Nutrition, Food and Health

Our research evaluates food choices linked to sensory preferences and adaptation particularly related to High Fat Salt Sugar (HFSS) or ultra-processed foods. The research examines several key areas including formulation of products, portion sizes and marketing of HFSS products and the effects that factors such as age, gender and physical activity levels have on food selection.  Our focus via the Food Industry Centre (FIC) is assisting food manufacturers to reformulate products to encourage positive changes in behaviours to improve health. In addition, we provide practical tips for consumers and the Public Health team to ensure ‘healthy changes are easy changes’.

With our vision for the future we aim to ensure healthy changes are also sustainable changes in terms of burden on the environment, ensuring a nutritious, safe and sustainable food supply for future generations.

 Projects: 

• The evaluation of food choices linked to sensory preferences and adaptation particularly related to High Fat Salt Sugar (HFSS) and ultra-processed foods.

The Bioactive and Ergogenic Foods research group is a multidisciplinary team involved with on-going research to investigate the extraction, chemical characterisation, enrichment and protection of bioactive compounds (nutraceuticals) contained in various plant, animal (dairy) and cultured food systems. Understanding the biological action of these compounds is a vital part of the research and as such, the group investigates the bioactivity of these compounds in vitro using cell culture techniques. We are also capacity to run people based trials of food-derived products and determine metabolic parameters such as glucose, cholesterol and insulin resistance.

Collaboration with industry also explores opportunities to commercialise our research findings with a view to gaining intellectual property and developing novel functional foods that can be used to improve health, well-being and sporting performance.

Projects include:
        
• The effect of bioactive plant extracts in the wound healing process using a human tissue cell model.

• The investigation of anti-diabetic nutraceutical in various plant extracts e.g. tea, seeds and certain fruits.

• The determination of anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory potential of various plant derived extracts.