Functional Foods NUTR 3319

Course description:

The course focuses on the functional foods and dietary supplements, and natural antioxidants and why those have established their potential roles in the protection of human health against disease. Functional foods in human health and disease prevention examines the benefits, efficacy, and success of properly designed functional foods in human health and their possible application in disease prevention. The course will examine the efficacy of a large number of supplements and will discuss the false claims, benefits, and why government regulatory agencies are so critical of these nutraceutical supplements.
This course provides students with sufficient knowledge on the most common hard evidence on the prophylactic and medicinal properties of many natural foods. The course includes topics on an introduction and overview of the history and research on nutraceuticals to date and discusses many functional food compounds.  The course includes three parts, general issues with functional foods, functional foods and health and finally, developing functional food products.

Course Aims:

The student recognizes the:
  • To identify functions of the endocrine system.
  • To explain the relationships between nutrition & metabolism disorder.
  • To provide students with the knowledge and skills for various types  metabolic disorders.
  • To recognize factors that increase the risk of developing metabolic syndrome.
  • To develop abilities to identify inborn errors of metabolism, recognize signs and symptoms, classification and types, and management of inborn errors of metabolism. 
  • To identify metabolic actions of the thyroid hormones, iodine  metabolism , requirements, and iodine deficiency disorders.
  • To identify Celiac Disease, causes, Pathogenesis, and its management.

Course outcomes:

After completing this course, the student should be able to:
  • Develop skills in various components of course module.
  • Interpret the various types of metabolic disorders and its causes.
  • Distinguish between the more common types of nutritional and metabolic disorders.
  • Describe the methods used for management of a specific clinical nutritional metabolic disorders.
  • Testing or screening peoples for diabetes mellitus, iodine deficiency disorders, inborn errors of metabolism and celiac disease.
  • Assess various types of obesity and its health risks.