Month: April 2023

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12 Best Weight Loss Meal Delivery Services of 2023

12 Best Weight Loss Meal Delivery Services of 2023

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Our registered dietitians tested the best meal delivery services for weight loss and found that Factor, BistroMD, Trifecta Nutrition, and 9 others offer quality options. Here’s why they made the list.

Meal delivery services have become increasingly popular among health-conscious consumers and those following specific diets.

In addition to being simple and convenient, many meal delivery services can:

  • support weight loss efforts
  • promote nutrient-rich eating habits
  • make it easier to follow a balanced and nutritious diet

Keep reading for our dietitians’ picks for the 12 best weight loss meal delivery services.

Disclaimer: All of the services tested below were tried by Healthline writers or editors, who received the meals for free. All opinions are our own.

Take a look at how these meal deliveries for weight loss compare:

  • Convenience: We looked for meals that were convenient to prepare to minimize the extra time it might take customers to fit healthy meals into their schedules.
  • Meal plans: We looked for meal delivery services that offered diet-specific meal plans that help customers reach their weight loss goals.
  • Nutrient-rich meals: We looked for meal delivery services that offer balanced and nutrient-dense meals to help customers feel supported in their weight loss goals.
  • Nutritional content: We looked for meal delivery services that provide low calorie, high protein, or high fiber options to promote weight management.
  • Taste and ease of preparation: We looked for services that offer meals that are easy to prepare, and we also tried many of them to find out whether they offered a good variety of flavors and textures.
  • Price: We included meal delivery services at a variety of price points to accommodate any budget.
  • Vetting: The services on our list have been vetted to ensure that they align with Healthline’s brand integrity standards and approach to well-being. You can read more about our vetting process.
  • Price: Make sure to choose the meal delivery service that best fits your weekly or monthly food or grocery budget, and don’t forget to consider shipping costs and whether you’ll have to shop for additional meals or foods.
  • High quality ingredients: Look for services that prioritize fresh ingredients and use little or no artificial additives or heavily processed ingredients. Some people may also prefer a service that offers organic produce, sustainable seafood, or grass-fed beef.
  • Nutritional information: Look for services that offer nutritionally balanced meals or disclose each meal’s nutritional information. That way, you’ll better understand your calorie and macro intake.
  • App compatibility: If you use an app to keep track of your calories or macros, it can be helpful to choose a service with meals that are already entered into your app.
  • Variety: Look for alternatives that offer a varied menu, which will prevent you from getting bored with their dishes. It is also important that they accommodate your specific diet, be it omnivorous, vegan, gluten-free, low carb, etc.
  • Convenience: Whether you have time to do a little cooking or just have a few minutes to warm up and eat, choose an option that meets your convenience needs. This will help you avoid wasting food and time.

If you’re looking to lose weight, meal delivery services can be strategic allies for several reasons, including:

  • Portion control: Meal delivery services offer preportioned meals with a fixed and known total calorie and macronutrient content. Portion sizes are directly linked to energy intake, so reducing them can be helpful for creating a calorie deficit to support weight loss (13, 14).
  • Adherence: Whether you lack the time or resources, following a diet can be difficult because it requires careful meal planning. Meal delivery services can make adherence to diets like the Mediterranean diet or keto easier by delivering diet-compliant meals or meal kits directly to your door.
  • Improved diet quality: Depending on the recipe, meal delivery services can provide meals that are more nutritious than what you might typically eat. In particular, these meals can provide lean proteins and good sources of fiber, like vegetables, to help keep you full. Protein is also important for preserving muscle mass (2, 5, 15, 16).

What’s more, research shows that exposure to greater healthful food variety — which is the case with most meal delivery services — can increase the intake of low calorie, energy-dense foods like fruits and vegetables, helping support and sustain weight loss (17).

