Our modern society is the direct result of hard work and incredible innovation. Bold thinkers and tireless workers across the globe have advanced technology and medicine, built engineering marvels, and grown admirable ideas into profitable businesses and charities. However, the mind-boggling growth has also largely brought about an evolution in our lifestyles—and not for the better.
 
Unfortunately, the typical demands of day-to-day life work against our health in many ways. People are plagued with physical and mental burnout inherent in hustle culture. Too much time on screens is contributing to too little exercise and eye strain. And the modern Western diet prizes convenience and flavor over phytochemicals and functionality. No wonder many Americans today are affected by so many health issues and seeking interventions.
 
What can we do to help ourselves? In addition to lifestyle tweaks, functional botanicals like berry ingredients may be able to play a significant role in promoting improved health and wellness. 

Start with a Strong Foundation: Immune & Digestive Health

It seems that over time, people have developed more digestive issues, and become more chronically sick, lethargic, and run down—not the best versions of themselves. Many of these issues tie back to the health of our immune system and closely related digestive system. To avoid problems and diseases as we age and enjoy wellness throughout our lives, a strong foundation is critical.
 
An imbalance of inflammation is related to so many disease states, including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease. Maintaining healthy inflammation levels is a function of our immune systems working optimally. But much of our immune system is housed within the gut along with trillions of bacteria, both good and bad, that can influence this very system of inflammation.¹
 
We need to do everything we can to promote a healthy microbiota in the gut, which in turn contributes to an overall healthier immune system and inflammation responses. It is all interconnected and it is all extremely important.
 
Throughout the Covid pandemic, the public prioritized immune health more than ever, seeking out home remedies and supplements with immune-supporting ingredients such as vitamin C and black elderberry. However, since then, slowing sales of many immune products suggests “immune fatigue” among consumers. But it is important to remember that immune health is much more than a seasonal concern around colds and flu. Immune health is one of the single most integral parts of our overall wellness and it is something we should be considering and supporting year-round and through every life phase. 

We Are What We Eat

Building a strong immune-and-digestive-health foundation starts with diet. Foods containing natural probiotic bacteria can help restore and maintain a healthy microflora. Fermented foods have also been linked to more biodiversity in the gut.²
 
Additionally, diets high in fruits, vegetables, and fiber provide important prebiotic benefits to help support healthy bacteria so they can stave off pathogenic bacteria. In recent years, plant-based phytochemicals like polyphenols have been shown to serve an important role as prebiotics in addition to the fiber we typically associate as prebiotics.
 
While the concept of eating healthy to properly fuel our bodies seems easy enough to grasp, our modern lifestyles have created some barriers. Americans are known for filling days with long hours of work. In turn, we are too busy to cook healthy meals with whole ingredients. Too often we turn to convenient fast-food or pre-packaged/processed options that regularly leave out the important nutrients and phytonutrients our gut microbes and our bodies need to function optimally. This is where supplements and functional food and beverage products can come into play.
 
Where diet falls short, supplementation can assist. While supplement products on the market vary in quality and potency, studies have shown that berry functional ingredients supplemented into our diet can result in clinically relevant health outcomes.
 
Take European black elderberry, for example. This is not a berry that would be consumed fresh due to tart taste. But as an ingredient in a functional food/beverage or supplement, it has been shown in studies to have both prebiotic benefits to support a healthy gut, as well as direct immune-supporting properties.^3-5 That makes elderberry extract a solid one-two-punch in building the strong foundation needed for optimal health.
 
Functional ingredients can be formulated into convenient offerings that satisfy both the desire to support our health as well as the need for convenience and accessibility. Think of a probiotic-containing yogurt with additional functional prebiotic or immune-supporting ingredients you wouldn’t get elsewhere in your diet—or perhaps a fermented beverage with a fruit-and-veggie ingredient blend mixed in for added nutrition and functionality. Creative product options that focus on immune and gut health ingredients, and capitalize on multifunctionality, can go a long way to help busy humans prioritize health.

The Digital Age

Our beloved devices … Toddlers are drawn to them, teenagers are addicted to them, adults have too many of them, and we are all basically dependent on them. Screens are omnipresent in society, and while they bring incredible accessibility to information and entertainment, they can also come at a cost when it comes to our health.
 
Enter chronic headaches, eye strain, and overstimulation, for starters. To preserve our minds and vision, we need to moderate screen time and find remedies that alleviate screen-induced symptoms.
 
Berries like bilberry have historically been tied to vision support, but black currant came on the scene with clinical data that supported its specific benefits with screen-induced vision fatigue. In a new study, (pending publication) black currant extract improved blurry vision by nearly 30% among subjects who spent 6+ hours daily on screens. Eye strain and dry eye were also improved. If screens are unavoidable, at least there are options for combatting their negative side effects.

Sedentary Ways

If a typical day involves sitting at a desk for hours by day, binging Netflix by night, and winding down before bed by scrolling social media, you’re not alone. But if screen fixation hinders an active lifestyle, the long-term consequences can be dire.
 
Being sedentary can affect joints, cardiovascular and metabolic health, energy, and endurance, and ultimately our risk of serious diseases and longevity.⁶ The obvious answer is to build a healthier balance of activity and rest—walk on a treadmill while watching TV or use a walking pad while working at the computer.
 
