Medical Nutrition: FAQs

Targeted medical nutrition continues to demonstrate its value across a wide range of clinical applications and health areas—from oncology and surgery to age-related muscle decline. For example, specialized nutrition designed for cancer cachexia can help patients maintain muscle mass and nutritional status throughout intensive treatments—supporting better treatment outcomes and quality of life.^1,2  Similarly, there is growing research underscoring the importance of medical nutrition in the prevention and management of sarcopenia, a condition characterized by progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength.³ There is also a strong link between targeted nutrition and surgery recovery, where intervention can support wound healing and reduce post-operative complications.⁴

Many older adults and patients remain underserved—not necessarily from lack of available medical nutrition products, but because they struggle with consistent, long-term compliance to nutritional care solutions.

Nutritional care is only effective if it’s fully embraced. However, for many people who rely on essential special dietary solutions and medical nutrition, it can feel like a burden. Reduced appetite or difficulty eating (caused by conditions or age), flavor, format, or volume fatigue, unpleasant taste experiences, and altered sensory perceptions—all create compliance barriers that can prevent optimal and lasting health outcomes.

Medical nutrition solutions that are easier to integrate into patients’ daily lives, offering both clinical efficacy and a positive consumption experience is key—but can be challenging. High nutrient concentrations often mean large serving sizes and/or unpleasant taste profiles. For people already struggling with appetite and sensory changes, these barriers can feel greater than the benefits of a nutritional care product—leading to poor compliance and therefore reduced efficacy of a solution.

Innovation to tackle these challenges is happening on multiple fronts. For example, new technologies that improve the nutrient density and format versatility of products help deliver big nutritional impact in smaller, more palatable doses. Simultaneously, cutting-edge taste modulation solutions and advanced flavors are evolving to address common sensory challenges like metallic tastes, bitterness, and fishy off notes. When formulation expertise, innovative technologies, and sensory science converge, the result is nutritional care solutions that are more accessible, more enjoyable, and effective.

Yes—and with an aging global population, early and preventative nutritional care is more important than ever. Traditionally, nutritional intervention happens only after visible or irreversible decline has set in, accelerating the need for specialized medical nutrition. But this leaves huge untapped potential to address age-related decline before disease or frailty manifests. Forward-thinking medical nutrition innovators have the opportunity to create solutions that extend the window of health; giving people the power to stay active and independent for longer. 

Humanity has long focused on increasing life expectancy, so people are now living longer—but not necessarily healthier. Currently, there is a 10-year gap between lifespan and healthspan, with most people spending their final decade in life battling ill health. Early intervention with nutritional care solutions targeted towards age-related decline has the potential to close this gap and increase health expectancy. This includes innovative nutritional products addressing muscle and strength decline before sarcopenia manifests, or cognitive health solutions that help slow age-related cognitive decline.

This space is uniquely accessible to both dietary supplement companies expanding into clinical applications and medical nutrition manufacturers broadening beyond disease management. With a strong heritage in medical nutrition innovation and deep-rooted expertise, dsm-firmenich is leading the way in this category. Our condition-specific premix solutions, novel ingredients and formats, and regulatory expertise, make us the ideal partner to support companies navigating these whitespace opportunities.

dsm-firmenich is your end-to-end solutions provider and innovation partner in the medical nutrition market—and beyond. When you partner with dsm-firmenich, you get an expert that goes beyond the essential, to co-create forward-thinking concepts that rise to today’s health demands and transform health outcomes for those most in need.

Our evolved and expanded medical nutrition offering rethinks what nutritional care can mean, with:

• A broad portfolio of science-backed ingredients that deliver meaningful benefits to people living with health conditions or those experiencing age-related decline.
• Tailored premix solutions, powered by advanced powder technologies,​ which help overcome formulation hurdles and streamline product development.
• Cutting-edge taste solutions, innovative formats, and advanced ingredients like ampli-D® and life’s®OMEGA O3020, that elevate palatability and intake experience for better compliance and market differentiation.

Together, we can improve the power of nutrition to help make health last longer, without compromise.

1. Van de Worp, et al. "Nutritional interventions in cancer cachexia: evidence and perspectives from experimental models." Frontiers in nutrition 7 (2020): 601329.

2. Kim, Alan J., et al. "Diet-related interventions for cancer-associated cachexia." Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology 147, no. 5 (2021): 1443-1450.

3. Calvani, Riccardo, et al. "Diet for the prevention and management of sarcopenia." Metabolism 146 (2023): 155637.

4. Lobo, Dileep N., et al. "Perioperative nutrition: Recommendations from the ESPEN expert group." Clinical nutrition 39, no. 11 (2020): 3211-3227.