Here are five healthy and quick tips if you’re looking to manage your weight:

  • Create a small calorie deficit: Taking in fewer calories than you burn every day will result in weight loss. However, cutting calories too drastically can result in compensatory changes over time, such as increased appetite, that make it harder to maintain weight loss. This is why many experts recommend making small reductions in daily calorie intake to promote healthy, sustainable weight loss (18).
  • Limit ultra-processed foods: High intakes of ultra-processed foods — such as sugary drinks, fast food, sweets, and even diet foods — cause excess calorie intake that leads to weight gain while providing little to no nutrients at all (19).
  • Stay physically active: Increasing your physical activity or exercise also helps with losing weight and maintaining weight by creating a negative energy balance (20).
  • Get enough sleep: Sleep deprivation is associated with weight gain due to hormonal changes that may alter the metabolism of sugars and behavioral changes that increase caloric intake. Thus, evidence recommends adults get at least 7 hours of sleep (21).

Check out this article for more science-backed tips on losing weight healthily and sustainably.

Is it easier to lose weight with a meal delivery service?

While you can lose weight without using a meal delivery service, many people find they can be an easy and convenient way to enjoy more nutritious meals at home.

Additionally, meal delivery services help promote portion control and often offer meals low in calories or high in protein designed to support weight loss.

What food delivery service is best for weight loss?

Trifecta Nutrition is our choice as the best overall meal delivery service for weight loss thanks to its portion-controlled, nutritionally balanced meals. We also like that each meal contains at least 20 g of protein, and that there are menus to suit a variety of dietary needs.

If you prefer a meal kit to cook yourself, Sunbasket is our best overall pick because it offers menus to suit a variety of dietary patterns that may be helpful for weight loss, including Mediterranean, Diabetes-Friendly, Vegetarian, and Carb-Conscious.

Can you lose weight on HelloFresh meals?

Weight loss is achieved by reaching and maintaining a calorie deficit. Yet, because caloric needs are influenced by physical activity, height, and age, among other factors, one person’s calorie deficit can differ significantly from another person’s (22).

HelloFresh offers six different plans, including a lower calorie option called Calorie Smart, which provides meals under 650 calories per serving.

Consuming 650 calories per meal can easily fit into a calorie deficit. If it does not match yours, you could always plan around the rest of your daily meals to avoid a calorie surplus.

That said, weight loss is not guaranteed.

Which meal delivery service works best with Weight Watchers?

Blue Apron is a great option if you’re using WeightWatchers, as many of the meals on their Wellness menu are WeightWatchers approved.

However, many other meal delivery services also offer low calorie, nutritious meals that can fit into weight loss programs like WeightWatchers. Some other options include Purple Carrot, Sunbasket, and BistroMD.

There are many meal delivery services available that can help you reach your weight loss goals — each of which varies in price, flexibility, and effectiveness.

They also vary by the amount of time and preparation they require, with some offering fully prepared meals and others providing recipes and preportioned ingredients to allow you to make your own nutritious meals at home.

With a bit of research and experimentation, you can likely find a plan that works for you.

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Revolutionary Brain Tumor Treatment Discovered in Traditional Chinese Medicine

Revolutionary Brain Tumor Treatment Discovered in Traditional Chinese Medicine

Traditional Chinese Medicine

A new analyze has revealed the prospective of a drug derived from indirubin, a pure compound made use of in regular Chinese medicine, in treating malignant mind tumors in mice. Posted in Cell Stories Medicine, the exploration highlights how a formulation of indirubin improved mice’s survival charges and moved the drug nearer to medical trials with human participants. Experts from various establishments, like Brown University and Harvard Professional medical Faculty, collaborated on the examine.

Researchers found that a by-product of the organic compound indirubin presents a new approach to dealing with glioblastoma in mice, which will inform foreseeable future exploration in human beings.

Researchers have uncovered that a drug derived from the organic compound indirubin exhibits assure in managing malignant mind tumors in mice. The examine, involving collaboration involving institutions like Brown College and Harvard Medical School, delivers the drug nearer to human medical trials. The drug, identified as 6’-bromoindirubin acetoxime (BiA), slowed tumor expansion and enhanced survival fees, providing a new technique for glioblastoma therapy.