A sedentary lifestyle has been shown to increase oxidative stress levels as we age.⁷ That translates to antioxidant foods and supplements being even more important for people who don’t move much.
 
Deeply pigmented berries are high in antioxidant flavonoid compounds and deserve to be part of a healthy diet. But some of the berries with the highest levels of antioxidant compounds like aronia berry, elderberry, or black currant are not readily accessible from the grocery store. (They are also often too tart to enjoy raw.) A solution lies in supplements or formulated food products containing these berry ingredients standardized to the antioxidant compounds.
 
In addition, there are functional berry ingredients that can support some specific areas of health that are negatively impacted by a sedentary lifestyle. For example, cherry has studied anti-inflammatory benefits that could aid in musculoskeletal aches and pains.⁸ Supplementation with aronia berry extract has been shown to support cardiovascular health, particularly regarding healthy blood pressure and cholesterol.⁹ And acerola with its natural vitamin C content could help support energy and combat fatigue. 

Conclusion

Our bodies are a lot like luxury cars. Pumping them full of low-octane fuel (poor nutrition), neglecting proper maintenance (unbalanced lifestyle), and driving recklessly (excess screens or sedentary lives) could create poor fuel economy (unhealthy gut and metabolism), reduced performance (low energy), and create catastrophic problems in the engine (disease).
 
In other words, our bodies can’t operate optimally without the right fuel and balanced lifestyle. So, if modern life is setting us up for failure, it’s time to take the reins on health and wellness and provide consumers with helpful, convenient solutions.
 
We need to maximize and optimize our functional food, beverage, and supplement options to address the side effects of hustle culture and screen addiction. We need a combination of intentional lifestyle adjustments that encourage activity and cognizance of the health benefits of phytonutrient-rich interventions like clinically-studied berry ingredients.
 
Nature has gifted us the compounds to make quality ingredients that can offset digital eye fatigue, counteract excessive free radical damage, modulate a healthy gut microbiome, help our immune system function optimally, support a healthy cardiovascular system, and more. The best way to say thanks for these berry phytonutrients is to use them to help take back our health.
 

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About the Author: Melanie Bush is vice president of science and research at Artemis International. With more than 15 years of experience at the company, her responsibilities span several departments including quality assurance, R&D, and technical sales support. She enjoys spearheading new research in the field of dark berry extracts and communicating the ever-evolving science of berry phytonutrients. 

References

1. Wiertsema, S. P., van Bergenhenegouwen, J., Garssen, J., & Knippels, L. M. J. (2021). The Interplay between the Gut Microbiome and the Immune System in the Context of Infectious Diseases throughout Life and the Role of Nutrition in Optimizing Treatment Strategies. Nutrients, 13(3), 886. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8001875/
 
2. Wastyk, H. C., Fragiadakis, G. K., Perelman, D., Dahan, D., Merrill, B. D., Yu, F. B., Topf, M., Gonzalez, C. G., Van Treuren, W., Han, S., Robinson, J. L., Elias, J. E., Sonnenburg, E. D., Gardner, C. D., & Sonnenburg, J. L. (2021). Gut-microbiota-targeted diets modulate human immune status. Cell, 184(16), 4137–4153. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34256014/
 
3. Reider, S., Watschinger, C., Längle, J., Pachmann, U., Przysiecki, N., Pfister, A., Zollner, A., Tilg, H., Plattner, S., & Moschen, A. R. (2022). Short- and Long-Term Effects of a Prebiotic Intervention with Polyphenols Extracted from European Black Elderberry-Sustained Expansion of Akkermansia spp. Journal of personalized medicine, 12(9), 1479. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36143265/
 
4. Stich, L., Plattner, S., McDougall, G., Austin, C., & Steinkasserer, A. (2022). Polysaccharides from European Black Elderberry Extract Enhance Dendritic Cell Mediated T Cell Immune Responses. International journal of molecular sciences, 23(7), 3949. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35409309/
 
5. Tiralongo, E., Wee, S. S., & Lea, R. A. (2016). Elderberry Supplementation Reduces Cold Duration and Symptoms in Air-Travellers: A Randomized, Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial. Nutrients, 8(4), 182. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27023596/
 
6. Park, J. H., Moon, J. H., Kim, H. J., Kong, M. H., & Oh, Y. H. (2020). Sedentary Lifestyle: Overview of Updated Evidence of Potential Health Risks. Korean journal of family medicine, 41(6), 365–373. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7700832/
 
7. Sánchez-Rodríguez, M. A., Zacarías-Flores, M., Correa-Muñoz, E., Arronte-Rosales, A., & Mendoza-Núñez, V. M. (2021). Oxidative Stress Risk Is Increased with a Sedentary Lifestyle during Aging in Mexican Women. Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity, 2021, 9971765. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8560284/
 
8. Kelley, D. S., Adkins, Y., & Laugero, K. D. (2018). A Review of the Health Benefits of Cherries. Nutrients, 10(3), 368. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5872786/
 
9. Hawkins, J., Hires, C., Baker, C., Keenan, L., & Bush, M. (2021). Daily supplementation with aronia melanocarpa (chokeberry) reduces blood pressure and cholesterol: a meta analysis of controlled clinical trials. Journal of dietary supplements, 18(5), 517–530. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19390211.2020.1800887