What health issues are getting the most attention with F&B?
As people are becoming more Allergy Aware, I'm finding that more restaurants are trying to accommodate people like us. Also, more businesses are trying to offer healthier choices and indicate these choices on their menus.
What new ingredients will become more important over the next 5 years? I am seeing more Gluten Free Pizza's available in restaurants - even in my town of about 18,000 people. As more people are found to have Celiac, this does become more important. The reason why more people are being diagnosed with Celiac is because doctors are learning that what they thought was IBS, is in fact Celiac.
What dietary concerns do you have? Sometimes it is hard to find a restaurant willing to accommodate those of us with unusual food allergies/intolerances. They think that we should just "eat at home" and we are just there to annoy them. The problem is that some of us do not have a choice and was unable to find a kitchenette to rent. We go on holidays/vacations or have business trips just like everyone else does. I'd wonder how they would feel if they were to go to a city in the middle of no wheres, that only allowed those with food allergies to eat at their restaurants? What if the place only served Tofu burgers and they were allergic to Soy but could only eat Beef? I'm allergic to Beef and can only eat Soy.
The truth is, that many people with the "common" allergies, also have a secondary allergy or intolerance that is not so common. 1 in 250 people have a rare food allergy. It is thought that 1 in 200 people have Celiac or Gluten intolerance. Gluten is considered a top 8 allergen. This means that Rare food allergies aren't really all that rare.
We don't expect businesses to accommodate for every diet by having it on their menu, but we would like to see them use what they have on hand, and just cook it in a clean pan, cut it with clean knives on a clean work surface. Just that would go a long ways to keeping those of us with food allergies safer. We can't always eat at home, as much as we'd like too. We do not mind waiting a little longer for our food. What I would give for plain rice some days.
What uncommon products help people over 40 yrs of age? I'm not aware of any. However, it has been established that around the age of 50, people tend to absorb less Vitamin B12. The Vegan diet has been found to reverse Diabeties. Probiotics taken in larger amounts are being used by some Allergy specialist to reverse food sensitivities in some of their patients. Cooking kills probiotics.
I find that every region can have different trends. So this is from my perspective in my area of expertise, dealing with allergies and intolerances and what I've seen in my travels.
