Pete Tate, CEO and Founder of MedTate, explains the role of nutraceuticals in preventing illness when it comes to diabetes in the UK
Diabetes has reached such a high in the UK that all of the peopled diagnosed with the disease would be enough to fill Wembley Stadium more than 52 times over, that’s according to recent statistics from the charity Diabetes UK. The number of people diagnosed with diabetes in the UK more than doubled between 1998 and 2018, with the figure standing at 4.7 million in the latter year. With an already huge jump in the number of people diagnosed, it is arguably unlikely that fewer people will be diagnosed this year. While diabetes medication is on hand for all these individuals who become diagnosed, it’s time to take more of a preventative stance on the disease.
As a nutraceutical company, we believe that it is the responsibility of the government and nutraceutical industry to educate the public about health and wellness. It is ingrained into my ethos to help maintain wellness and help individuals prevent illnesses and I do what I do today after gleaning the inspiration from my grandfather, L K Tate, who experimented in Ayurvedic medicine with the ambition to cure himself of diabetes. My grandfather lived to 100-years-old and he believed that it was the power of natural herbs that helped him live a long life. His attitude inspired me to think about how natural supplements can be used to maintain healthy lives.
Our ethos is essentially that prevention is better than cure, as most prescription medicines do not cure, they just treat and maintain. As is the case with many organisations today, we are determined to change attitudes and encourage everyone to do more to prevent illness and to take an active role in establishing a healthy society.
Individuals looking to ensure that their health is in good condition so that they can live long, healthy lives can do their own bit to prevent illness in the future. We work closely with pharmacists and know that they have seen a rise in the number of people coming into their stores to ask for wellness supplements. The conversation on wellness is growing to such an extent and people are actively seeking not just supplements but also advice from their pharmacists on how to cultivate their own wellness routine. For example, rather than going to their doctor if they feel frequently tired or feel a cold coming on, pharmacists have said people are seeking supplements rather than medicine.
This increased public awareness is leading to a booming nutraceutical market which is host to a series of industry players with the mission of helping prevent illness. The global nutraceutical market was valued at around $383.06 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach approximately $561.38 billion by 2023. This is indicative of the role that nutraceutical companies, like MedTate, are playing in helping drive health and wellness in the public. This increased drive for awareness of supplements that can be taken to support health will only lead to a healthier society. While nutraceuticals do not have the capacity to cure illnesses like diabetes, they do have a crucial part to play in helping prevent them.
Type 2 Diabetes is largely preventable as are other life-changing illnesses and there is room for nutraceutical companies to drive prevention. There is currently a strain being placed on the NHS in providing prescribed medication to the public, worryingly this comes amid an epidemic which is seeing individuals become reliant on medication. With this increased pressure being placed on the NHS, our goal is to help prevent illness so that this strain is alleviated and the number of people living with illness declines.
We have already seen concerning reports regarding antibiotics and the dangers of them becoming ineffective due to heavy public consumption. It is clear that prescribed medication should be reserved to a last resort and that the onus is on individuals and medical professionals to ensure enough is done to avoid having to rely on prescription drugs.
We are putting together a range of educational resources with the aim of educating individuals and pharmacists about the ways in which they can safeguard themselves against becoming ill. Nutraceuticals are not offering a cure but instead presenting an opportunity to drastically reduce public risk of life-threatening illnesses.
Pete Tate
CEO and Founder
MedTate
Tel: +44 (0)207 112 5138
