A Gut Feeling

As of 2002, it was estimated that 60 to 70 million people in the U.S. were affected by digestive conditions and disease. In fact, digestive disease was blamed annually for 191,000 deaths, 10 million hospitalizations, 6 million diagnostic procedures, 50 million office visits, and $107 billion in costs. Clearly, digestive problems are widespread.

We’ve all seen those over-the-counter (OTC) antacid ads over the years, you know the ones that say if you can’t change your horrible work habits and eating habits, at least you can take an antacid?

Those ads promote overindulgence and poor eating practices among consumers, presumably to promote continued sales of the OTC heartburn remedies.

But that’s not what we should be about.

We’re not about putting a bandage on un-health. We are, instead, about promoting health, and wellness. Just as responsible weight-loss supplement advertising emphasizes the importance of diet and exercise, responsible digestive health product marketing should embrace a lifestyle approach that helps consumers when they slip up rather than one which cheers on the slipping up as a lifestyle choice.

And consumers shouldn’t wait until digestion is bad before they seek out remedies---their being proactive in maintaining digestive wellness is critical to supporting overall good health. By the time a problem is evident, it is likely that other body systems have been negatively impacted, too; restoring health at this point can be very difficult.

For the natural products industry to tackle this challenge, product websites, shelf-talkers, bag-stuffers, product labeling and advertisements should all drive the message home that digestive health is not about taking a natural antacid after binging on spicy foods and alcohol or taking a stool softener after pigging out.

As Brenda Porter and I wrote in 2006: “There is no escaping the fact that digestion truly is the foundation of health; if consumers are not able to optimally digest and metabolize the foods and supplements they eat, then they can’t be healthy.”