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- Featured in the University of Illinois’ The Next 150 2018-2023 Strategic Plan
- The Personalized Nutrition Initiative submitted a 12-page response to the Request for Information (RFI) that NIH has issued on Challenges and Opportunities in Precision Nutrition Research.
- The Personalized Nutrition Initiative submitted a 15-page response to the new RFI that NIH has issued on Data Science Challenges and Opportunities in the Field of Precision Nutrition.
August 2024
Seed Grant Awarded
We are happy to announce the title and research team associated with the seed grant was selected for funding in the Personalized Nutrition Initiative’s fifth call for seed grants. This was a special call with the Center for Social and Behavioral Science to bring together research teams across the Illinois campus to develop ambitious and innovative research projects to advance social and behavioral science-focused personalized nutrition research with promise for external funding.
Effects of Sensory, Emotional, and Biometric Factors on Acceptability and Food Choices
- Damir Dennis Torrico, PhD, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Food Science & Human Nutrition (PI)
- Naiman Khan, PhD, RD, Associate Professor, Dept. of Health & Kinesiology (Co-PI)
- Oguz Kaan Ozturk, PhD, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Food Science & Human Nutrition (Co-PI)
- Florin Dolcos, PhD, Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience, Dept. of Psychology and Beckman Institute for Advanced Science & Technology (Co-PI)
The Personalized Nutrition Initiative has funded 21 seed grants to 62 investigators across 18 different units on campus and collaborating with eight organizations outside of Illinois during 2022 to 2024.
July 2024
Coursera Course – Putting the Personal in Personalized Nutrition
We are excited to announce that our new Coursera course is now live!: Putting the Personal in Personalized Nutrition.
This 4-week (called modules) course is an introduction to personalized nutrition. A “one size fits all” approach to nutrition may not work for everyone. We each have unique variations in our genome, epigenome, and microbiome, which interact with our external environment to affect how our bodies respond to dietary intake. Learners will exam the basic principles of nutrition, explore the foundational aspects of personalized nutrition, and analyze the research about the roles of genetics and microbiomes in our personalized nutrition journey.
The lead instructor is Sharon Donovan, PhD, RD, Director of the Personalized Nutrition Initiative at Illinois. In addition, the course has many Illinois faculty members and external expert lectures, interviews, and panel discussions in the following modules:
Module 1 – Basic Principles of Nutrition
- Introduction to nutrition
- What are nutrients (essential and non-essential)?
- What are Dietary Reference Intakes and the Dietary Guidelines? (John Erdman)
- Planning My Diet?
Module 2: Overview of Personalized Nutrition
- What is personalized nutrition? (Josh Anthony, Mariette Abrahams, Sunnie Southern, Alison Steiber, Gil Blander, Kristin Ricklefs-Johnson, Machiel Reinders)
- What is the evidence that nutrition is not “one size fits all”? (Josh Anthony, Mariette Abrahams, Sunnie Southern, Gil Blander, Kristin Ricklefs-Johnson)
- What are the components of personalized nutrition (biology and exposome)?
Module 3: Is Personalized Nutrition All in My Genes?
- Genetics and Epigenetics (Jaume Amengual) (Josh Anthony, Gil Blander, Kristin Ricklefs-Johnson)
- Examples of how genetic variation influences responses to diet from research at Illinois (Margarita Teran-Garcia and Naiman Khan)
- Epigenetics (Yuan-Xiang Pan)
Module 4: How Might My Microbiome Affect Personalized Nutrition?
- Introduction to the microbiome (Hannah Holscher)
- How do we measure the microbiome? (Brett Loman)
- Diet and bi-directional interactions between us and our microbes (Hannah Holscher, Brett Loman, and Jacob Allen)
May 2024
2024 Personalized Nutrition Initiative Graduate Student Travel Award
Congratulations to the four 2024 Personalized Nutrition Initiative Graduate Student Travel award recipients. Award recipients receive up to $1,000 to participate in scientific conferences, workshops, or professional development activities related to personalized nutrition. The review committee was impressed by the high quality and breadth of the applicants’ research areas and their strong interest in continuing to learn and expand their knowledge in personalized nutrition. The Personalized Nutrition Initiative Graduate Student Travel Award Fund was created through a generous donation by Drs. Joshua Anthony and Tracy Gautsch Anthony.
