The Digest

In December, 2024, our team commissioned a survey that highlighted three top trends people are thinking about in 2025:

1. Cutting out processed foods

2. Healthy aging

3. Improving gut health

Gut health is the Pendulum team’s strongest area of expertise, so let’s dig into those survey findings. Of the 2,000 respondents, 83% agreed that having a healthy gut along with healthy digestion and metabolism are critical for overall health and wellness. 26% plan on improving their gut health and digestion in 2025.

“The research shows that Americans are more aware than ever that a refreshed, holistic approach to health is the way forward,” said Dr. Adam Perlman, Chief Medical Officer at Pendulum and former Medical Director for Integrative Health and Wellbeing at Mayo Clinic. “Rather than just scratching the surface, they’re understanding that to be healthier and to feel better, it’s important to go deeper and address issues of gut health as well as metabolic health.”

This growing interest makes sense. These statistics illustrate that gut health problems are still a common source of suffering:

• 43% of people struggle with poor digestive health, and they experience uncomfortable digestive symptoms at least twice a day

• Respondents with poor digestive health estimated that an improvement in gut health would increase their quality of life by 46%

• An unfortunate 6% reported they experience uncomfortable digestive symptoms for the entirety of their day

• 72% with less-than-ideal digestive health are embarrassed when they experience digestive upset in front of others

• 48% don’t feel like they can interpret their stomach’s signals and symptoms very well

How are people dealing with these gut health problems?

Our survey also explored what gut health-related products people are purchasing and how educated they are on probiotics. Here are the numbers on consumption habits:

• 69% of respondents take a vitamin supplement on a regular basis

• 33% take an herbal supplement

• 33% regularly take a probiotic supplement

Of the probiotic consumers surveyed, 62% said the probiotic has not had a significant positive impact on their overall health. 66% admitted they don’t have a good understanding of the benefits of probiotics.

“When selecting probiotics, it's important to choose brands that demonstrate the efficacy of their products in clinical studies and have transparency around the nature of the product and its ingredients," Dr. Perlman said.

At Pendulum we are proving that probiotics are not created equal. We published a study of Glucose Control in BMJ that demonstrated its effectiveness in managing A1C and glucose spikes, and we are working on further research. Our products could be a crucial factor in achieving your 2025 health goals.