More of the good and less of the bad

More than ever, people want to live healthy lives. And as our expectations of health continue to evolve, nutrition continues to play an important role in a healthy lifestyle. Health is no longer just about removing ingredients that are considered 'bad' - it is also about adding ingredients that support health and wellness.

Today, we no longer just care about calorie intake and removing “bad” ingredients like fat, sugar or salt. We also look for added ingredients with health benefits, such as fiber, whole grains and proteins, and ingredients that come straight from nature, such as grains and seeds, cocoa, nuts, vegetables, flower extracts and fruits.

Diet source of health

At Jolliette, we believe it is possible to transform the modern diet from a cause of chronic disease to a source of health. We are not alone in this belief. French food giant Danone wants to make its products more attractive to health-conscious consumers by, for example, diving deep into the hidden world of plants. They recently struck a deal with San Francisco-based Brightseed, a startup that uses artificial intelligence to discover molecules in plants that have a direct link to human health. Beneficial molecules could eventually be incorporated into food and drink products.

Healthy doesn't mean sacrificing taste

Although health is becoming increasingly important, this should never come at the expense of taste. We want products that are both tasty and healthy for us. Products that are seen as both healthy and tasty in eg bread are whole grains, fibres, grains and seeds. These are powerful ingredients that make products healthier and tastier at the same time. For chocolate products, this is cocoa, followed by fiber, nuts, fruit, fruit fillings and seeds. These are all products that we recognize as close to nature and therefore full of goodness.

Veganism

Vegetarian concepts are becoming more common. More and more people are trying to replace the proteins in meat and fish with proteins from vegetables. And while veganism isn't quite as common as vegetarianism yet, there has been a marked increase in people pursuing this lifestyle. Their diet is completely plant-based.

Importance of healthy digestion and intestinal flora

In recent decades, people have also become more aware of the impact of our gut on our health. As a result, we are increasingly seeing nutrition as an important part of a healthy lifestyle. The outbreak of COVID-19 acted as an accelerator of this trend. Today, scientists and consumers alike are looking for gut-friendly food options. Fermented foods such as kimchi and kombucha became more popular, as did foods that contain probiotics (such as yogurt and kefir) and are high in fiber, such as breakfast cereals and whole wheat bread.

Despite these trends, it's always best to reach for pure, unprocessed foods to reap the benefits of the most nutritional value.