A new analyze demonstrates how a drug made from a all-natural compound used in conventional Chinese medicine will work against malignant mind tumors in mice, developing a promising avenue of investigation for glioblastoma treatment method.

In the review, released on April 14 in the journal Cell Reports Medicine, researchers showed how a formulation of the compound, called indirubin, improved the survival of mice with malignant brain tumors. They also tested a new formulation that was easier to administer, taking the potential pharmaceutical approach one step closer to clinical trials with human participants.

“The interesting thing about this drug is that it targets a number of important hallmarks of the disease,” said Sean Lawler, lead author, associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, and researcher at the Legorreta Cancer Center of Brown University. “That’s appealing because this type of cancer keeps finding ways around individual mechanisms of attack. So if we use multiple mechanisms of attack at once, perhaps that will be more successful.”

Indirubin is a natural product present in indigo plants and the active ingredient of the traditional Chinese medicine Dang Gui Long Hui Wan, which is used to treat chronic diseases. Credit: Brown University

In addition to scientists from Brown’s Legorreta Cancer Center and School of Engineering, the team included researchers from the department of neurosurgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School and Phosphorex, Inc./Cytodigm, Inc.

Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive type of brain cancer. The standard of care is chemotherapy, radiation and surgery, which may improve symptoms but don’t cure or stop the cancer.

Indirubin is a natural product present in indigo plants and a constituent of the traditional Chinese medicine Dang Gui Long Hui Wan, which has been used in the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia, according to the researchers. Derivatives of the indirubin have shown potential for the treatment of cancer through a range of mechanisms. Research published 10 years ago by Lawler and others showed that indirubin slowed the growth of glioblastoma tumors in mice. However, he said, the researchers weren’t able to explain why. What’s more, the modified drug wasn’t very easy to work with, making it challenging for scientists to test dosage levels or efficiently deliver it to the tumor.

As the scientists continued to research the compound, they were contacted by the Massachusetts-based biomedical company Phosphorex, which develops technology to improve pharmaceutical formulations. Phosphorex had patented a formulation of indirubin, called 6’-bromoindirubin acetoxime (BiA), which made the compound easier to use as an injectable cancer treatment.

The researchers tested the nanoparticle formulation of BiA on glioblastoma tumors in mice, focusing on how the drug would affect the immune system.

Not only did BiA slow the growth and proliferation of tumor cells (confirming the results of previous studies), but it also improved survival via effects on important immunotherapeutic targets.

“The drug impacted the immune system in these mouse experiments in a way that we think could enhance clinical immunotherapy in humans,” explained Lawler, whose lab therapeutic approaches for the treatment of brain cancer.

With a grant from the National Cancer Institute, the researchers will continue to test the drug to see how it interacts with chemotherapy and radiation, with the aim of developing clinical trials for participants with glioblastoma. While scientists have been studying glioblastoma for decades, Lawler said that there haven’t been many significant therapeutic breakthroughs, until now.

“Over the past 20 years or so, there haven’t been many findings of note that have really impacted survival in a meaningful way, so we are very eagerly looking for new approaches,” Lawler said. “This research offers a new approach, and that’s why we’re so excited about it.”

Reference: “PPRX-1701, a nanoparticle formulation of 6′-bromoindirubin acetoxime, improves delivery and shows efficacy in preclinical GBM models” by Mykola Zdioruk, Jorge-Luis Jimenez-Macias, Michal Oskar Nowicki, Katherine E. Manz, Kurt D. Pennell, Marilin S. Koch, Tomer Finkelberg, Bin Wu, Paul Boucher, Yuji Takeda, Weiyi Li, Raziye Piranlioglu, Alexander L. Ling, E. Antonio Chiocca and Sean E. Lawler, 14 April 2023, Cell Reports Medicine.
DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2023.101019

Additional contributors from Brown included Jorge-Luis Jimenez-Macias, a postdoctoral scholar in Lawler’s lab; Professor of Engineering Kurt Pennell; and Assistant Professor of Engineering Katherine Manz.

