Food and Nutrition in Health and Disease

Full course description

This course covers the multidisciplinary biomedical, technical and commercial backgrounds of the business of "Healthy Eating". Food and beverage product types, their functionality and efficacy are explained and discussed. Biomedical aspects of digestion, bioavailability, distribution and metabolism of selected food components from various macro- and micro nutrient classes as well as bioactive substances are highlighted and interpreted in the context of efficacy and claims substantiation. Food categories that optimally can be enriched with health modulating food components as well as selected examples of currently researched nutrient categories will be discussed. Additionally, aspects of nutritional health management targets and disease risk reduction possibilities will be evaluated in the light of appropriate biomedical research and the weight of the evidence. A special focus will be on relevant health-compromising conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes and digestive disorders. You will learn from discussing specific cases in small groups, according to Problem Based Learning (PBL) principles. Moreover, invited guest speakers from academia and industry will teach essentials about consumer health concerns, desired benefits, benefit substantiation and related market segments in invited lectures.