The Future Of Natural Foods, Supplements, and Nootropics

We just got back from Natural Products Expo West 2016.

EXPO WEST, as it is known, is the largest showcase of natural foods and products in the world. (See the exhibit hall below? There were 7+ rooms like this!)

Imagine walking down the aisle of your favorite health food store...

NOW, imagine every single company behind every product on those shelves building a massive booth to showcase their goods...

That's EXPO WEST.

The booths start in the 100's and go all the way to the 9000's.

With over 600 new products this year, more than 3,000 vendors and 77,000 attendees, it's massive, exhilarating, crazy, and sensory overload.

The Future Of Natural Foods and Supplements:

In this post - and podcast - we're going to distill EXPO WEST 2016 down to the important things for you - the consumer.

This year, we noticed a huge move from supplements in previous years to almost all food and drinks. With record highs for new products, vendors, and attendees, the demand for natural, healthy food choices is at all time high and this is GREAT NEWS!

The shift from processed foods to natural that has driven the growth of natural food "meccas" like Whole Foods, is slowly trickling down to larger grocery chains. This year's EXPO WEST represented that as more companies try to meet consumer demands and distributors and retailers try to get a piece of the action.

A Special Optimal Performance Podcast

In this week's OPP, we're breaking from our routine to chat with Natural Stacks co-founder Roy Krebs so we can share with you the trends we noticed and the products, people, and brands doing big things in the natural foods, supplement and nootropics industries.

We're also answering listener questions - so go ahead and post your questions in the comments below and we'll answer them on a future episode of the OPP.

What you'll hear on this episode of the OPP:

New segment on the podcast. We'll answer your questions on future episodes of the show - leave your questions in the comments below or email ryan@naturalstacks.com
What the ever-growing demand for healthy and natural foods means for you the consumer in regards to ingredients and labeling.
EPIC Bars, nose-to-tail use of animals, new cooking fats, and bone broth
Prebiotics, probiotics, the difference between the two and why you need both
The end of bathing, covering yourself in bacteria, and using animal fat for deodorant and moisturizer
The cival war in the mushroom supplement world: Full spectrum dried shrooms vs. distilled extracts of specific compounds within those mushrooms
Caveman Coffee's new Nitro Teas and chowing down at the Bulletproof Coffee Shop in Santa Monica
Mark Sisson, Primal Mayo, and the new Primal Collagen Protein Bar
Listener question #1: The best tips to cook your food to avoid carcinogens and advanced glycation end products (AGEs)
Listener question #2: Optimizing your GABA levels, why phenibut is not the best GABA supplement for long-term health
Stacking our Brain Foods for synergistic effects and using them daily for natural optimization of your neurotransmitters
Roy's daily routine - scheduling work flow for optimal productivity, supplements, and exercise
Honey before bed and combining the Bulletproof Diet with Carb Back-Loading and the Tim Ferriss carb approach
Roy's Top 3 Tips to #LiveOptimal