Vitapoche® : a new food product designed to
improve
the
vitamin and mineral status of homeless people
Homeless people: a highly damaged micronutrient status.
Homeless people often miss meals. Yet, their needs in energy, vitamins
and minerals are higher than average, because of their living conditions
(lack of sleep, physical activity due to constant walking, exposure
to extreme temperatures), as well as, for some, heavy tobacco and alcohol
consumption.
Cases of Scurvy (severe vitamin C deficiency), Wernicke's encephalopathy
(severe vitamin B1 deficiency, associated with high alcohol consumption)
and pellagra (severe vitamin PP deficiency) have been regularly noted
in this population. Malnutrition and mineral and vitamin deficiencies
are also often noted. These could be responsible for high morbidity
(mental illnesses, liver conditions, general and dental infections)
and mortality among the homeless population in developed countries.
Food relief dedicated to homeless people should have exceptionally
high nutritional qualities.
Meals distributed in the street or in shelters are usually of reasonable
nutritional quality, but will, at best, provide only 50 to 70% of the
daily needs in energy for homeless people. The ideal situation would
be for the daily vitamin and mineral needs to be covered by these 50
- 70%. Such a situation would mean that food distribution should be
of exceptionally high nutritional value (1.5 times to 2 times that of
normal food). This is of course impossible to achieve with everyday
food-stuffs and would need the consumption of fortified food or food
supplementation.
Food supplementation through medicine (tablets, injections)
is not a desirable solution.
Food supplementation through tablets or injections causes major feasibility
issues (e.g non compliance with the prescription) and potential toxicity.
A study among the homeless population in Paris has shown an abnormally
high level of Vitamin B6 in the blood. This level could be explained
by the supplements given by many emergency units through regular (sometimes
uncontrollable) pharmaceutical doses of various forms of vitamin B .
This supplementation is meant to prevent neurological disorders related
to high alcohol intake. Unfortunately, this can have rather adverse
results, because of the neuro-toxicity of Vitamin B6 when given in high
doses.
 |
a
fortified food specifically designed for homeless people. |
In practice, the only option that will dramatically improve the nutritional
status of homeless people is a fortified food, well accepted and easily
usable in the street, with a good price/quality ratio.
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nswers all of these criteria. It has been designed by the “Nutrition et Précarité” team, unit 557, of the INSERM (French National Institute for Health |
| and Medical Research), together with Nutriset. (nutriset@nutriset.fr, www.nutriset.fr, tel 02.32.93.82.82). | |
Nutriset specializes in the design, manufacture and marketing of specific products for food relief.
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comes as a chocolate paste, fortified in vitamins and minerals, and is naturally rich in potassium, magnesium and essential fatty acids of the omega-3 type. |
| Its formula is specifically geared to combating the vitamin and mineral deficiencies commonly found in the homeless population. | |
Each sachet provides 800 mg of calcium, 5 mg of zinc, 80 mg of vitamin
C, 14 mg of vitamin B1, 200 µg of vitamin B9, 18 mg of vitamin PP,
10 µG of vitamin B12, 5 mg of vitamin E and 10 µg of vitamin
D.
The paste is also rich in potassium (600 mg/sachet),
magnesium (65 mg/sachet) and essential fatty acids
of the omega-3 type (1.3g).
It is not fortified in vitamin A, iron or copper; these nutrients are potentially liver-toxic with people already at risk of developing cirrhoses of the liver. It is not fortified in vitamin B6 either, in view of the neuro-toxicity of this vitamin when taken in high doses.
Vitamins B1 and B12 are added to Vitapoche® in much higher quantities than those recommended as a daily intake (10 times more), in order to ensure better prevention of liver and neurological conditions linked to high alcohol intake. These vitamins are quickly eliminated in case of excessive intake and show no risk of toxicity.
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a food product which is well accepted by homeless people. |
Apart from its nutritional qualities, Vitapoche® has very specific advantages for the homeless population:
Vitapoche® excellent microbiological stability, small but strong sachets adapted to use in the street, viscosity adapted to people with dental problems.
The acceptability of Vitapoche® has been tested with the target population in a field-study as part of the “Programme National Nutrition Santé” (National Programme for Health and Nutrition), coordinated by the “Direction Générale de la Santé” (Health General Directorate).
This study was approved by the Expert Committee in Human Nutrition - AFSSA (French Agency for the Health Security of Food stuffs). Several organizations took an active part in the partnership: 3 housing centres, 4 day shelters and the Street Outreach Teams of the “Samu Social” in Paris.
We took into account the remarks made by homeless people in the course of this study. This has made it possible to improve the initial presentation of Vitapoche® and the acceptability of the product which is now good (2 out of 3 people said they would eat Vitapoche on a regular basis if they could get it easily).
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a way of improving the vitamin and mineral status of homeless people. |
One sachet of Vitapoche® a day will cover the daily needs for all identified deficient nutrients, without going over the safety limit. Each Vitapoche® sachet provides 370 kcal, which is roughly the energy contained in an average chocolate bar. However, this is much less than the energy provided by a real meal. It is therefore NOT a meal substitute; it is not meant to replace existing food aid (whether in the form of food distribution or free meals).
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is designed to combat vitamin and mineral deficiencies that are likely to hit people who |
| consume low nutritional value food on a regular basis. | |
Snack foods (crisps, chocolate bars, biscuits…) are often consumed by homeless people. They are practical, cheap and pleasant to eat, but they provide hardly any vitamins or minerals. Vitapoche® should to be used instead.
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offers very high nutritional qualities, while remaining easy to use, pleasant and very competitive in terms of price. |
Tél. +33(0) 2.32.93.82.82 - Fax : +33(0) 2.35.33.14.15