Healthy eating - what are the facts?

Nutrition

Most of us think we know which foods we should be eating to maximise our health - but do we really know? And do the world's experts agree?

Leading nutrition researchers from around the globe will discuss the confusion surrounding messages on nutrition at a free public forum in Elder Hall at the University of Adelaide, 5.30pm on Wednesday 8 December.

The forum, Food for Health - separating myths from facts, will be held ahead of a two-day international workshop organised by the new FOODplus Research Centre. The FOODplus Research Centre will be officially launched during this two-day event.

"Our free public forum is a unique opportunity to hear from some of the world's finest research specialists in their field about one of the most important topics of our lives - nutrition, what goes into our food and how it affects us," said forum moderator Professor Bob Gibson, Co-Director of the FOODplus Research Centre and Professor of Functional Food Science at the University of Adelaide.

"Members of the public will have the opportunity to get some take home messages about healthy eating and have their own nutrition-related questions answered."

Professor Gibson said there were many questions about our food that needed answering.
These included issues such as:

• why do we see an increase in health problems related to over-consumption and nutritional deficiencies, despite having more information about our food than ever before?
  
• when it comes to nutrition information, what are we to believe?
  
• why are health messages not getting through?
  
• is current agriculture prioritising food production over nutritional quality?
  
• what is the role of food manufacturers in providing healthy food choices?
  
• how does food have a role in preventing disease?
  
• what is the role of research in helping us to make informed choices, and improving the food we eat?

"There is good evidence that if people consume nutrient-rich foods they will have better health outcomes than those consuming energy-rich but nutrient-poor foods. With obesity and related health issues on the rise in our society, getting that message across is now more important than ever," Professor Gibson said.

Experts on the forum panel include highly regarded nutrition researchers from Australia and overseas: Professor Bo Lönnerdal (UC Davis, University of California, USA), Professor Peter Aggett (University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK), Professor Dennis Bier (Baylor College of Medicine, USA), Professor Maria Makrides (University of Adelaide and Women's and Children's Health Research Institute, Co-Director of FOODplus), Professor Jennie Brand-Miller (University of Sydney), and Professor Manny Noakes (CSIRO).

The forum will be followed on Thursday and Friday, 9-10 December, by an international workshop called Nutrition Adelaide 2020, jointly organised by FOODplus and the Nutrition Committee, Australian Academy of Science.

The workshop is aimed at identifying the research gaps between sustainable agriculture and human health over the next decade. The official launch of the FOODplus Research Centre will be held on Thursday 9 December.

FOODplus is a joint venture between the University of Adelaide and the Women's and Children's Health Research Institute (WCHRI). It aims to improve human health through research, linking food, nutrition and sustainable agriculture.

Key areas of research for FOODplus include:

• the roles of fats and lipids in animal and human nutrition and the health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids;
  
• the potential for the development of healthier baked goods;
  
• identifying which foods stimulate allergies and which may protect against allergies; and
  
• how nutrition in pregnancy and early life can improve the health of the offspring later in life.

"FOODplus brings together health researchers with plant and animal scientists, growers and food producers with the ultimate aim of producing benefits for us all," said Professor Gibson.

www.adelaide.edu.au/foodplus

Story by Robyn Mills