Meet Manya Warrier, Ph.D.
June 2, 2015 • Dr. Warrier joins the NRI this month as our newest faculty member. Her research focus is the “browning” of fat and its effects on metabolism and obesity.
Your Nutritional Needs Are as Unique as You Are
June 1, 2015 • There is mounting evidence that small amounts of essential nutrients like choline and folate have a big impact on human health. However, nutritional studies that attempt to quantify the effects of essential nutrients often produce unclear or contradictory results.
There are several reasons for this, but chief among them is the assumption that all of us process food exactly the same way. This is simply not the case. No one is metabolically identical or even similar to anyone else – not even identical twins. We all require different amounts of specific nutrients and vitamins. Scientists at the UNC Nutrition Research Institute believe this common misconception is responsible for so many contradictory study results.
Vitamins and Healthy Diet: A Balancing Act
May 27, 2015 • A vitamin is an organic compound that cannot be made by the human body, but is a required nutrient vital for its various functions. Vitamins are needed in only limited amounts and thus are traditionally derived from our diet. And, yet, nearly half of the U.S. population takes multivitamin supplements—even in times of financial downturn. In 2010 the U.S. supplements industry reached $28 billion in annual sales. And, although no clear scientific need has been defined for vitamin supplementation, the most common reason for taking vitamins is a desire to “improve” or “maintain” overall health, according to a poll conducted by the National Institutes of Health in 2013.
ISNN congress to expand the evidence base for genome-directed personal nutrition
May 11, 2015 • The 9th Congress of the International Society of Nutrigenetics and Nutrigenomics (ISNN) presents “Expanding the Evidence Base for Genome-directed Personal Nutrition.”
Ammerman to co-lead UNC’s new campus theme – ‘Food for All’
May 4, 2015 • Members of the UNC-Chapel Hill community will come together at a common table when they examine food studies as UNC’s 2015-2017 university-wide academic theme.
“Food for All: Local and Global Perspectives,” which builds on UNC’s 2012-2015 “Water in Our World” focus on global water issues, will challenge all areas of the university to examine wide-ranging topics from food cultures and nutrition, to food security, world hunger, agricultural economics, resource management, sustainable development, climate change and international trade.
May 2015
May 6, 2015 • May 2015’s SoundBites features: Renowned Nutrition Scientist Speaks on Longevity; Nutrient Bar Results in Broadscale Health Improvements After Only Two Months; Eat More Produce, Reduce Cancer; and the Lettuce Eat Café