“Over 15,000 new products or ingredients are introduced into the natural products market every year,” said Todd Runestad, Science Editor of Functional Foods & Nutraceuticals magazine, which covers the industry. Companies were invited to submit new products for NutrAward consideration by an independent panel of industry experts and medical and scientific researchers, who narrowed the field to three semifinalists by judging each on six criteria: scientific merit, efficacy, safety, innovation, market potential and ability to increase industry credibility. The final NutrAward winner was determined by the vote of the 44,000 attendees of the 25th annual Expo West/SupplyExpo tradeshow.
The NutrAward is highly valued within the industry. Companies seeking to win it must submit the research conducted on their products to a rigorous scientific review performed by independent industry and academic experts in natural products.
“We have been in the forefront of encouraging companies to make comments about their products based on science, so we take a look at things pretty critically, and the Avé and Avemar products looked good in that context,” said Richard D. Kreider, PhD, Professor and Chair of the Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation, Director of the Exercise and Sport Nutrition Laboratory at Baylor University, and a member of the Nutracon scientific review panel. “There were data from both animal and human clinical trials to validate Avemar's safety and efficacy.” He also commented, “The studies were well done, from both the theoretical and applied standpoints, and the results showed it had both mechanistic and overall immunological impact.”
The Avemar science reviewed by the expert panel included results of over 100 experiments in cell lines, animal and human subjects, described in more than 20 publications in peer-reviewed medical journals such as the British Journal of Cancer, Pancreas, The International Journal of Oncology, Lupus, Nature Biotechnology, and others.
Studies conducted in the US, Hungary, Israel, Russia and other countries show the compound works to optimize metabolism and immune system function in conditions in which either or both are challenged. Use of Avemar as a dietary supplement has been shown to support mechanisms of cell metabolic regulation, so that cells in our bodies use glucose, their basic fuel source, at a steady rate through healthy oxidative pathways. Healthy metabolic rate and pathways can be altered by injury and stress resulting in a variety of health conditions. Injury and stress can also alter immune response, and Avemar has been shown to support mechanisms of innate and acquired immune system regulation. Avemar use improves the balance of cellular and humoral immune activity, the ratio of Th1 and Th2 cytokines, promotes optimal NK (Natural Killer) cell recognition, and the coordinated response of macrophages, B-cell and T-cells.
In Hungary, where Avemar was invented and where it is manufactured, Avemar is classified as a “medical food,” and is a standard treatment and approved therapy for many health conditions. It is available as a food product or dietary supplement in many European and Asian countries. American BioSciences completed the US FDA process of establishing Avemar as GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) a designation that allows its use in foods, beverages and dietary supplements. Avé is a dietary supplement instant drink mix and is the first US product to contain Avemar.
“We are very pleased to see the prestigious 2006 NutrAward added to the recognition Avemar and Avé have received,” said David Wales, President of American BioSciences. Earlier this year, Avé received the “Product Merit Award” from the Nutrition Business Journal, an industry trade journal. In Hungary, the development of Avemar was honored by the awarding of the President’s Gold Medal of Merit to its inventor Dr. Mate Hidvegi.
“It is our hope that the publicity of winning the NutrAward will bring Avé and the research behind Avemar to the attention of a broader spectrum of the public and medical community and provide new health care opportunities,” added Rick Jahnke, vice-president and co-founder of American BioSciences. “It has always been our goal to focus first and foremost on helping people achieve their health potential. We work with university and private researchers to identify extremely well researched natural compounds that have never been marketed as natural compounds, often because synthetic versions of them are on track for drug development. Avé and Avemar prove that the science of natural compounds can rise to the level of the most powerful drug compounds, but without toxicity issues because they are basically food compounds. The dietary supplements we sell are the same compounds used in the research, and peer-reviewed publications provide accurate, third party information on safety and efficacy.”
Avemar research can be found by searching the National Institutes of Health website, www.pubmed.org, with the search term, Avemar, and/or “fermented wheat germ,” and at the website, www.avemarresearch.com. For more information on Avé, call toll free 1-888-884-7770, or visit online at www.americanbiosciences.com
