ImmuGold: How Nutrition Could Redefine Healthy Aging

As life expectancy rises across Europe, so does the challenge of aging well. The ImmuGold project, led by Clara Talens and her team at AZTI, is tackling this through an unexpected route: food.

The project brings together public and private partners to develop a plant-based functional beverage designed for adults aged 60 to 75. People who are still active and independent, but increasingly vulnerable to chronic inflammation and weakened immunity.

Unlike traditional supplements or pharmaceutical interventions, ImmuGold uses data science and predictive modeling to design foods with measurable health impacts. The team integrates vast datasets on nutrient bioactivity, processing stability, and environmental impact to choose ingredients that truly work — and can withstand industrial production.

But science alone isn’t enough. Clara emphasizes the importance of affordability, education, and consumer trust, ensuring that every health claim is backed by evidence and aligned with European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) regulations. By 2027, ImmuGold aims to complete its clinical trials and deliver a validated, scalable product that could help millions age more healthily and help shift the burden of care from hospitals to everyday habits.

Key Takeaways

Aging Well Is the Next Food Frontier

By 2050, one in four Europeans will be over 65. IMMUGOLDsees this not as a crisis, but as an opportunity to reimagine food as a frontline tool for prevention and wellbeing.

Food Can Be Functional and Evidence-Based

Every ingredient in IMMUGOLD's plant-based beverage is selected for proven effects on immunity, inflammation, and oxidative stress. The project’s machine-learning models help identify combinations that retain their nutritional benefits even after industrial processing.

Data Science Meets the Dinner Table

AZTI’s computational modelling approach reduces trial-and-error in food R&D, combining open-access nutritional databases, supplier data, and experimental results to simulate outcomes before a single prototype is made.

Affordability and Accessibility Matter

Clara’s team deliberately avoids expensive isolates and rare compounds, using accessible ingredient sources that can deliver the same nutrient levels at a lower cost — making functional foods realistic for wider populations.

Health Claims Require Honesty

IMMUGOLD aligns every stage with EFSA guidance, ensuring that labels, claims, and symbols accurately reflect the science. Clara stresses that “innovation in food must align science, regulation, and communication.”

Science with Heart

Participants in ImmuGold’s clinical trials aren’t subjects but collaborators. Through participatory research, older adults help shape the product, its messaging, and its potential to fit real lives.