Saffron fields in Spain – This is where the patented saffron extract Affron® in our Balance Support Complex comes from.
Why Foondiert®?
Ingredients
Foondiert® products are
proprietary formulations, based on
clinical research conducted with the strictest scientific rigour. The ingredients used are of the highest quality and
bioavailability and are often
patented. With such care given to what goes in to a Foondiert® product it follows that we are equally committed to
what stays out .
Proprietary formulations
Our products are all proprietary formulations ensuring that we maintain complete control over the entire product development process. This is in contrast to products on the market that are produced by manufacturers in bulk and then offered for sale to businesses that add a label, product name, and price before selling them on to their own customers. We are responsible for every aspect of our products, from the selection of raw materials, the formulation of the ingredients, and the certification of products to decisions about dosage forms and manufacturing processes.
Clinical research
The choice of ingredients:
For any given ingredient in a food supplement, there may be many different forms available. For us, the decision which of these to select is based on scientific substantiation. We consider the type, quantity and quality of clinical trials conducted on the ingredient’s effects, and carefully review the publication of these results in top-tier, peer-reviewed sources.
Example: Quatrefolic® (L-5-MTHF) - an important ingredient in three of our products
Folate describes the many different forms of vitamin B9. We chose L-5-MTHF because it is the biologically active form of folate and occurs naturally in the body. This means that it is immediately bioavailable without first being metabolised and therefore there are no conversion losses. Also, the widely used approach of increasing folate levels with synthetic folic acid may be ineffective for people (about 50% of the population) who have a disease or genetic mutation that interferes with the conversion of folate and folic acid from food into its usable biologically active form, L-5-MTHF.
That is only one case of how clinical research drives our decisions – every single ingredient used in a Foondiert® product serves as a further example.
Health claims: Foondiert® products only issue health claims approved by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). A health claim is any statement that health benefits can result from consuming a given food supplement or its components such as vitamins or minerals. There are EU-wide regulations for the use of health claims for food supplements. It is the responsibility of the EFSA to verify the scientific substantiation of health claims submitted for authorization. These regulations are intended to ensure that health claims are sufficiently substantiated by clinical research and scientific evidence.
Example: The Foondiert® Direct Spray "Vegan Vitamin D3"
The EFSA-approved health claims for vitamin D are that it:
- has a function in normal cell division
- contributes to normal immune system function
- contributes to normal blood calcium levels
- contributes to the maintenance of normal muscle function
- contributes to the maintenance of normal bones
- contributes to the maintenance of normal teeth
The EFSA also defines conditions of use and restrictions of use for each of the above claims. For example, the EFSA states that a claim may be issued only for food which meets certain prerequisites for the source and amount of vitamin D it contains.
Bioavailability
The bioavailability of each of our ingredients is best in class. There is a common misconception that the terms bioavailability and absorption are interchangeable. In the context of food supplementation, the bioavailability of a nutrient is the amount of the dose that reaches systemic circulation. This is determined by several processes in the body that include absorption, but also distribution, metabolism, and excretion. Bioavailability determines the amount of an ingested nutrient that is available for use in normal physiologic functions. Therefore, a nutrient’s health benefits are limited by its bioavailability in the body.
Example: CAVACURMIN® - the high-quality curcumin complex in three of our products
Curcumin is the primary bioactive substance and an important curcuminoid in turmeric (Curcuma longa).
In the past, it has been difficult to provide the body with useful amounts of curcumin because it is not water soluble and has poor bioavailability. The patented CAVACURMIN® offers a natural solution to this problem. To optimize bioavailability, unlike conventional curcumin formulations, each curcumin molecule is encapsulated in a cyclodextrin shell (a naturally occurring starch compound with a water-repellent cavity) and transported to the digestive tract where it is absorbed by the epithelial cell membrane. The result is that 40 times more curcuminoids are absorbed from the intestine into the blood compared to pure turmeric extract (that's a 4000% increase). As a result, a higher effect can be achieved with a smaller dose. This method means that just two capsules of our Curcumin Support Complex provide the same amount of curcuminoids as 5280 mg of turmeric extract (containing 95% curcumin).
There are several other approaches to improving the bioavailability of curcumin. One commonly used method is to combine curcumin with piperine (e.g., black pepper extract), which can irritate the gastric mucosa and also affect the absorption of certain drugs. Other methods are based on the use of polysorbates, micelles and other chemical surfactants or emulsifiers from allergen sources, which can lead to undesirable side effects.
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One hour after ingestion of CAVACURMIN® , the curcuminoid concentration in the blood was significantly higher and remained at a high level for twelve hours.
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CAVACURMIN® has a bioavailability that is about 40 times higher than that of pure curcumin extract. This allows the considerably higher effectiveness at much lower doses.
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Patented ingredients
Many of the components in Foondiert® products are patented ingredients. This is because in the context of food supplements, specifically in the case of plant extracts and botanicals, patented ingredients offer certain advantages:
- They are trademarked and registered to a standard dose
- A standardized dose ensures the efficacy they have been clinically-proven to provide
- Manufacturers ensure that every batch is produced using the same process
- Researchers often prefer to use patented ingredients in their clinical studies because standardization allows for ease of replicability
It is common for companies to engage in “borrowed science” which means they use non-patented ingredients while referring to studies that have been conducted only on patented ones. While this may be perfectly legal, Foondiert® products use both the research and the ingredients themselves.
Example: Affron® - the patented saffron extract in our product “Balance Support Complex”
Affron® is a premium saffron ingredient standardized to 3.5% Lepticrosalides, which are the complex of bioactive compounds responsible for the beneficial properties of affron®. It is precisely because of
the patented production process that we know that we are always getting the same amount and high quality of Lepticrosalides per dose.
For more information about patented ingredients used in the Foondiert® range including, clinical trial results, publications and original sources please visit:
AFFRON® (Spain): https://pharmactive.eu/ingredient/affron_r-improves-your-mood/
CAS® (Norway): https://www.kappabio.com/brochures/calcified-atlantic-seaweedr/#c1163
CAVACURMIN® (Germany): https://www.wacker.com/cms/en-de/products/brands/cavacurmin/cavacurmin.html
L-OptiZinc® (Switzerland): https://www.capsugel.com/consumer-health-nutrition-products/l-optizinc
Quatrefolic® (U.S.A.): https://www.quatrefolic.com/
Vitashine® (England): https://www.vegetology.com/
What stays out
Foondiert® products are free of: Gluten, lactose, additives and fillers, magnesium stearate, allergens, artificial aroma, all animal products and are non-GMO.