Benjamin Levine, PhD student in the Division of Nutritional Sciences
Research area: Investigate how stress and diet interact with the enteric microbiota to influence communication along the gut-brain axis.
Advisor: Brett Loman, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Animal Sciences, PNI Affiliate
He will attend and present at the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: Science of Resilience Workshop in Washington, DC in September 2024. The title of his presentation is “Prebiotic dietary fibers confer resilience to psychological stress and stress-induced intestinal dysmotility”.
Ananthan Nambiar, PhD student in the Department of Bioengineering
Research area: Computational modeling focused on deep learning models for protein science, microbiomes, and genomics.
Advisor: Sergei Maslov, PhD, Professor, Department of Bioengineering, PNI Affiliate
He will attend and present at the International Conference on Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology in Montreal, Canada in July 2024. His presentation will be titled “MC-Funcformer: A foundational model of microbial community metabolism.”
Haeley Alaina Peters, PhD student in the Department of Health and Kinesiology
Research area: Nutritional composition of culturally tailored meals compares to American Diabetes Association guidelines and their health effects.
Advisor: Minakshi Raj, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Department of Health and Kinesiology
She will attend and present at the NUTRITON 2024 conference in Chicago, Illinois in June 2024. The title of her presentation is “Culturally Tailored Dietary Recommendations for South Asians with Diabetes or Heart Disease and Their Caregivers: Findings From Two Workshops.”
Shreya Verma, PhD student in the Department of Health and Kinesiology
Research area: Building predictive machine learning models for cognitive outcome forecasting based on nutrition and physical activity data, to inform personalized behavioral interventions for improved cognitive health and well-being.
Advisor: Naiman A. Khan, PhD, RD, Associate Professor, Department of Health and Kinesiology, PNI Affiliate
She will attend Machine Learning Week in Phoenix, Arizona in June 2024.
February 2024
Seed Grants Awarded
We are happy to announce the titles and research teams associated with the three seed grants were selected for funding in the Personalized Nutrition Initiative’s fourth call for seed grants.
Development of a Culturally-Tailored Electronic Dietary Assessment Tool to Support Personalized and Inclusive Cuisines in Environments for Healthcare (SPICE-Healthcare)
- Minakshi Raj, PhD, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Kinesiology & Community Health (PI)
- Naiman Khan, PhD, RD, Associate Professor, Dept. of Kinesiology & Community Health (Co-PI)
- Margarita Teran-Garcia, MD, PhD, Assistant Dean and Program Leader for Integrated Health Disparities, Extension (Co-PI)
- Ian Brooks, PhD, Research Scientist &b Director of Center for Health Informatics, ISchool
- Lisa Gatzke, Lead, UIX Team, National Center for Supercomputing Applications (Co-I)
Real-Time Salivary Hormone Assaying and Individualized Research Dissemination: Proof of Concept with Transformative Potential
- Jacinda K. Dariotis, PhD, Professor, Dept. of Human Development & Family Studies (PI)
- Brian Cunningham, PhD, Professor, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering (Co-PI)
- Jenna Riis, PhD, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Kinesiology & Community Health (Co-PI)
Diet and Microbial Factors in Colorectal Cancer: Spanning the Spectrum of Diet and Risk from Native Africans to Native Alaskans
- Jason Ridlon, PhD, Associate Professor, Dept. of Animal Sciences (PI)
- Hannah Holscher, PhD, RD, Associate Professor, Dept. of Food Science & Human Nutrition (Co-PI)
- Sören Ocvirk, PhD, Institute for Food & Health, Technical University of Munich (Co-PI)
- Lisa Tussing-Humphreys, PhD, RD, Associate Professor of Kinesiology and Nutrition, UIC (Co-I)
- Karthik Anantharaman, PhD, Associate Professor of Bacteriology, U of Wisconsin at Madison (Co-I)
- H. Rex Gaskins, PhD, Professor, Dept. of Animal Sciences (Co-I)
- Stephen J.D. O’Keefe, MBBS, MD, MSc, MRCS, FRCP, Professor of Medicine, U of Pittsburgh (Co-I)
- Chun-Jun (CJ) Guo, PhD, Assistant Professor, Microbiology & Immunology in Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine (Co-I)
The Personalized Nutrition Initiative has funded 20 seed grants to 60 investigators across 18 different units on campus during the first four rounds. The next seed grant submission is a special call with the Center for Social and Behavioral Sciences, the pre-proposal deadline is May 1, 2024; see the article above for more information.
