The World Health Organization has declared stress a global epidemic. Stress is linked to the six leading causes of death in the world, and is estimated to cost US businesses alone as much as $300 billion per year.
Now an Israeli food tech startup is stepping in with a solution that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help personalize nutrition.
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The team at myAir, founded in 2019, has developed a patent-pending algorithm based on physiological and psychological data. Users fill out an online questionnaire that helps the algorithm profile their cognitive response to stress, while physiological responses to stress, including alterations in heart rate, respiration, sleep quality, and physical activity, are tracked through smart watches.
The company's algorithm processes this data, then customizes a combination of myAir snack bars to your needs from a wide range of formulas. The personalized combinations are available through a subscription service and delivered monthly to the consumer's doorstep.
The bars, which are vegan, kosher, and gluten-free, are composed of a blend of nuts and fruits, and infused with a research-based proprietary formula of bioactive botanical extracts. These include extracts from sage, hops, oats, valerian, rosemary, among other plants. myAir says the botanical extracts work together to counter stress.
"Our algorithm can analyze the data from each person's specific mood and stress profile, then decide what formulation will provide them the best positive impact on their stress routine," explains myAir co-founder and co-CEO Rachel Yarcony.
"But our expertise is in the ability to cross the cognitive data with individual physiological aspects, Yarcony says.
"As an executive manager and a mother, stress had become a massive burden in my life. I tried to manage my stress through meditation and mindfulness, but I failed to maintain stress management in my routine," Yarcony explains.
"Good nutrition is a key to managing stress naturally. This spurred me to seek a natural solution and develop a 'food for mood' solution that consumers can easily merge into their daily routine to help take control of their health and manage their personal stress levels," she adds.
According to co-CEO Dovev Goldstein, the company's preliminary study found that different consumers generally have different stress symptoms that are more dominant than the others. For example, stress affects me mainly in the mornings, so my energy levels and focus are decreased. My partner feels the stress at night and occasionally has problems getting fulfilling sleep. Each of us needs a personalized solution. This is where myAir has redefined the paradigm."
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