Human Nutrition and Health
We eat food so our bodies obtain the proteins, energy, vitamins and minerals needed to maintain health and prevent disease. In recent years, there has been great interest in the implications for human health of minor food components, including antioxidants, appetite regulators and compounds that might help to combat diabetes and other diseases. The health effects of components formed as a result of cooking or food processing is receiving increasing attention.
Research at the food-health interface in IAFLU focuses on the effect of diet on human health.
We are undertaking research in all of the following areas:
- Impact on cardiovascular and gut health of compounds called advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) formed both during food processing and in our bodies as part of normal ageing
- Generation and bioactivity of antioxidant compounds formed
during food processing - Therapeutic biomolecules that mimic gut hormones and may help
to prevent some of the effects of diabetes, Alzheimer's disease
and cardiovascular disease - Interventions (including human dietary interventions) to develop
strategies to control appetite and body weight - Food and nutritional metabolomics to understand relationships
between metabolite profiles and disease states in humans and crops
The European Nutrition Alliance to Bolster the LEadership (ENABLE)
In 2010 the Institute of Agri-Food and Land Used joined the European Nutrition Alliance to Bolster the LEadership (ENABLE) with aims to promote research in Food and Health in Europe within the European Nutrition Leadership Programme (ENLP). For further information, please contact Dr Tassos Koidis.