The work was supported by the National Cancer Institute (RO1CA166172, R50-CA243706, R21CA259734) and the National Science Foundation (1919870).

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Two Periods in One Month: Causes, Risks, Complications

Two Periods in One Month: Causes, Risks, Complications

For numerous people who menstruate, there is the collective emotion of dread when it will come to “that time of the month.” Although most get their period each and every four months, some folks might menstruate more generally than that. If you are 1 of individuals individuals, health care pros advise that it could be a indication of a little something a lot more critical.

We have rounded up women’s overall health authorities to reveal all the motives why Aunt Flo has grow to be a more regular customer. As well as, when you should get the situation up with your medical professional.

Is it standard to have two durations in just one thirty day period?

Most men and women who menstruate have typical regular monthly periods coming just about every 28 days and long lasting 3-4 days. It can be usual to bleed as generally as 21 times among the initial working day of a person interval and the initial day of your future time period, states Erika Banking institutions, M.D., professor and chair obstetrics & gynecology, NYU Lengthy Island Faculty of Medication. Bear in mind to constantly rely from the to start with day of bleeding, not the last, she provides.

In addition to your regular time period, you could have irregular bleeding, or spotting, that appears to be like a number of places of reddish-brown blood long lasting one particular to 7 or much more times, notes Sherry Ross, M.D., women’s sexual health and fitness pro, writer of She-ology and The She-quel. Some people can have recognizing that lasts a couple of days then stops and restarts all over again during the middle of the thirty day period. Mild crimson or brown recognizing can also come about mid-cycle or through ovulation, Dr. Ross provides. “It can be puzzling and irritating to know if it is recognizing or irregular bleeding or the two.

When it is not uncommon to have some recognizing aside from your typical time period, it is not ordinary to have two separate episodes of steady bleeding through the thirty day period, claims Dr. Ross. “Any bleeding or recognizing between two frequent intervals is deemed abnormal.”

What causes two periods in just one month?

Acquiring two periods in just one month can be regarding for a lot of, and it’s important to understand the fundamental will cause and doable remedy possibilities, claims Anat Sapan, M.D., board-certified OBGYN and menopause expert.

Right here are the most common leads to of irregular periods that can result in hormonal imbalance and period disruption, in accordance to authorities:

Solutions for two durations in one particular month

Knowledge the lead to of irregular bleeding is the first move in managing and managing unwelcome bleeding through the thirty day period, states Dr. Ross.

In quite a few conditions, procedure for irregular durations could entail hormonal remedy to assist regulate menstrual cycles, claims Dr. Sapan. Even now, “maintaining a healthy life style and handling anxiety can assist market a healthful menstrual cycle and general overall health,” she notes.

If hormone imbalances are the root of your recurrent intervals dilemma, there are distinctive forms of hormonal beginning control that may possibly assist control your cycle. “Hormonal delivery command shortens the length, sum and movement of period of time bleeding and helps prevent irregular bleeding,” explains Dr. Ross.

Oral contraception or “the pill” is not only a excellent start control, but makes your period of time blood normal and controls mid-cycle bleeding, says Dr. Ross. The progesterone IUD is also an possibility, as it can make your blood stream fewer or nonexistent, also controlling irregular bleeding, she provides.

If you are unable to just take hormonal birth command, there are much more pure treatment plans to look at for two periods in one particular month, including biofeedback and acupuncture, notes Dr. Ross.

For serious health-related conditions these types of as PCOS, endometriosis, or uterine fibroids, drugs or surgical methods could be advisable to control indications and reduce issues, states Dr. Sapan. Furthermore, endometrial cancer may involve surgical procedures, radiation remedy, or chemotherapy, she provides.

When must you see a health care provider about two durations in just one thirty day period?

