Gut health expert Nattome has staged its The Gut Show showcase which headlines experts’ sharing as well as the release of the first clinical study in Malaysia on the efficacy of fermented soybean for gut health - a research-backed collaborative effort with UCSI University. 

Modern-day living has led to accelerated pace of life, stress, poor lifestyle habits and imbalance eating habits – which could easily trigger gastrointestinal issues. The World Health Organisation showed that 1 in 3 persons is experiencing a digestive disorder at any one time. Media reports indicated that gut diseases, overall, rank the 4th as the principal cause of private hospitalization in Malaysia’s hospitals in 2021.  

In view of 70% of our immune system is in the gut, one cannot overlook the importance of a healthy gut.  Common gut-related issues include bloating, indigestion, irritable bowel syndrome and  gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), with 1.03 billion (GERD) patients worldwide and an increase of 78% over the past 30 years. A survey posted by BMC Gastroenterology in 2023 indicated that the estimated number of individuals suffering from GERD is 13.98% of the adult population worldwide. In Malaysia, GERD is rising and currently affects an estimated 9.7% of the country’s population.  

At today’s media event, Head in Medicine and Health Sciences Assistant Professor Ts Dr Tan Chung Keat explained that GERD is becoming more rampant and is commonly treated by medication or in chronic cases, requires surgery. 

Prof Dr Tan offers insights into the role of natural functional foods in treating GERD naturally. “Functional foods are not just about nutrition; they are about natural foods or supplementation that optimizes health and helps prevent disease. One good functional food is fermented soybean (Glycine max) which is a primary plant-based protein source in East Asian countries. Soy bean is a staple food and crucial crop of many Asian countries with domestic and international demands causing an increase in acreage of the crop in countries in Asia (28 – 40% in the last 15 years), America and Europe. Fermented soybean offers more health benefits than its unfermented counterpart, recognised for its therapeutic effects and has been proven to possess anti-diabetic, anti-oxidants, anti-cancer  and anti- inflammatory properties,” explained Prof Dr Tan. 

Nattome recently collaborated with UCSI University to conduct an independent research which led to the unveiling of the first clinical study ever in Malaysia on the efficacy of fermented soybean in treating gut health problems, especially for GERD relief today. Fermented soy bean is the key ingredient present in Nattome’s food-based solutions, used in the research. 

The study spanned 12 weeks with 110 participants with complaints of heartburn, acid reflux, regurgitation and non-cardiac chest pain. The results revealed significant improvements in GERD symptoms, quality of life and marked reduction in inflammatory levels among users of Nattome.  Overall, the study group showed a 47.6% reduction in heartburn symptoms, 40.9% reduction in dyspepsia (indigestion) symptoms, 62.9% reduction in regurgitation symptoms, between 19.8% to 43.5% for various inflammation markers and 13.3% improvement overall in quality of life in Reflux & Dyspepsia (QOLRAD)

QOLRAD is a disease specific assessment tool which is a tell-tale of the psychometric conditions of the participants.  The clinical study showed that the study group on Nattome supplements showed improvement of 16%.7% in vitality, 15.1% in eat/drink problems, 13.3% emotional distress, 12.3% sleep disturbance and 10.8% physical and social functioning.

Nattome supplementation effectively improves GERD symptoms, reduce inflammation levels, and improve users' quality of life. Moreover, 96% of the participants perceived improvements on their gut issues towards the end of the study.

Mr Jon Lai, Founder and CEO of Nattome, shared his own journey of suffering from serious gut health issues during his earlier working years.  Not a fan of non-natural solutions nor medication, he was looking for more au naturale treatments which led him to incept Nattome and innovate a scientifically-backed range of food-based products to help Malaysians alleviate and prevent stomach-related issues, to optimise their health and live life to the fullest. 

“Nattome’s key products Stomach Food and R&R (Repair and Relief) supplementation, crafted from entirely natural food ingredients and mainly  fermented soybeans a patented component derived from Japanese fermentation technology. Nattome poses these six major benefits including optimizing gastric pH value, strengthening gastric lining and immune system, soothing heartburn, improving indigestion, relieving bloating and promoting gut health, said Jon.

Ms Indra Balaratnam, a certified dietitian, said, “A healthy gut ensures proper digestion of  the foods and drinks you consume everyday. When the foods are digested well, your body's cells are able to absorb the nutrients from the foods so that it becomes the foundation in your overall good health, strengthening your immunity and reducing your risk for chronic diseases. Daily good habits for maintaining a healthy gut are eating a balanced diet of a variety of wholegrains, lean proteins, vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds to support the good functioning of the digestive organs; regular exercise, keeping stress levels low and getting sufficient sleep.    

One’s eating and lifestyle habits are an important component in managing GERD and minimizing the discomforts. To do this, practise mindful eating to avoid food and drinks that trigger heart burn and acid reflux; eating small, frequent meals; include probiotic rich foods daily, eat no later than 3 to 4 hours before bedtime and avoid doing vigorous activity soon after a meal are strategies that effectively help to tame GERD discomforts,” advised Indra.   

Nattome also kicked off a key partnership with CARiNG Pharmacy Group. This collaboration aims to enhance the accessibility of Nattome's products through CARiNG Pharmacy's extensive network of 250 retail outlets. With this, Nattome products would be available in a total of 500 outlets to date,” Jon elaborated.

For more information about Nattome and its products, please visit https://nattome.com

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