Swedish start-up backs pre-loaded satiety proteins
Indevex has been around for more than 10 years, but only now has refined its blends and marketing trajectory and so is coming out from, “under the radar”, said Peter Carlsson, VP of marketing and business development.
The blend uses a proprietary mixture of whey, egg and pea proteins and is primarily targeting the health drink and bars sectors.
Aside from those seeking to control their weight via appetite suppression, Indevex says diabetics and the malnourished can also benefit from pre-loading protein before meals.
The NGC (Nutrition & Glycemic Control) offerings - as they are called - have been taken up by the Swedish pharmacy chain, Apoteket, which has released an NGC range under its own brand name.
According to Magnus Sederholm, MD, PhD, medical adviser to Indevex, pre-loading protein worked because it, “increased the release of incretin hormones” which can provoke insulin release before blood glucose levels rise due to meal consumption.
“They also slow the rate of absorption of nutrients into the blood stream by reducing gastric emptying and may directly reduce food intake. Proteins also reduce hunger through the release of Leptin. Leptin is a mediator of long-term regulation of energy balance, suppressing food intake and thereby inducing weight loss.”
The company is gunning for official weight management health claims in the EU and elsewhere and has three trials underway in Sweden, Canada and China.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) recently opined about the relative merits of plant versus animal proteins. See coverage of that here.
