NutriKane D February 5, 2016 Australia, healthy products, nutrition NutriKane D Hi everyone, I received a sample of NutriKane D a little while ago when the company realised how into prebiotic fibres and gut health I was; They were spot on! This post is far more in-depth than my usual summary posts, as I thought that others (particularly in the dietetic field) would find the information of this product quite interesting, and potentially useful for clients that have diabetes (or simply want to enhance their gut health and immune systems). NutriKane D is a unique fibre based product that is based off sugarcane, and offers a matrix of different types of fibres, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, that naturally work together to have a synergistic effect on gut health and blood glucose regulation. Ingredients: Sugarcane (sucrose reduced), Pectin (from apple and citrus fruits), Potassium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid (acidity regulators), Stevia (natural sweetener), Natural Orange flavour. I posed some questions to the head of their research team which I thought would prove useful to anyone interested in learning more about the benefits of the product, as well as what data they have collected to back the claims made. Dr Malcolm Ball – MediKane Please provide some evidence on the gut health benefits of NutriKane D: MediKane, the company behind NutriKane D, has been conducting research into the benefits and mechanisms behind this natural food product for 5 years now. The Sydney University Glycaemic Index Research Service concluded that consuming a sachet of NutriKane D with a meal lowered the glycaemic index (GI) of that particular meal. The Royal Melbourne Hospital has performed 2 clinical trials that included NutriKane into their treatment regimen. This saw dramatic improvements in the intestinal health of patients and the results were published in respected medical journals. Macquarie University and MediKane have also partnered to determine the mechanisms behind NutriKane D’s benefit. The ingredients are currently being characterised to determine how their combination benefits the microbiome more so than when separated. So far the three PhD projects have demonstrated that pro-inflammatory bacteria are reduced while probiotic bacteria are increased when NutriKane D is added to intestinal bacteria, that the micronutrients found in NutriKane D are an integrated part of the fibre matrix, and that the antioxidants present have an anti-inflammatory effect. Further, the research has shown that NutriKane D promotes the production of short chain fatty acids (SCFA) which are essential to good digestive health and have been indicated in improving blood glucose management, as well as many inflammatory conditions. Please provide detail on the minerals present in the product that assist with blood glucose regulation: NutriKane D provides essential micronutrients and antioxidants that reduce inflammation and help to improve blood glucose regulation; It is high in chromium, selenium, antioxidants and several types of dietary fibre. Chromium, which is present in NutriKane D, plays an instrumental part in how the body regulates insulin and balances blood glucose levels. It is useful in enhancing glucose metabolism, particularly in those people that suffer from glucose intolerance. Essentially, chromium assists insulin in allowing glucose to enter the cell, improving insulin sensitivity. Recently the effectiveness of synthetic chromium supplements have been called into question, and it is recommended that chromium intake come from natural food sources such as NutriKane D. Further, the complex nature of the prebiotic foods found in NutriKane D have been shown to be more efficient, than simple fibre supplements, in maintaining microbial balance. This is also an essential part of maintaining insulin sensitivity, controlling inflammation, as well as assisting postprandial incretions and glucose tolerance. It is important to remember that while NutriKane D is a natural food product it does not replace a good diet – rather it is an easy and controlled way to help individuals manage diet control. For many people, this added bonus is enough to positively impact their blood glucose management. You mention different types of fibres, is this just referring to the prebiotic fibres? Can you please go into a little more detail by outlining the different fibres present in the product? Unlike many fibre supplements such as psyllium husk and dextrins/inulin; Our product is a true high fibre food. What we mean by that is that psyllium is made from the husk surrounding the seed, so it is not an active part of the plant, and dextrins and the like are highly purified which makes both of them very simple. The standard supplements have only one kind of fibre – usually soluble and no micronutrients or complexity to the fibre matrix. When you eat a high fibre food such as say broccoli it has soluble fibre, insoluble fibre vitamins, trace elements and so on; This is also the case with NutriKane – the sugarcane stem has insoluble fibre and solkublke fibre but also vitamins and trace minerals, antioxidants and the like all bound to the matrix. This means that as the stem is slowly digested by the bacteria these nutients are released along the whole length of your intestines, which nourishes not just the start but also the end. The insoluble fibre acts to scrub the unwanted cells away refreshing the lining of the gut (our guts are actually designed to have the surface removed by our food to reveal new cells underneath, and the work of other scientific groups suggests that not doing so with highly processed foods may be part of the cause of bowel cancers and inflammatory conditions). The gluten free grain that NutriKane contains has resistant starch (an essential prebiotic) and a whole different set of micronutrients. Now fibre supplements are a good source of one type of fibre but they simply lack the complexity of whole foods such as NutriKane. Please provide any further research that is being performed around the efficacy of the product: The Australian Research Council funded PhD projects with Macquarie University continue to examine the mechanisms behind NutriKane D’s effect on blood glucose management. This project includes animal models and will have a clinical stage to determine direct causal relationships. MediKane is partnering with Sydney University and Royal North Shore Hospital to see if the microbiome changes and short chain fatty acids production can help with other inflammatory conditions such as chronic kidney disease (clinical trials have shown that SCFAs are essential to good kidney function and may slow the effects of kidney disease). After the successful trials showing improvement to intestinal health Royal Melbourne Hospital is testing NutriKane D’s benefits to blood glucose management to patients recuperating in the recuperative care ward. This came about because the nursing staff reported a benefit to patients in the intestinal health trials, however the specific effect was not measured during that trial. Baker IDI has designed a trial to measure the benefits of NutriKane D’s glycaemic index lowering effect specifically to people that need to manage blood glucose levels. MediKane is also currently working with healthcare professionals to understand what happens when NutriKane is part of a daily dietary routine. This is perhaps our most exciting research as it demonstrates benefits in the real world, as opposed to a controlled environment. Anecdotal evidence, and small scale case studies, have so far indicated that NutriKane D contributes to blood glucose management and intestinal health improvement and also the lessening of inflammation. The quality and scale of these positive initial results have prompted these highly respected hospitals and research institutions to look toward expanding the trials and we are now in the process of running randomised placebo controlled trials (the absolute gold standard). When they measured a reduction in inflammation in the trials, which biomarkers were being assessed to claim this outcome? The work on the anti-inflammatory effect so far has been largely in-vitro with small observational clinical case studies. That is to say that the antioxidants found in the NutriKane matrix have been shown to inhibit activation of the Nf-kB pathway in hepatic cell models and is reported (through work published by others) to function through the TLR network and PAPr-gamma pathways. To date individuals with inflammatory conditions such as arthritis and chronic fatigue have exhibited a reduction of symptoms when NutriKane was added to their diet, and small numbers of individuals have reduced CRP counts. There is also a large body of scientific literature on the ingredients that have been included in NutriKane and their benefits to inflammation; However at the moment our direct data is not robust enough for us to be happy so we are currently running a randomized placebo controlled trial that will measure several markers including CRP, IL-6 and other cytokines. The trial will also look at kidney and liver function markers use to measure the actual clinical benefit. The small scale results we have so far indicate that these will be improved but it is still too early to report this further than the in-vitro results. So there you have it, clearly a product to keep an eye on as the research continues to grow. For further information on the science and where to get it from you can simply head over to their site. Until next time, TD x