Your menstrual cycle is a handy barometer of your over-all wellness and wellness, states Dr. Ross, so it’s essential to fork out interest to your entire body. If you have difficulties composing down when your time of the month comes each individual month, you can download a interval tracker on your sensible mobile phone or use a calendar to continue to keep track of your durations, implies Dr. Ross.

When you have two or more durations in the same thirty day period and have other signs and symptoms, it’s time to visit your health care provider, suggests Dr. Ross. These indicators involve:

  • Heart palpitations
  • Feeling excessively scorching or cold
  • Hassle sleeping
  • Unexplained body weight loss or gain
  • Hair reduction
  • Breast tenderness
  • Fatigue
  • Pelvic discomfort or uterine cramping
  • Variations in vaginal odor or discharge
  • Disruptive psychological adjustments this kind of as melancholy or stress
  • Deficiency of urge for food
  • Male sample hair expansion
  • Large bleeding with big blood clots

If you have any other signs or symptoms in addition to persistent irregular intervals, blood checks and a physical exam really should be done, Dr. Ross provides. “Blood exams would incorporate a urine and/or blood pregnancy check, thyroid, ovarian and testosterone hormonal panel, blood insulin stage, STI tests, pelvic ultrasound and pelvic examination.” After all these sorts of assessments are performed a prognosis can be built as to the induce of irregular periods.

Frequent visits with your health care service provider can also enable detect and manage any underlying situations that may well add to irregular intervals or uterine bleeding, Dr. Sapan agrees. “With appropriate analysis and treatment method, lots of fundamental causes of irregular periods and uterine bleeding can be managed successfully.”

Headshot of Madeleine Haase

Madeleine, Prevention’s assistant editor, has a record with overall health crafting from her expertise as an editorial assistant at WebMD, and from her own study at college. She graduated from the College of Michigan with a degree in biopsychology, cognition, and neuroscience—and she aids strategize for achievements throughout Avoidance’s social media platforms. 

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Health IT leaders must attend to interoperability, value-based care and AI

Health IT leaders must attend to interoperability, value-based care and AI

Interoperability, benefit-based mostly treatment payment products with emphasis on coordination of treatment and defining the most productive makes use of of synthetic intelligence in patient care are 3 large tendencies that health care service provider corporation C-suite executives and other health IT leaders need to contend with in health care right now, in accordance to David Lareau.

Lareau is CEO of Medicomp Systems (HIMSS23 Booth 3741), a seller of engineering and companies designed to make health care data related, usable and actionable.

We spoke with Lareau to get his insights into these trends and chat about his message to HIMSS23 attendees.

Q. What is the most urgent difficulty or pattern experiencing healthcare facts know-how at this minute as the market gathers for HIMSS23?

A. There are several big new developments demanding the notice of Strike leaders: interoperability, like patient accessibility to their personal professional medical info the changeover to worth-primarily based care payment designs with new emphasis on coordination of care and the part of principal treatment in the transition and defining the most powerful takes advantage of of synthetic intelligence in affected individual care.

The sharing of details between programs also will have to have increased concentration on program and facts safety.

With the advent of Experienced Health Information and facts Networks, information and facts will start out to circulation more freely, necessitating a new established of resources to permit vendors to obtain the facts they need to manage particular affected individual ailments, specifically with the accelerated switch to Medicare Edge and other worth-centered treatment courses.

This will enhance stress on Strike distributors to aid scientific consumers and treatment teams and give them the skill to stay centered on the affected person as they entry and act upon the certain facts expected to deal with, document and comply with the required excellent actions and documentation for each individual individual trouble.

Q. What is the most important information that your business is hoping to get by way of to the health care company corporation well being IT leaders on the exhibit ground at HIMSS23?

A. Our most important message at HIMSS23 will concentration on how to make information actionable at the stage of treatment. This can be achieved by diagnostically connecting info, no matter of supply and structure, in a clinically intelligent workspace that enables powerful administration of patient situations, even though complying with all appropriate workflow, high quality and documentation necessities.

