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Numo is a health brand with a mission to “kickstart your gut health and empower you to live your best life.” The brand is no stranger to innovation, too.
For example, its flagship product, Numo Gummies, taps into the power of ACV (apple cider vinegar) through vegan, certified organic ACV gummies. These are meticulously made using cold process manufacturing to maintain live cultures from “the Mother.”
As a pioneer in effective gut health gummy supplements, Numo’s development team understands that the health world is always changing. Trends, in particular, are a dime a dozen. Some of these move health forward, while others aren’t worth the time it takes to read about them.
Now, Numo’s visionary CEO, John Occhipinti, is peeling back the curtain on other health trends that are worth watching in 2023. Here are some of Occhipinti’s thoughts, especially in the area of gut health and how it impacts overall health.
Mental Illness Is Coming Into the Spotlight
Mental health issues are nothing new. In fact, we collectively refer to this growing and diverse concern as AMI or “any mental illness.” As we become more aware of mental illness in the information age, it’s easier for people to diagnose that they’re struggling. In 2021, nearly 58 million adults in the U.S. (nearly a quarter of us) had AMI. And yet, while awareness is at an all-time high, the tools we have to combat this mental health epidemic remain wholly insufficient.
2023 is a year when I expect to see that start to shift, partly through the application of gut-healing health solutions. Scientists have been connecting the dots between mental health and gut health for a while now. It has even led to the creation of the term “Gut-Brain Axis” or GBA. This refers to the bidirectional communication that goes on between the central nervous system (read: the brain) and a person’s gastrointestinal tract and associated microbiota (read: the gut).
This organic cross-body collaboration has a huge influence on how the body functions and how the brain thinks. It’s a two-way street that can have major implications on a human’s health. Again, this isn’t new information. But this is the year that I expect to see more gut health solutions, like live culture ACV gummies, become mainstream solutions to mental health concerns.
Sleep Is Going to Get Some Attention
As with mental health, the appreciation for sleep as a building block of good health is nothing new. Everyone knows you need to get enough sleep if you want your body to operate well. The CDC reports that sleep impairment simply from being awake for 17 hours straight can inhibit behavior. The organization compares the effect to a BAC (blood alcohol concentration) of 0.05% — enough to be pegged for drunk driving in some countries. If you stay awake for 24 hours, the BAC comparison doubles to 0.10%.
But it isn’t just the quantity of sleep that matters here. The quality of your sleep is important, too. If your sleep is light or disturbed too often, you miss out on critical quantities of REM and deep sleep that your body needs to do things like physically recover and process your memories.
There are obvious ways to enhance your sleep quality. You can set up a bedtime routine, use black-out curtains, and avoid blue light from electronics well before getting into bed. But I expect that this year, people are going to start waking up to the fact that there are ways they can enhance their sleep even further by giving their body the nutritional fodder it needs to keep them sleeping through the night.
It should come as no surprise that, like mental health, the gut impacts sleep, too. A person’s microbiome is closely linked to our circadian rhythm, which helps us drift in and out of sleep on a daily basis. The gut also produces key neurotransmitters, like melatonin, dopamine, and serotonin, that help us wake up and fall asleep.
This year, I expect to see more consumers complementing their sleep routines (and, for some, ditching those overpowered and oft-unnecessary sleep pills) in favor of gut-health supplements. More people will wake up to the fact that they need to feed their bodies probiotic-rich foods and supplements if they want to fall asleep better at night.
The Link Between Immunity and Gut Health Will Shine
Immunity is a major focal point for everyone. The pandemic taught us that, along with the need for fast and effective reactive health tools, proactive preservation of health is a necessity.
Since 2020, the focus has been largely on externally shoring up the immune system. Washing hands, social distancing, wearing masks — these are external ways to avoid coming into contact with viruses and bacteria in our surroundings. But the truth is, at some point, (many points, really), they’re going to get into our immune system. About 70-80% of the immune system is centered around the gut. So, when that happens, you want your microbiome ready to support your body.
This year, I expect to see more people investing in their gut health in the name of their overall health. The connection between the immune and digestive systems is clear.
A healthy microbiome is a diverse ecosystem of bacteria, fungi, and viruses that we know helps us digest food, create vitamins, and regulate our hormones. But it also serves as a first line of defense when outside invaders like viruses and toxins get into our system.
A healthy gut forms a protective barrier of beneficial bacteria that can help us fight off disease-causing pathogens. It nixes the threat of illness at the source before the immune system needs to get heavily involved. I expect a healthy gut will top the list for those looking for ways to enhance their immune system even further in 2023.
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