their own berries. “What this industry (functional foods)
needs is a more thorough examination of the products via a consumer watchdog.
Multi-level marketing companies would have us believe there is something special
about their juice or berries, but the fact is, if you grow them at home you can
get all of the benefits of goji juice for free, minus the cost of the seeds. And
if you don’t have a green thumb, you can at least shop around for companies
offering fair prices on organic juice or berries.”
Rhode is creating a series of websites, starting with GojiJuices.net, to monitor
the different natural health products being touted by the functional foods
industry and to offer alternatives to those people who cannot afford these
products. Other websites in the series, not yet completed as of this release,
include SeaBerries.com and AntiAgingAid.net.
Source: Trent Rhode
All of the above text is a press release provided by the quoted organization.
globalagingtimes.com accepts no responsibility for their accuracy.
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