Devices should be clinically interactive at all factors in the continuum of care and corporations will need to be certain that each their data and documentation are ample to meet audit, interoperability and high-quality fears, especially now that the govt has signaled new Medicare Gain audit and penalty initiatives.

Q. What need to CIOs, CMIOs, CISOs and other health and fitness IT leaders at supplier corporations preserve their eyes on in the year in advance?

A. Developments in synthetic intelligence will continue to be a supply of each opportunity and chance for clinical programs. A single possibility is the use of AI to carry out regime administrative responsibilities related to coding and workflow, as is AI to augment and make data obtainable to clinicians in a determination guidance – not final decision-building – capability.

In conversing with leaders of health care enterprises, the money and psychological charges of clinician burnout linked to the non-usability of present EHRs proceeds to be an impediment to affected individual care, so leaders should really be looking for solutions that are resources for clinicians, somewhat than burdens.

One particular speedily evolving place is the coordination of care in between enterprises, most important care providers, residence care companies, household caregivers and many others included in affected individual care, including the sufferers on their own.

The quantity of cyberattacks on overall health methods is continually growing and the “bad actors” are getting more refined and intense. It is generally critical to think about systems and infrastructure that decrease the hazard of remaining sufferer to continually evolving ransomware and malware assaults – because if it comes about to an business much more than after, a person will probable be fired.

And, as constantly, absolutely everyone will keep on to find to fully grasp the most current reporting, regulatory and other requirements coming out of Washington.

Comply with Bill’s Hit protection on LinkedIn: Invoice Siwicki
Electronic mail the author: bsiwicki@himss.org
Health care IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.

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Healthy for us, healthy for our pets

Healthy for us, healthy for our pets

Today’s customer is not only worried about their physical and mental health and fitness, but also their pet’s well being. In June 2022, Euromonitor Global discovered the top rated 5 tendencies in pet care. Both of those premiumization and nicely-getting are on that checklist. The report discovered humanizing animals, proprietors are increasingly keen to present them with large-excellent, quality foodstuff and merchandise. Premiumization will involve providing animals meals created from substances people would accept on their have plates. As shoppers are browsing for certain benefits from the items they order, manufacturer homeowners are increasing their quality items with the aim of accomplishing increased margins. 

A lot more than at any time the dietary value of pet food stuff and treats is major of brain for people. A highlight has been shone on our brain-overall body given that the pandemic. Escalating demand for functional and all-natural components is expanding from our packaged foodstuff to pet treatment. A shift from normal perfectly-currently being for animals to precise functionality drives ingredients that handle digestive, joint, heart, dental and skin health and fitness, as perfectly as mental well being.

Food claims

Euromonitor International reviewed the leading wellness-linked statements made by pet food stuff brand names. Superior protein was the most common, showing up in virtually 12 per cent of merchandise with promises out there on line. Pure promises have been the second most repeated with a lot more than eight for each cent of solutions claiming to be normal. Other leading claims had been relevant to vitamins, antioxidants and immune system overall health. In experienced markets, mental well being of pets is also getting awareness, as consumers come to be increasingly worried about strain that they observe when leaving animals alone, especially adhering to home seclusion for the duration of lockdowns.

David Pastor, nationwide product sales director, Tender and Genuine Pet Nourishment, Omaha, Nebraska, agreed. “Pet mothers and fathers really like to see their pets increase up healthy. They take in healthier and want to share wholesome treats they know are far better for their pets. The same way they come to feel happier about feeding their youngsters a healthier diet. A lot of of our pet parents stick to an natural and organic diet regime and want the exact for their animals. The important benefit of our pet food stuff is the superior-excellent elements. We have natural and organic recipes restricted substances recipes and all our meat proteins are International Animal Partnership (G.A.P.) Qualified. The recipes are for all levels of life, so it is not important to modify recipes as the pet ages. Our products and solutions are accessible for sale on line and at Canadian grocery merchants which include Longo’s, Sobeys, and Entire Foodstuff,” he reported.

