Dr. Vegan survey finds UK consumers want more personalized nutrition in healthcare

Nutrition and supplement brand Dr. Vegan introduces its “Gut Punch” campaign, designed to raise awareness of the considerable extent to which British consumers suffer from gut health problems and take action with tools to better understand the topic. A survey conducted by the brand flags that a growing majority expect healthcare practitioners to be trained in personalized nutrition.

Dr. Vegan discloses 60% of Brits are struggling with gut health issues, a statistic it illustrates with the campaign’s comical visual of a fist made up of intestines. The launch is accompanied by an educational, interactive “Gut Health” online hub.

“Gut health is responsible for 70% of the immune system, and directly influences life expectancy, mood, energy, sleep, physical well-being, skin, hair, and much more,” underscores Shona Wilkinson, registered nutritionist at Dr. Vegan.

“While we are still learning more and more everyday from new research, we know that alongside hormones, the foods we eat have the biggest impact on the health of our gut microbiome.”

Demand for personalized nutrition in healthcare

The brand conducted a 300-person survey where nearly nine in ten (86%) respondents said they expect general practitioners to be trained in nutrition, and to offer personalized nutrition advice if it’s a suitable alternative to medication (89%).

Despite this, however, it stresses that UK general practitioners receive less than two days training in nutrition at medical school and are not qualified to give personalized nutrition advice unless specialist training has been received.

Dr. Vegan discloses 60% of Brits are struggling with gut health issues.Addressing this, Dr. Vegan’s “nutritionist-informed” interactive Gut Health online hub offers a holistic view on the gut’s vital role in the body across a plethora of bodily functions, including elements like the tell-tale signs of poor gut health, the impact of food, types of bowel movements, and what they mean for health.

The platform also offers information on targeted probiotics and their benefits, as part of comprehensive detail on how consumers might improve their gut health.

“Modern diets are packed with ultra-processed, high-fat, sugary and salty foods, contributing to record levels of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal conditions, poor sleep, chronic stress, and more,” stresses Dr. Vegan’s co-founder Gordon Lott.

“Our gut is the control center for our physical and mental health, our daily well-being and our weight, yet education on how to create and support a healthy gut is shockingly poor. In fact, it’s completely absent from our education and healthcare systems, and we want to change that.”

Wilkinson adds: “We all have the power to make simple, actionable changes to improve our gut health, and a good starting place is to understand your poo, a topic we’ve included detail on within our online hub.”

Dr. Vegan’s gut health portfolio includes the Gut Works, Debloat & Detox, and Fibre Complex products.

Personalized gut research advances

In recent gut science developments, Biohm Technologies launched its Longevity Gut Report functionality, an addition to the company’s microbiome test kit solution. The upgrade leverages AI and bioinformatics to provide deeper insights into how an individual’s gut microbiome may influence the aging process. 

This week, scientists demonstrated how gut microbes may mediate sugar-sweetened beverages’ impact on diabetes risk. Their paper identifies differences in gut microbiota and blood metabolites among people consuming high amounts of sugar-sweetened beverages. This altered metabolite profile presents a higher risk of developing diabetes in the next ten years.

Meanwhile, Nimble Science has been upgrading healthcare services with its SIMBA Capsule, which collects and preserves precise samples directly from the small intestine when swallowed to advance personalized microbiome research.