Tackling Stress Through Nutrition

Mental health, once viewed as a separate to physical health, is now understood to be intrinsically connected to our complete wellbeing.

Stress is often the catalyst of poor mental health and has been linked to everything from mood swings to lack of focus and long-term sleep issues.

According to the IPSOS Nutiani Consumer Wellness Research, over half of respondents (52%) experience increased irritability when stressed and 49% suffer from insomnia. The ability to think, learn and recall is also impacted for close to a third of consumers¹, which can disrupt their daily lives.

Overall mood and stress were among the top 10 prioritised wellbeing aspects in the IPSOS Nutiani Consumer Wellness Research

Edible solutions to stress management

As interest in mental health and wellbeing grows, consumers are on the hunt for solutions that go beyond traditional capsules and pills. Catering to this rising demand, we are now uncovering a new natural way to combat the effects of stress on our bodies.

Phospholipids, naturally present in milk as well as our bodies, are complex lipids that are gaining attention for their stress management capabilities. They are fundamental building blocks of the brain but decline in number as we age². Clinical studies have shown that boosting the concentration of phospholipids in the body improves memory performance, especially for people with high levels of stress³. Supplementary phospholipids are easily absorbed by the body, and consumption has been associated with supporting stress management, helping us stay focused⁴ and positive⁵.

Sustained focus on mental health creates new opportunities

As we become increasingly aware of the importance of mental health in today’s volatile environment and develop a better understanding of nutrition, the value of functional ingredients as a key component of balanced diets will continue to grow. Our research further affirms this, revealing 54% of consumers turn to nutrition to manage stress and highlighting dairy protein as the second most preferred ingredient¹.

There is now an exciting opportunity for our customers to tap directly into this shift and address the needs of consumers by incorporating science-backed ingredients such as phospholipids into their innovation pipelines.