A healthy lifestyle is the need of the hour. A sufficient amount of nutrients are essential to maintain proper body development but due to a busy lifestyle, people are less involved in managing their diet and end up with various deficiencies and metabolic disorders. Some of the most common health issues are deficiency of micro-nutrients, obesity, thyroid, etc.
Various health supplements are available in the market to prevent these health issues, either in the form of pills or powders or syrups. Since these supplements contain a dense concentration of nutrients, the products are not palatable. Moreover, products like green tea are consumed to prevent the problem of obesity and cancer but due to its taste, it’s not preferred by many people. Some people prefer to get the nutrients in the form of injections or canola drip but obviously, everyone is not interested to bear the pain for nutrient ingestion.
So, is there any solution for this? Is it possible to get the nutrients without ingesting the unpalatable products or injection pain?
Nutranomics, a Utah-based dietary supplement company has taken the initiative to deliver nutrients without any pain. They are utilizing the technology of Nutribands for the delivery of nutrients through the skin. According to the Nutranomics CEO Dr. Tracy K. Gibbs, this Nutraband delivery system allows the delivery of various nutrients such as minerals, vitamins, amino acids, and other health supplements through a skin patch, henceforth bypassing the system of swallowing capsules or tablets. It has been observed that various nutrients can be absorbed directly by skin and work with the same efficiency as ingested by mouth. Moreover, the advantage that Nutriband offers is the nutrients doesn’t need to pass through the harsh conditions of the stomach before getting absorbed and are free of any chemical preservatives or additives.
The major doubt arise here is about the mechanism. How does it work? What is it made up of?
The technology involved in the Nutriband is the transdermal diffusion of nutrients. This technology was in use for a long time for the delivery of drugs to patients but recently, Nutranomics has bought rights to the Nutriband delivery system for the delivery of nutrients. These bands have added advantage that the delivery of nutrients occurs for a sustained period (generally 6 hours).
Such types of bands are composed of various layers. According to the patent by David Crawford, these transdermal bands are comprised of a fabric layer, having an inner surface, an outer surface, and a release liner. The inner surface is in close contact with the skin and is meant to store nutrients before transdermal delivery. The nutrient supplements can be either coated on the surface of the layer or impregnated in it or absorbed on the fabric layer depending on the availability of technology. Above this, there is an outer layer which is impermeable for the nutrients such that the supplement will not get absorbed or evaporated through the layer. Since the bands have to get stick to the skin, the adhesive used is non-reactive to the nutritional supplement. Silicons and polyisobutylenes are the common ingredients used as a component of adhesive. One of the limiting factors in this innovation is the rate of uptake of nutritional supplements by the skin. After various researches, it has been found that methyl nicotinate helps to carry nutrients in the body.
Transdermal technology is indeed an emerging technology in the sector of food and nutrition. It has a huge requirement in armed forces and space missions where the intake of food is difficult but the requirement of nutrients is essential. Moreover, the people who find difficulty in swallowing food, Nutriband offers a great advantage to them.
References:
United States Patent by Jay Patrik: Compositions for the transdermal delivery of nutrients
United States Patent by David Crawford: Transdermal Nutritional Supplement Delivery Patch
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