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We have been through quite a year. The pandemic has tested our eating resilience and has demonstrated new needs that we may not have had before, like doing more food preparation at home and focusing on immune health.
As I reflect on the year, here are some ideas I have for nutrition trends for 2021 based on what I know about the scientific literature in my monthly review of 30 studies during 2020:
- The gamut of more gluten-free options: With gluten-free eating being highly popularized, we need to get diverse in offerings for reasons of sustainability. For some time, we’ve seen that wheat and other grains have been replaced with rice, pea protein, and corn. We are now observing cassava and sorghum added to the list, and I anticipate that we will have an array of traditional tubers to start experimenting with in tortillas, chips, breads, and more.
- Concentrated forms of fermented foods: The popularity of fermented foods and different types beyond the traditional ‘kraut’ will grow. There may even be quasi food-supplement-like products such as a concentrated form of kimchi or more diverse plants used in a fermented product for greater health benefits. Let’s get beyond cabbage, beets, and cabbage, and start fermenting an artist’s palette of plant foods!
- Much ado about sprouts: Sprouts, especially broccoli sprouts, have been touted as rich sources of various nutrients like sulforaphane. However, there are challenges to eating them (due to bitter taste in some cases) and keeping them fresh (they tend to spoil within days), especially in the amounts seen as having a health effect. I would like more living sprout products, whether in tea, dressings, or sauces.
- Coo-coo for cocoa products: The research on cocoa never ends. To me, that’s a good thing. There is always something new we are learning, whether it’s on heart health, brain health, or mood. Based on the research, I can foresee that 2021 brings in more stress-relieving coffees, drink mixes, and even dry good products with high-flavonoid cocoa extracts for improved effects on mood. We are all going to need a pick-me-up long after the pandemic…
- Nrf2/longevity foods: Whether its purple sweet potato extract or a bioavailable form of strawberry-derived fisetin, I would think there would continue to be interest in fasting-mimicking foods or the types of foods that alter cellular communication towards more streamlined metabolism, particularly at the point of upregulating endogenous antioxidant enzymes through Nrf2. In other words, instead of just taking in more antioxidants, empower the body to produce its own through its cellular machinery, which can be ‘turned on’ by certain plant food-derived compounds.
- Personalized use recommendations on the labels of dietary supplements: For so long, I have found it frustrating to not have dosing on various dietary supplements that is relatively basic, such as listing the amount of probiotics to be taken per kilogram body weight. As personalized nutrition takes off, I would expect to see more mainstream recommendations on labels as well as personalized nutrition services online: that might mean dosing per body weight, gender, or even for the health benefits intended.
- The next ‘fish oil’: Fatty acids are so diverse yet we’ve been round and round with EPA and DHA. I am not discounting the tremendous research to support these fats, but trying to give the other family members within the fatty acid complex some visibility. There are several other sophisticated long-chain fatty acids like DPA that are worth investigating, along with other fat-based modulators like phospholipids and carotenoids. Let’s see some creativity in fatty acid delivery!
- “Anti-nutrient” labeling on foods: Food intolerances and sensitivities are on more peoples’ radar. Why not have food manufacturers go the extra mile to test and label products for their content of lectins, oxalates, histamines, and goitrogens to help consumers better navigate the space? More transparency is better for more informed choices, and, ultimately, improved outcomes.
- Using colored lights to grow foods: I believe that the next frontier is light medicine, technology, and agriculture. Some initial studies suggest that the different colors of light may lead to altering the production of phytochemicals. Wouldn’t it be interesting to see different colors of light at the grocery store being projected onto specific foods to maximize their phytochemical content? I’d like to see the store in a rainbow-variety of colors!
- It’s time for turmeric: Turmeric is a timeless anti-inflammatory and imparts a healing, warm, yellow-orange color. My hope is to see more of it used in breads, pastas, and even baked products as a way to offset the potential inflammatory effect of the food (in some cases) and simply as a value-add in other cases. Plus, we know that inflammation is foundational to health issues, so let’s get it more widely in the food supply.
- Mushroom mania: I look forward to more developments in the field of mycology, such as examining the different parts of a mushroom to see activity towards a variety of physiological effects and under different growing conditions. Mushrooms. Aren’t. Going. Away.
- Less packaging: It’s happening in the personal care products segment, and now we need to see it in the food, beverage, and dietary supplement market: collapsible containers, compostable packages, and perhaps cartons that have microbes or mycelium embedded into them for easy degradation is where I’d like to see us headed.
- Apps for nutrient assessment on the spot: Imagine you wave your smart phone camera light over a food and get a read on its nutrient levels. Or even toxins. Imagine nutrition Star Trek-style.
- Vitamin K is the next vitamin D. I know I’ve been saying this mantra for years now, but I finally see it actualizing! In fact, a paper came out in 2020 advocating an RDI for vitamin K2. We need to make way for the complexity of vitamin K, both the leafy greens phylloquinone form (vitamin K1) and the menaquinone form from fermented foods (vitamin K2). Oh, and is there a certain microbiome population that will enhance one’s vitamin K2 production? I’d like to see that research unfold and translate to the public.
- Broccoli leaves as the next ‘green’: Broccoli leaves have been shown to be high in phytonutrients like phenolics and fiber. Yet, most people eat the florets and toss the rest. To create food efficiency and less waste, procuring the broccoli leaves and selling as a separate, nutrient-dense product might be the way to go as a win-win!
- The enduring sweetness of honey: Honey is kind of like mushrooms. We love our bees. We respect the mushrooms. One gives us life through food and the other gives us life through decay. There is an incredible amount of science being published on bee products in general: royal jelly, propolis, pollen, and honey. The variety of honeys have diverse and differing compositions. From what I can see in the literature, honey is being seen more like a therapeutic rather than a sweetener, and its effects might even be potentiated by other agents like vitamin C.
- Mineral-enriched waters: It is getting tougher to get minerals from depleted soils. Minerals can compete with heavy metals and they are necessary cofactors for numerous reactions. People love talking all things magnesium, but we need all the minerals in the proper proportions. I would like to see more mineral-infused or enriched waters from natural springs at levels that are appreciable. A study I read suggested that mineral-rich waters can help to reduce the effects of dietary acid load.
- Upleveled collagen: I’d personally like my collagen with carotenoids. Both are known to benefit skin health, so why not put them together?
