From Foods to Function: Research at the Food-Nutrition Interface

When:
February 24, 2022 @ 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm
2022-02-24T15:00:00-05:00
2022-02-24T16:30:00-05:00
Where:
Zoom
https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/83975927179
Contact:
Sofia Bonilla & Olan Raji

BioZone will be hosting Professor Amanda Wright, from the Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences, at the University of Guelph on Thursday, February 24th from 3 pm – 4:30 pm.

Abstract

Functional foods deliver health benefits beyond basic nutrition. Natural health product (NHP) is the Canadian regulatory term for over-the-counter supplements that contain health-promoting molecules derived from foods, e.g., vitamins, minerals, herbals, probiotics. Together, these product categories encompass so much of the science and technology surrounding foods and nutrition. Our group works at the food-nutrition interface to support the evidence-basis for a variety of functional foods and NHPs. We have specialized interests in dietary lipids and in understanding how the structure of foods and food ingredients influences bioavailability and metabolic response, mediated by events in the gastrointestinal tract.

For example, what role does triacylglycerol crystallinity play in determining postprandial lipemia and what does this mean for saturated fatty acids? This talk will discuss our application of in vitro digestion and human research methods to relate emulsion properties to gastric microstructure, emptying, and postprandial satiety and lipemia (a risk factor for cardiometabolic diseases) to highlight the benefits of integrated food-nutrition research. Examples drawing on other functional foods will also be presented. Foods have always been functional. Focusing specifically on food structure and applying a physical property lens to what happens in the gastrointestinal tract paves the way for better understanding the nuanced relationships between foods and health, and ultimately to realize the potential for efficacious functional foods and NHPs.

Speaker Bio

Amanda Wright is an Associate Professor in the Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences, College of Biological Sciences at the University of Guelph. She holds a BSc (Food Science – University of Guelph, 1998) and PhD (Food Chemistry – University of Guelph, 2002) and completed postdoctoral training in Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto). Amanda teaches in the Nutritional and Nutraceutical Sciences BSc Program and leads an interdisciplinary research group working at the food-nutrition interface. In particular, She has specialized expertise in dietary lipids and has held NSERC funding in this area since 1997. Amanda works to integrate advanced food analysis and in vitro digestion methods with human clinical trials for a variety of foods and natural health products. She also serves as Director of the Human Nutraceutical Research Unit (https://www.uoguelph.ca/hnru/), a research and education vehicle at the University of Guelph which specializes in collaborative nutrition clinical trials.

For more information about the series:Contact Sofia Bonilla; sofia.bonillatobar@mail.utoronto.ca or Olan Raji; olan.raji@utoronto.ca

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Join Zoom Meeting:https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/83975927179Meeting ID: 839 7592 7179Passcode: 054682