Pet mothers and fathers want to supply their animals foods designed with ingredients they would try to eat. Photo © hedgehog94/ Adobe Stock

Freshpet

Pet food items substances mimicking human food ingredients is growing in unique formats, shipping and delivery and storage programs. Freshpet has been a chief in the refrigerated format. Freshpet recipes are blends of fresh new meats, vegetables and fruits farmed regionally and created at their Kitchens in Bethlehem, Penn. All food stuff is ready in modest batches at lessen temperatures to protect the ingredients’ organic goodness. Freshpet food items and treats are saved refrigerated from the second they are made until eventually they arrive at Freshpet fridges in local markets.

The world wide health disaster has emphasised purchaser conduct of pursuing functional, wholesome substances that signal a well being halo, not only for humans and pets, but also for the total world. 

“We’ve been on a journey to accelerate our commitment to making solutions that are not only superior for our pets, but are also kinder to the world. The relaunch of Nature’s Contemporary is essential to the potential of our business enterprise, aiding us accomplish our ambition to cut down our environmental effect and make every bowl issue. Assisting produce a extra sustainable environment includes how foods is generated for animals, and that pet mothers and fathers can really feel confident that with Nature’s Refreshing they are choosing the most sustainable pet food,” discussed Scott Morris, president and co-founder, Freshpet.

Trendi

Food items squander reduction proceeds to be element of the great for us (pets bundled) and the world theme. As a outcome, it has pushed revised tactics across the total food stuff worth chain. Trendi, a Canadian robotics agri-tech firm centered in British Columbia is focused to halting meals squander at the supply and feeding much more individuals (and animals). Trendi’s components (purees, powders, and flakes) are produced from upcycled deliver at the source by way of their Biotrim models.

Founded in 2019, an early phase enterprise in the pet meals component house, Trendi is collecting insights and piloting their ingredients.

“Our elements retain around 90 per cent of their vitamins. We’re operating with pet food and animal nutrition professionals, who figure out that our components are worthwhile and wholesome for pet foods innovation. Good comments from these gurus includes the style, colour, aroma, diet and that the rescued fruits and greens direct to clean up component decks,” mentioned Christine Couvelier, president, Trendi.

“We think the field has come a extended way in the improvement of health and fitness-conscious products as consumers significantly question inquiries about what is great for their pet and what is not. There are far more products and solutions coming to sector with healthy ingredients, superior for animals and generally more palatable. There is an enhanced emphasis on transparency. Recognizing what is in our food is paramount for people, and pet mother and father want the identical transparency for the food stuff and treats they invest in for their furry loved ones members. With pets increasingly viewed as members of the household, the overall problem and emphasis on overall health is mirrored in devoted pet lovers’ buying decisions for their pet. If folks are not articles feeding on low quality, harmful food items and snacks, they most probable will not be content providing their pet one thing of a identical nature,” concluded Karen Rushton, vice-president, merchandising, Pet Valu Canada. 

This report was originally posted in the November/December 2022 issue of Food in Canada.

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Digital mental health companies need to focus on evidence

Digital mental health companies need to focus on evidence

Over the past five years, digital mental health has risen from a niche topic to a global health priority. Patients, researchers, regulators, and investors alike are thrilled by the potential of ubiquitous mobile technology like smartphones to help diagnose problems, monitor health, and even deliver evidence-based therapies. Two companies that came to embody this potential were Mindstrong for smartphone monitoring of mental health and Pear Therapeutics for FDA-approved apps and digital interventions. Mindstrong raised nearly $160 million, and Pear Therapeutics once had a $1.6 billion evaluation.

But in March, Mindstrong announced it was ceasing operations. And on April 7, Pear Therapeutics announced that it was filing for bankruptcy.

Both companies were founded by smart and passionate people who wanted to improve access to mental health care. They were staffed by hard-working employees who wanted to help change the world. The concept of using data from personal patterns of smartphone use to help diagnose a mental illness or track recovery is appealing. So is the concept of using a smartphone app to receive evidence-based care from the palm of your hand. Pear Therapeutics even received some of the first Food and Drug Administration clearances for software as a medical device for mental health.

