Sales Up

(NaturalNews) Sales of alternative medical products are on the rise in spite of -- and perhaps in part because of -- tough economic times.

According to a study reported in The Daily Mail, the British alternative medicines market has grown by 18 percent in the past two years, to a yearly value of £213 million ($333 million). This value is expected to rise to £282million, or another 33 percent, in the next four years. This increase has been seen across the board, even in less well-known treatments such as traditional Indian ayurvedic medicine.

In the United States, retail sales of vitamins and supplements totaled almost $639 million between October and December 2009, a nearly 10 percent increase from the same period in 2007. Sales of herbal supplements have increased 6 percent. The true scale might even be higher, as the figures do not include sales from Wal-Mart or club stores, where people are more likely to turn when there budgets become more restricted.

This increase is particularly striking given the overall downward trajectory of spending in that same time period.

World wide market in Supplements

Doctors and Vitamins
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Clinical research is leading to increasingly wide acceptance of supplements among Doctors and other health professionals. Many now recommend supplements to their patients and clients.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommends we eat 7 to 13 servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Most people don't come anywhere close
Nutritionists and doctors are beginning to discover that it doesn't matter how old you are, whether you're male or female, whether you have ailments or are as healthy as an ox…
More Doctors Take Vitamins than Get a Flu Vaccine:
72% of Physicians and 89% of Nurses take vitamins each year. 51% of physicians and 59% of nurses classify themselves as regular consumers of dietary supplements.
Building A Solid Nutritional Foundation Is Vital To Your Overall Health…
and today is the best time to start.

Booming Market

Functional foods market worth $27bn +

The US functional foods market will grow by up to 20 percent

or five times that of the food industry as a whole, according

to a new report from Pricewaterhouse Coopers that puts the

market at $27bn in 2007.

Forecasts range from between 8.5 percent and 20 percent,

the finance firm said, compared to one and four percent for

the entire food industry.

Functional foods have grown to the point where they account

for five percent of the food industry, with consumers more

interested than ever in fortified foods – even those whose overall

nutrient profile is variable.

The Pricewaterhouse Coopers report noted consumers were

willing to pay premiums for foods that targeted health problems

or provided an alternative to the likes of soda drinks and

empty calorie snacks. This was so even in hard economic times.

The report comes after research conducted by the International

Food Information Council that found of those Americans trying

to improve their diets, 79 percent are changing the types of

foods they eat, 69 percent are changing the amount of foods

consumed, and 19 percent are changing their use of dietary supplements.

The 2009 Food & Health Survey found that healthfulness,

among other product attributes, is an important factor that

influences consumers’ purchasing decisions. When consumers are

choosing foods for themselves and their children, they are

interested in healthful components.