“Today, poor gut health has become the ‘new normal’,” said Alexander Pilawski, elénzia’s innovation manager, who designed the formulation of FIX. “Consumers are increasingly looking for science-led solutions that help them feel more in control of their health.”
“Our products have always challenged the status-quo and elénzia FIX is no different,” he told NutraIngredients. “We make products that change lives, not that they supplement forever but that they can be empowered to take control of their health with carefully designed tools that meet them where they are.”
Supporting the gut as a connected system
Pilawski told NutraIngredients that they developed the product in response to real-world studies using their Ingredients for Life app.
“We conducted a placebo-controlled virtual Gut Wellness Study with 82 participants of varying degrees of digestive struggles. Testing only one ingredient (PoZibio), we saw an interesting dose-dependant response with participants who were very keen to continue using the product. So, we took a holistic look at the “leaky gut” concept and created elénzia FIX, a product that really covers a lot of ground, soothing, protecting and restoring the gut barrier.”
PoZibio is a postbiotic derived from a heat-treated strain of Lactobacillus paracasei. The other ingredients in FIX to support immunity, gut structure, and tissue repair include L-Glutamine, N-Acetyl D-Glucosamine (NAG), marshmallow root, aloe vera, vitamin D3, zinc, and copper.
The company’s internal data revealed that 41% of the 82 participants who took PoZibio for 8 weeks had improvement in IBS symptoms, and 6 in 10 people experienced a noticeable improvement in their digestion.
Elizabeth Court, the founder and brand manager of elénzia, told NutraIngredients that the company hopes to advance the gut supplements market with its innovation.
“There is most definitely a place for “good bacteria”, we need to encourage everyone to focus on having a healthy gut due to the impact it can have on the rest of the body,” she said. “However, for those people who are experiencing pro-longed and stubborn negative gut related symptoms, they need other options, and we believe a focus on gut barrier repair with elénzia FIX is the way forward.”
“Modern life, such as a diet high in ultra processed foods, over-use of anti-biotics and high stress, can lead to symptoms associated with Leaky Gut,” said Court. “Therefore, it is this that needs to be fixed first in order to be able to create a healthy gut environment. Otherwise ingredients such as probiotics, are likely to have little effect.”
Educating consumers
Court noted that consumers who are interested in health and wellness are becoming more aware of the importance of the gut barrier.
“As a brand, we focus a great deal of our time on education for our customers, we have our podcast series, Nourishing Longevity with elénzia, in which we explore certain topics in an educational and accessible way,” she said.
“Our future customers will all know that “poor gut health is the new normal” but it doesn’t have to be,” said Pilawski. “Gut health is a holistic endeavour and that is exactly how we will always present it. We have an upcoming IHCAN webinar this month, educating Nutritionists and Practitioners. We are also supporting the launch with email and social media content including educational videos and podcasts.”