It's 40 years since they burned the bra, but social liberation didn't free women from the tyranny of the female body. Menstruation, pregnancy and menopause with the attendant hormonal havoc wreaked on general good health still come with the territory. As does a streak of pure vanity.
No wonder then, as the balance of purchasing power shifted in the home, food and supplement manufacturers began mining the rich, varicose vein of women's wellbeing and became increasingly sophisticated at lifestage marketing with extracts and fortifications that promised blessed relief from the symptoms of youth, child-bearing and middle age.
"Women generally are an easier consumer group to target," admits Kristen Trautman, product category co-coordinator at the essential fatty acids firm Bioriginal, which recently launched a new 'beauty from within' product, BioAsteri, enriched with lignans to promote healthy skin. But does anyone know what women really want?
They are still the biggest buyers of pills and potions in the vitamin and dietary supplement (VDS) market and, by virtue of their housekeeping skills, the ones most often targeted with functional products appropriate to the whole family, although cleverly loaded with single nutrients intended to push the female buttons - soy, calcium and that uniquely feminine fruit, the cranberry.
But as the burden of diseases once firmly associated with men begins to fall on an ageing fairer sex, Naturis' product portfolio holder for supplements, Regiane Frignane, suggests they are looking for something more.
"There was a boom in women's health in soy and black cohosh and similar products aimed at the menopause, but they are not interested in that so much. Women can do more damage to their bodies," she says.
Cardiovascular disease has already overtaken cancer as the number one ladykiller in the US, and Britain, with its soaring levels of obesity, isn't far behind. "Not only do we need to provide the hormones, but we can have a high influence on the consequences of the menopause in terms of other diseases," says Frignane.
"Post menopause we start to notice that the iron status in women improves and they start to develop the same signs of cardiovascular disease (CVD) as men," explains Dr Toni Steer, nutritionist with the British Medical Research Council. "That's possibly something to do with iron being a free radical, but after the menopause you also get a decrease in estrogen, which is partly responsible for depositing fat around the thigh and buttocks, so you get a redistribution around the waist. That's why women say I'm still eating and exercising the way I was, but my trousers don't fit. Fat around the waist is a great risk for CVD."
If women are really interested in heading off a late life crisis, manufacturers must engage with them at a much younger age; in the case of calcium, which guards against the crippling effects of bone disease, somewhere between Bob the Builder and the Robbie Williams years. "Ages four to 20 is when calcium intake needs to be at optimum levels," explains David O'Leary, commercial manager for algal calcium firm Marigot. "Before the age of 20 you need to have developed optimum skeletal calcium integrity because after that the body is no longer in growth stage. It's like a pension plan: you need to be investing all the time while you are young to make sure you have enough reserves for later life. The first three years after the menopause women lose as much as 1kg from their bodies."
Given that dietary health is about as interesting as bingo to the under-25s, enriching foods routinely consumed by them with key nutrients would appear to be the way forward. And manufacturers both sides of the pond are responding.
"The earlier vital nutrients such as fibre and calcium are introduced to the diet, the better," says Coni Francis, scientific affairs manager for GTC Nutrition. "The industry is rapidly responding with an ever present need to introduce or reformulate products capable of maintaining health and possibly preventing diseases such as osteoporosis and diabetes."
Gary Smith, who looks after food ingredients for Naturis, agrees: "Food companies are definitely targeting functional products at specific groups, for example pregnant women, and they are charging a much higher premium knowing that they are focused on a small market range because people are desperate for it. They are also taking products away from purely health issues and focusing it on health and beauty from within - that's how you get to target younger women. There's a different way to spin it."
So far, though, the functional foods market has failed to woo them away from panaceas in a pot.
"Despite the wide introduction of fortified products, such as probiotics, vitamin enriched water and foods, the impact has not been felt on traditional over-the-counter VDS," says Euromonitor industry analyst Eleni Grammenou. "Segmentation within the VDS market has increased dramatically and we have a wide spectrum of products which are condition specific to women, for example, pregnancy or menopause. Wider availability is likely to push women to use VDS combinations rather than functional products."
FRUIT AND URINARY TRACT INFECTION
Painful and peculiarly feminine, urinary tract disease affects half of all women by the age of 32. And it doesn't go away: adult women experience an annual incidence rate of 12.6% while the men get away with 3%.
"Basically, it's do with women's body chemistry and how it all fits together," says Kristen Girard, principal scientist at the American cranberry king Ocean Spray.
Ongoing research in the US is still unraveling the already well-documented potency of the mighty berry - 44 technical articles were published last year alone - but most recently attention has focused on how the antioxidant A-linked proanthocyanidin (PAC) mugs bacteria and prevent them from sticking to cells in the body where they can cause infection.