But the companies went wrong in a way that is symptomatic of the rest of the digital mental health field.

Both companies tackled the pressing need for a transformation in mental health care. They drew on the global need for a paradigm shift in mental health and offered a scientific pathway toward that vision. Mindstrong built off a 2018 pilot study of 27 subjects capturing smartphone data over seven days to pilot digital biomarkers of cognitive function, which could remotely diagnose or monitor mental health conditions. Pear Therapeutics had many products but was likely most well-known for its apps that promised to help treat addiction.

The story of using technology to monitor and help support mental health made sense five years ago and in fact still makes sense today. Digital technology will help increase access to and quality of mental health care.

But the story only goes so far.

The next step is to prove out the story with science. Just as a new drug for a mental illness like depression undergoes numerous careful studies on its pathway to approval, the same process is necessary for digital software. Both Mindstrong and Pear Therapeutics undertook research and began the scientific journey. In Mindstrong’s case, the company founders have come out on the record stating they felt pressured to commercialize too soon and before the science was sound. Looking in the scientific literature, the lack of peer-reviewed publications corroborates this narrative. We need more research before smartphone sensing to detect mental illness is even clinically validated, let alone commercially viable for a business like Mindstrong.

Pear Therapeutics appeared to have the evidence since it obtained FDA clearance on some of its software. Yet in 2020 the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review wrote a public report noting that the “evidence is inadequate to demonstrate a net health benefit.”

In fact, that evidence was not based on any smartphone at all. It came from a related computer program called the Therapeutic Education System. This was tested in 2014, in a study where patients came twice a week, in person, to a clinic to log on and use the program on computers in the clinic. Even in 2014, the authors of that study wrote “additional research is needed to assess effectiveness in non-specialty clinical settings.” Pear Therapeutics acquired the rights to this program, worked to get an adapted version FDA-cleared, and then marketed it as a digital therapeutic. (It’s worth noting that there is no consensus on the definition of a digital therapeutic.) Nearly a decade later, it’s still unclear whether this system can work outside of a specialty clinic.

Thus, in both the case of Mindstrong and Pear Therapeutics, there was no dramatic story of something going wrong. The problem was that neither company was able to invest the money to carry out the necessary scientific research. While Mindstrong and Pear Therapeutics are two of the most well-known, the lack of resources for clinical science is widespread in the industry. A 2022 report suggested that 44{35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc} of digital health companies has a clinical robustness score of zero.

But that does not mean these products and digital mental health have no future. These failures tell us that patients, clinicians, and payers want digital tools that are effective in real-world settings. That means promising pilot studies, like those that launched this industry in the 2010s, must be followed by high-quality studies. When my colleagues and I conducted a meta-review in 2022, we found that overall, the quality of most digital mental health studies was low. Now it is time to think about a new generation of evidence and new studies to build the type of real-world data we need to ensure products offered are both safe and truly effective. This means studies that account for digital placebo effects, are run in real-world clinical settings, involve diverse patients, and can be replicated by outside teams.

We already know how to do this. Pharmaceutical companies offer one example of high investment in medical research and development. They invest in thousands of potential drugs and take the top-performing ones through more and more rigorous studies. The National Institute of Mental Health is another example, now investing heavily in digital research and supporting rigorous mechanism of action studies. As patients, payers, and investors demand more evidence and proof that digital software really works as promised, new companies will rise to the challenge. Of course, there is a major difference between drug R&D and digital mental health care, which is that software needs additional research to prove it can successfully work in the context it is deployed in. But even this is a surmountable hurdle.

Digital mental health might be stumbling in 2023, but these disappointments may signal a new era in how we approach the next generation of digital tools. The stories that founded and sustained both MindStrong and Pear Therapeutics are still valid today — they are just waiting for the next generation to take them off the page and into a scientific reality.

John Torous is an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and staff psychiatrist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He is the scientific advisor for Precision Mental Wellness, a company he holds equity in.