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Season’s eatings - Digestive health

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Season’s eatings - Digestive health

Post-Christmas bloat is likely to affect many people over the festive period, but it’s a problem that isn’t just experienced once a year – many people complain of digestive issues

This time of year tends to see an increase in the number of people looking for remedies for overindulgence-related symptoms – hardly surprising, as estimates suggest that the average Brit can consume up to three times as many calories on Christmas Day than a normal day, along with an extra 500 for every day in the run-up to Christmas.

Upper GI problems are already becoming more prevalent, even without the influence of seasonal rich foods and alcohol. There was worrying news from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) recently, after it was revealed that the UK has the highest rate of oesophageal adenocarcinoma in the world. The UK had the highest rate (7.2 cases per 100,000 men, and 2.5 cases per 100,000 women), with the Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland, Iceland and New Zealand also near the top of the table.

Cancer Research has advised that anyone who notices difficulty swallowing or heartburn on most days should be checked out by a doctor. The advice to consumers is that ‘smoking and being overweight or obese both raise the risk of the most common type of oesophageal cancer in the UK, adenocarcinoma, so healthy lifestyle changes could make a real difference’.

Most people are more likely to be suffering from overdoing the Christmas dinner and drinks at this time of the year, though, and according to Rennie, 25-30 per cent of UK adults will suffer from heartburn at some point, possibly due to an unhealthy diet or and overeating.

Helen Fraser, senior brand manager, Rennie, advises that with several classes of indigestion treatments available, all working in different ways, it is important for both pharmacists and their staff to recognise and understand their suitability when recommending treatments or giving advice to customers. ‘Rennie’s formulation acts physically rather than by entering the bloodstream, making it appropriate to be taken during pregnancy or whilst breastfeeding. It is the antacid-based calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate formulation that works quickly to neutralise excess stomach acid, turning it into water and other natural substances.’

She recommends that smaller Rennie packs are dual sited in high-visibility areas such as near the counter or till point, especially at this peak sales period, to drive impulse purchase in your store, in addition to where the brand is traditionally sited, eg within the GI product aisle.

Consumer research shows that 18 per cent of first-time sufferers using OTC  treatments to manage their heartburn or indigestion are influenced in their choice of treatments by the pharmacist or pharmacy assistant.

This stresses the importance of the role of community pharmacies in helping customers to understand more about GI conditions, symptoms and treatments. Consumer research conducted this summer, commissioned by Bayer HealthCare, suggested that while understanding of indigestion and heartburn remains high, one in 10 people is still living with the symptoms without recognising them.

Symptoms are even more common in pregnancy, with more than 72 per cent of pregnant women suffering during their last trimester. Market leader Gaviscon, with its sodium alginate base, is suitable for expectant mums as well as those with occasional discomfort or reflux symptoms.

According to Gaviscon, ‘Pharmacies can have confidence that Gaviscon will always be well supported with its £6 million direct-to-consumer advertising and promotion activity that keeps the brand and its key messages in front of consumers throughout the year.’

Reckitt Benckiser has recently created the ‘Gaviscon Guide’ to help consumers and pharmacists navigate their way through the different products in the range, along with Reckitt Benckiser’s useful pharmacy training portal for community pharmacy.

Being able to advise customers on different aspects of their digestive problem is vital for maximising sales in this category. Being knowledgeable about which products will help customers relieve that overindulged post- Christmas bloat and which are better suited for acid reflux will give customers confidence.

Post-Christmas bloat is likely to affect many people over the festive period, but it’s a problem that isn’t just experienced once a year. According to a new survey of 2,000 UK adults, 68 per cent of the UK population complain that bloating and trapped wind can cause them to swell in size. The findings, from Sanofi’s new brand Maalox Plus revealed that 23 per cent of adults complained this bloating could take them up a dress size, and that it happened on a near-daily basis. Sanofi is undertaking a new campaign to support the seasonal overindulgence market when launching the heartburn and indigestion brand. The campaign for the product available as a liquid formula and chewable tablets is being supported by PR, radio and print advertising through December.

Eleonore Baco, brand manager at Sanofi says: ‘We are excited to be gaining momentum on Maalox Plus at such a key time. The heartburn and indigestion market is large. There are very few products which target all three areas of overindulgence: heartburn, indigestion and bloating. It’s a staple medicine cabinet product.’