In laboratory trials, not only were cranberry PACs shown to alter the shape of the bacteria, but it also appeared to stop E. Coli, responsible for as much as 80% of UTI infections - from secreting the molecule that triggers attack.
Blackcurrants, which will be heavily promoted this year as a female friendly fruit equally potent in alleviating the misery of cystitis, are also rich in proanthocyanidins.
so far soy gooD
One of the best dietary sources of isoflavones - the phytoestrogens that mimic the hormone responsible for many of the health problems associated with menopause - soy continues to excite controversy.
Studies into soy's effect on bone loss, breast cancer and menopausal symptoms, including hot flushes, point to a promising future as an inclusion in women's health products, but nutritionists are still cautious.
According to a recent scientific review panel at the United Soybean Board which looked at soy and women's health: "There is enough evidence to suggest that a moderate amount of soyfood intake is likely to be beneficial rather than harmful to overall (women's) health."
CALCIUM, BONE HEALTH and vitamins
There is no international consensus on recommended daily intakes for calcium among women, but what's not in dispute is that it plays a vital role in bone health, particularly during pregnancy and post menopause when the body experiences the greatest losses.
But it's not a simple case of increasing calcium consumption to offset the crippling effects of osteoporosis fractures that will affect one third of women over 50.
It's estimated that only 30% of calcium is used by the body because it relies on vitamins D and K to assist absorption, leading ingredients firm DSM to slam the fortified foods industry earlier this year for failing to include the vitamins in most new products marketed as 'calcium enriched'.
Ongoing studies at the British Medical Research Council indicate that other micronutrients might also play a role. Orafti already claims its prebiotic based on chicory root Beneo Synergy1, which appeared in Eau So Cool mineral water in the UK last year, increases absorption by 20%.
David O'Leary, commercial manager for algal calcium supplier Marigot, which also claims better bioavailability thanks to the seaweed's naturally high levels of trace minerals such as zinc and magnesium, says women need all the facts. "Any time you increase protein or acidity in your diet you have a negative effect on calcium. So if you look at recent diet trends, like the high protein diet, you get about 50% to 80% less."
FIBRE AND BREAST CANCER Puzzles
Proof earlier this year that eating more fibre protected pre-menopausal women against breast cancer was good news for the wholefoods industry. But the research by Leeds University, which tracked the dietary habits of 35,000 women over seven years, might raise more questions than it answers.
"What specific aspect of fibre or another nutrient with fibre is responsible, is something for us or others to look at in more detail. It's just another piece of the jigsaw," says lead researcher professor Janet Cade. "It was something of a surprise we found the effect in pre-menopause only. In post menopause we know obesity has an effect and there are other factors which might overwhelm the impact of dietary fibre."
The dramatic results, which showed that women with the greatest intake of dietary fibre cut their cancer risk by half, may be attributed to high fibre foods' antioxidant properties.
Fibre is also known to smooth the peaks and troughs in insulin, high levels of which are associated with cancer, as well as regulating estrogen, which is linked to breast disease.
Also unexplained, is why those who took folate, were best protected.
The results endorsed healthy eating messages for women to up their intake of fruit and veg and lower fat, says Cade.
"But before it was not backed up by evidence that it can have an impact on your chronic disease development."
ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS For wellbeing
Essential fatty acids (EFAs) have moved squarely into the mainstream, largely on the back of cognitive health and heart care. But for women, development is likely to come in the form of combinations with other active ingredients aimed at beauty and wellbeing.
Bioriginal has launched a borage oil with lignans that promises "healthy skin from within". By regulating sweat gland secretions, lignans help prevent oily skin and guard against acne, while the gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) from borage restores moisture and smoothness.
"EFAs are useful in all stages of a woman's life," says Kristen Trautman, product category coordinator. "If you are looking at premenstrual symptoms, then GLA is useful in relieving breast pain, cramps and headaches; in pregnancy it's more about infant brain development and we have seen that low levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are associated with increased risk of post-partum depression. Through the menopause there's interesting research on combinations of GLA and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) in enhancing calcium absorption."
DHA is also important prenatally and postnatally for optimal infant brain, eye and nervous system development.
However, many women are reluctant to take fish oil supplements owing to concerns about toxins, says algal-DHA-supplier Martek Biosciences.
This has in turn driven demand for vegetarian sources of DHA from microalgae, says executive director, sales and marketing, Phil Fass.
"As awareness of the importance of DHA grows, more attention is being paid to the fact that pregnant and breastfeeding women may benefit from getting more DHA in their diets," says Fass. "In fact, one expert body recommends that such women consume 300mg of DHA per day, which is well above the typical daily intake of less than 100mg DHA."