Step One Foods makes meals and snacks that are designed to improve heart health and instead of taking pills, users are meant to consume two servings of Step One products daily. Elizabeth Klodas, PhD, is the Mayo Clinic- and John Hopkins-trained physician who is on a mission to reframe cardiovascular treatment and make it easier for people to eat the right foods. Dr. Klodas said, "Addressing a health condition like high cholesterol is about more than ‘eating better.’ You have to know what you’re doing."
The brand's oatmeal, smoothies, pancakes and snack bars are fueled by ingredients like oat bran, flaxseed and dried fruit for the purposes of binding to cholesterol particles. As part of a double-blind study conducted at Mayo Clinic and the University of Manitoba (at the same level of scientific scrutiny typically reserved for pharmaceuticals,) products from the Step One program showed a reduction in "bad cholesterol" by an average of 9% across participants in just 30 days.
Functional Heart Health Foods
Step One Takes a Nutrition-Based Approach to Lowering Cholesterol
Trend Themes
1. Heart Health Food Products - Innovative food products specifically designed to lower cholesterol levels and improve heart health are emerging in the market.
2. Functional Foods - A growing trend of functional foods, aimed at promoting overall health benefits, is creating opportunities in the food industry for businesses to innovate.
3. Plant-based Food Products - Plant-based ingredients, like oat bran and flaxseed, are being used to create new heart-healthy food products that have the potential to disrupt the food industry.
Industry Implications
1. Food and Beverage - The food and beverage industry can capitalize on the growing demand for heart-healthy food products by developing new functional foods using innovative ingredients and formulations.
2. Health and Wellness - The health and wellness industry has an opportunity to incorporate heart-healthy foods, like those developed by Step One, into their programs to promote better heart health and overall wellness to consumers.
3. Pharmaceutical - The pharmaceutical industry could potentially explore the benefits of functional heart health foods, like those developed by Step One, as an alternative or complement to traditional medication for cholesterol management.