Christmas and New Year can be a great time to introduce the idea of probiotics as a defence to digestive problems and for general health. To raise awareness of how probiotics could help during winter, Bio-Kult has launched a Bio-Kult ‘Winter Wellness’ campaign. ‘For the initiative, we have produced interesting, educational marketing material for independent retailers, including posters and leaflets,’ says Lauren Hagon from the brand. ‘Furthermore, a team of qualified nutritional therapists are available for specific staff training and can hold winter themed in-store events to educate your customers. These resources are free to request from Bio-Kult HQ.’

The strains within Bio-Kult are extensively researched and form part of an ongoing multi million pound investment in clinical trials in adults and children. A recent trial of Bio-Kult Infantis strains on babies with colic showed a significant reduction in symptoms – which is very good news for their parents.

Other recent studies undertaken by Bio-Kult include a randomised, placebo-controlled trial, assessing the use of probiotics in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which showed a significant reduction in liver enzymes in the probiotic group. ‘We also have trials looking at how probiotics can work in a whole range of other conditions, including constipation, gastroenteritis, atopic dermatitis, and neonatal pneumonia,’ says Ms Hagon, ‘and we have lots more research in the pipeline for the next couple of years too.’

Gluten-free

Coeliac disease is gaining recognition as a condition that pharmacies may be able to help patients manage, and with this in mind, Coeliac 

UK is about to launch an updated toolkit putting the case for the pharmacy-led supply of glutenfree food on prescription. The toolkit has been produced in collaboration with the National Pharmacy Association, the PSNC and the Primary Care Society for Gastroenterology (PCSG).

Juvela has announced that Alliance Healthcare is now the sole distributor of all Juvela branded products. Purchases of Juvela products will arrive as part of the daily Alliance Healthcare delivery and will not be subject to any surcharges if purchased in isolation. The brand offers pharmacies a free pharmacy coeliac toolkit, which contains a range of resources to assist pharmacists in supporting coeliac patients.

The Juvela breakfast cereal range is available on prescription and to purchase through pharmacies for people with medically diagnosed coeliac disease and dermatitis herpitiformis.

Natural interest

After a season of indulgence, some customers will be looking for a way to calm any unwanted symptoms that are perceived as gentle to the body and poor, overworked digestive system.

A Vogel suggests that pharmacists recommend bitter herbs for anyone looking for a natural way to support digestion, as these are excellent for helping improve digestion and stimulating the body to produce the right quantity of digestive enzymes. The company comments:

‘Herbs such as artichoke and dandelion are particularly supportive for the liver, which has prime responsibility for metabolising fats and can struggle with the extra challenges loaded on to it during the festive season. Try recommending A Vogel Digestisan, made from fresh extract of artichoke, dandelion, peppermint and boldo, to relieve indigestion, fullness and flatulence.’

Comment

Reena Barai, SG Barai Pharmacy, Sutton ‘Digestive health is a very important category in the pharmacy in terms of customer interest, especially at this time of year because there is a lot of food poisoning, diarrhoea and upset stomachs around. It is an area where we need to be vigilant; it’s about making sure the customer knows when to seek medical advice if they’re not better after a certain amount of time. Whenever you give any kind of over-thecounter advice, you need to give customers the best and worst-case scenario. At its simplest, it’s probably just something a customer has eaten that’s upset them, but the worst-case scenario is that it could be food poisoning and your customer will need to see their doctor. However, we’re limited in terms of the treatments we can offer for sickness at the moment because a few OTC medicines for nausea have been taken off the market, and this means that self care advice is our main focus.’

Alan Bradley, Cornwell’s Chemist, Newcastle-under-Lyme ‘The bowel cancer campaigns that run each year have improved public awareness around bowel cancer. In my pharmacy, I have seen much greater concern from patients in recent years about the health of their digestive system. This ranges from bowel motions, pain, cramps, diarrhoea, wind and much more. For this reason, we sell a lot of products to aid these conditions, whether that is laxatives or Buscopan for IBS. Most importantly, all of my staff are trained to give patients basic health advice on healthy eating and the different ways that patients can maintain good digestion.’

Bipin Patel, Broadway Pharmacy, Bexleyheath ‘We find that some customers use probiotics to resolve their digestive health problems, but this isn’t always the answer. I encourage patients to create a food diary – if a specific food triggers a particular symptom, for example, this can help to narrow down what might be causing the problem. On the whole, we advise customers to adjust their diet as a first step. We do stock probiotics, but when customers are purchasing them we ask about symptoms to assess whether they will get any benefits from taking probiotics and if they need to be seen by a health professional. I personally believe it is better to have the correct diet rather than going straight down the supplement avenue.’

 

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