Customization has become a big trend for the nutraceuticals market, with a lot of product activity taking place in gender- and age-specific formulas. And now thanks to well-documented research indicating different ethnic groups have their own unique nutritional needs, the market has become even more personalized with GenSpec Labs’ (Cross City, FL) ethnic-specific formulas for African-Americans, Hispanics and Caucasians.

Attorney Joseph Lander founded GenSpec Labs, LLC, in July 2005 after working on a social security case where a young girl who was diagnosed with uncontrollable diabetes inspired him. Mr. Lander conducted his own research on her condition and found a wealth of information from leading academic and medical institutions proving that unique physiological and metabolic differences can actually cause various vitamin deficiencies, thus making each ethnic group much more vulnerable to different life-threatening diseases.

Research from the Mayo Clinic, the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society has demonstrated these significant health disparities between different ethnic groups. Among the greatest differences are those seen among Hispanics and African Americans, both of which have increased melanin in their skin, reducing the skin’s ability to produce vitamin D from the sunlight. This presence of melanin in skin cells and lactose intolerance for most minorities prevent proper vitamin absorption and consumption. Therefore, Hispanics and African Americans are far more likely to suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, rectal and colon cancer, prostate cancer and end-stage kidney disease. These two groups also experience lower metabolic rates, which contribute to higher incidences of life threatening obesity. On the other side of the spectrum, Caucasians are more likely to suffer from spina bifida, osteoporosis and breast cancer.

“The research that addresses vitamin D deficiency as it relates to both prostate cancer, colon cancer, breast cancer, even tuberculosis, has been out there for years,” said Mr. Lander. “Milk is fortified with vitamin D because we’ve known about this deficiency since the 1920s when we were trying to combat rickets. But the problem with milk fortified with vitamin D is that it’s well known in the medical community that African Americans are about 80% lactose intolerant-they don’t drink milk. It’s no wonder why African American men have the highest rate of prostate cancer in the world.”

Together with Dr. Dexter Russell, DN, GenSpec vice president, and the team of doctors and formulators at VitaRich Labs, Naples, FL, GenSpec created the first nutraceutical product line to meet the unique nutritional needs of various ethnic backgrounds that have not been met by over-the-counter (OTC) products currently on the market. GenSpec products include vitamins and weight loss supplements for the African-American, Hispanic, and Caucasian male and female. Currently, the company is also completing an Asian formula.

“Our products for the African American and Hispanic population are multi-vitamins that contains 800 IU of vitamin D,” said Mr. Lander. “We also have 1000 to 1200 milligrams of calcium, depending on the formulation because if you’re vitamin D deficient then you are calcium defiant by default-you need vitamin D in your body to process calcium. While Caucasians are only 4.2% calcium deficient, African Americans are nearly 60% calcium deficient. This means they have a 1.8 times greater likelihood of dying from a heart attack or stroke compared to Caucasians.” By providing an optimal daily allowance of the various vitamins and nutrients needed by each population, GenSpec hopes to see a decrease in the diseases that are ravishing the country.

GenSpec has been aggressively promoting its findings and products by running commercials on Univision (a Hispanic media outlet) and ads appearing in magazines such as Ebony, Jet, Sports Illustrated Latino and more. GenSpec has also established a website, www.4genspec.com, which has experienced over 350,000 hits per month. Suffice it to say, Mr. Lander is very pleased with the response the company and products have received.

“Consumers embrace the product because it’s the first of its kind to specifically address their needs and not a product that treats everybody as a one-size-fits-all [consumer],” said Mr. Lander.

“It is also important to note that we do not stress our vitamins or any of our products being a ‘cure all’ because they’re not,” commented Mr. Lander. “They are supplements, which means they are to be taken in addition to a healthy lifestyle in order to reap the full benefits. Everything has to work in concert.”

GenSpec looks forward to being an industry leader in the nutraceuticals world and will continue to develop products that stress the uniqueness of the individual. The company is in the process of formulating water beverages for the market and will be compiling a book that will inform consumers on how to alleviate different vitamin deficiencies by choosing the right food based on their ethnicity.

“The nutraceuticals market started off with one multivitamin for everyone,” said Mr. Lander, adding, “Then products were separated to meet men’s and women’s dietary needs. The market segmented even more with seniors’ and children’s formula. And now this very well documented set of needs between the different ethnicities has come into focus. Now that GenSpec has lead the way, I see ethnic-specific formulas being a prevalent factor in the nutraceuticals industry in the coming years.”