SOHO Expo Lectures Cover a Range of Health Topics

During SENPA’s 2023 SOHO Expo, held Dec. 1-3, three major natural product branded product companies hosted sponsored lectures.

Across three days, Enzymedica (Venice, FL), EuroPharma (Green Bay, WI) and Bluebonnet Nutrition (Sugar Land, TX) hosted one lecture each at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in Orlando, FL.

The lectures covered a wide range of topics including digestive health, metabolic syndrome, sports nutrition, supplement products and brand promotion.

Enzymedica

Enzymedica’s leadership team held a lecture titled “Building Your Business Through Digestive Health and Wellness Solutions.”

The featured speakers, Senior Marketing Group Director Ryan Sensenbrenner, VP of Sales, Natural Retail Yasmyn Maccaroni and VP of Education and Innovation Julia Craven, discussed numerous topics including digestive health, intermittent fasting, enzyme deficiencies, social media and brand promotion.

Sensenbrenner said that brands need to be willing to invest time and energy into promoting their own products and stores. He said he believes that retailers should be cognizant of the people who are truly raising awareness of the products.

“There’s some companies out there that all they do is they wait for another organization to innovate, let them build the market, and they will come out with a product that is the same or similar for $5 or $6 cheaper,” Sensenbrenner said. “They don’t have to make those investments in driving awareness, the road has been paved for them.”

According to Sensenbrenner, Enzymedica has consistently seen berberine as one of its top three best-selling supplement products.

“What you may not fully realize is Enzymedica, and I’m very proud of my marketing team for this, really played a crucial role in raising the awareness of berberine to the masses,” Sensenbrenner said.

The recent berberine trend began on TikTok with a viral video by actor and influencer Joey Zauzig, according to Sensenbrenner. The company jumped at the opportunity to spread the word.

“My team recruited Joey within 24 hours of that first viral video,” Sensenbrenner said. “From that point on, he brought on dozens, literally hundreds of influencers to spread the word of berberine across social media.”

Maccaroni and Craven said communication with customers should be an integral part of doing business. They emphasized that retailers should also be willing to have fun with customers even when dealing with topics such as digestive issues.

“We know at least 40 percent of Americans have serious digestive issues,” Craven said. “We know they don’t want to talk about it, but there’s a ton of shame associated with digestion … and oftentimes people don’t even know how bad their digestion is until they start to feel better.”

Maccaroni and Craven also said that enzyme deficiencies are a spectrum ranging from intolerances to sensitives to allergies.

“A food intolerance might look like some digestive upset, feeling a little bit of a bloating discomfort, but it’s not a true allergy, you’re not going to anaphylactic shock, but you are going to feel discomfort,” Maccaroni said.

Maccaroni and Craven also performed a short skit between a customer and a retailer focusing on Thanksgiving dinner and the stress of visiting family during the holiday season.

EuroPharma

Dr. Lexi Loch is a naturopathic physician who works in EuroPharma’s education and scientific affairs department. Her lecture, titled “Natural Approaches to Metabolic Syndrome: Treating High Blood Sugar, Liver Dysfunction, and Metabolism With Proven Natural Medicines,” focused on naturopathic medicine, metabolic syndrome and various botanical ingredients used by the Terry Naturally brand.

Loch said she believes conventional medicine has its uses but is often unable to deal with chronic issues.

“When I think about conventional medicine or other types of conventional health care providers, I absolutely love what they do,” Loch said. “A lot of what they do could be lifesaving especially in acute situations, but when it comes to the management of chronic disease, that’s where they really falter.”

According to Loch, around 70 percent of Americans are taking at least one prescription pill. She said she’s “willing to bet” that many people walking into a health food store are taking five or more pills.

Loch noted that even though supplements are scientifically studied, there is very little research testing the products on people taking five or more prescription medications.

She also focused on metabolic syndrome, which she defined by any three of the following conditions: obesity, high blood pressure, high glucose, high triglycerides and high-density lipoprotein.

“Metabolism is kind of the sum of all of the chemical processes that are happening inside the body,” Loch said. “So, what can cause disorders of metabolism and disrupt these biochemical pathways, making it difficult for us to turn food into usable fuel, nutrition is probably going to be the biggest one.”

In addition to ultra-processed foods, there are also other issues that can lead to metabolic syndrome including genetic issues, congenital disorders, certain medications, physical activity and insulin resistance, Loch said.

“How do we correct metabolic syndrome? Obviously, that’s going to come down to the choices we’re making on a daily basis, so diet, lifestyle and then also supplements,” Loch said. “Our goal with all of these is to decrease inflammation, increase antioxidants, support our mitochondria and restore metabolic balance.”

Loch ended her lecture with a discussion on some of the most popular natural ingredients that can help address metabolic syndrome, including boswellia, Hintonia latiflora, ashwagandha, andrographis, berberine and curcumin.

Bluebonnet

Carl Germano, a certified nutritionist and author, held a lecture sponsored by Bluebonnet titled “The Plant Based Advantage to Peak Performance,” where he discussed how plant-based diets can benefit the sports and active nutrition categories.

He said at least 40 percent of Americans have shifted to plant-based diets whether it be for environmental, ethical, philosophical, religious or spiritual reasons.

“A plant-based diet is composed mostly of plant foods, and it doesn’t necessarily mean vegetarian or vegan,” Germano said. “There are pescatarians and those who have been incorporating more plant-based foods in their diet, but typically it’s more fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains, beans and other aspects.”

Germano cited numerous scientific studies demonstrating the benefits of switching to plant-based diets.

“Plants do provide performance enhancing effects for various types of exercise due to the fact that plant-based diets have more carbohydrates, more antioxidants and more phytochemicals,” Germano said. “In this world we live in today, it is important that for the athlete to perform better, [carbohydrates] need to be present in much greater amounts.”

Although creatine has become one of the most popular muscle building supplements on the market, Germano said research demonstrated that just 20 to 30 grams of protein is sufficient for muscle protein synthesis.

“Dietary protein in excess of this can stimulate irreversible oxidation,” Germano said. “So, it can actually be detrimental to by taking in too much protein. We cannot reverse the breakdown of oxidation.”

Obtaining adequate nutrients and protein from plants without the use of meat or animal products, remains a formidable challenge, but something many companies are dedicated to solve, Germano concluded.

For more information visit www.enzymedica.com, www.europharmausa.com, www.bluebonnetnutrition.com.