November 2023
How to be smarter about protein intake with Dr. Nick Burd
[InsideTracker, November 29, 2023] Now you can watch the interview by Gil Blander, PhD, 
Founder and Chief Scientific Officer at InsideTracker, and Nicholas “Nick” Burd, PhD, Associate Professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Gil said this is one of the best episodes so far at #LongevitybyDesign featuring a genuine scientist. Nick was in the middle of extracting #muscle fiber from human subjects and took the time to be interviewed, and talk about fascinating topics such as muscle, #protein needs, #exercise, and feeding schedules. A must-episode for anyone who would like to build muscle to live better and longer and would like to understand her/his protein needs.
Dr. Nick Burd, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health and affiliate of the Personalized Nutrition Initiative at Illinois, is a skeletal muscle physiologist with expertise in protein metabolism and exercise. In this episode, Dr. Burd discusses the importance of maintaining muscle mass as we age, expressing that “strong is the new healthy.” While adequate protein intake is an important aspect of gaining muscle and maintaining healthspan, many people in the US actually over consume protein. In this discussion, Dr. Burd talks about how much protein we need, whether or not there is an optimal time to consume protein after exercise, and how to best distribute protein intake throughout the day. He explains why consuming protein from food sources rather than as a powder may be better for muscle growth, and shares why protein is critical for endurance athletes.
September 2023
Study Links Epigenetic Changes to Historic Trauma in Alaska Native Communities
[University of Illinois News Bureau, September 7, 2023] Researchers investigated the relationship between historical traumatic events experienced by Alaska Native communities and epigenetic markers on genes that previous studies have linked to trauma. The new study found a similar pattern among Alaska Native participants, with specific epigenetic differences observed in those who reported experiencing the most intense symptoms of distress when reflecting on historic losses. The study also found that individuals who strongly identified with their Alaska Native heritage and participated in cultural activities generally reported better well-being. The new findings are detailed in the International Journal of Health Equity.
The study is the result of a close collaboration between the scientists and members of two Alaska Native communities. The Native Nations guided the design and interpretation of the study and retain control of all of the data, in accordance with principles of Indigenous data sovereignty, said Ripan Malhi, a professor of anthropology and an Affiliate of the Personalized Nutrition Initiative at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and corresponding author of the new study. Read More.
July 2023
Insect Protein Slows Weight Gain, Boosts Health Status in Obese Mice
[University of Illinois, July 26, 2023] A new study in mice from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Illinois) suggests replacing traditional protein sources with mealworms in high-fat diets could slow weight gain, improve immune response, reduce inflammation, enhance energy metabolism, and beneficially alter the ratio of good to bad cholesterol.
“In addition to more dietary fiber, nutritionists also recommend eating more high-quality proteins as part of a weight management plan. We knew from an earlier study in roosters that mealworms are a high quality, highly digestible protein source that’s also environmentally sustainable,” said lead study author Kelly Swanson, Professor in the Department of Animal Sciences, Interim Director of the Division of Nutritional Sciences, and Affiliate of the Personalized Nutrition Initiative at Illinois.
Swanson’s team fed mice a high-fat diet (46% calories from fat) with casein, a protein from dairy, for 12 weeks before switching to the alternative proteins. Another group, the control, consumed a lean diet with casein throughout the experiment. By the time mealworms were introduced, the high-fat diet group was obese and experiencing metabolic syndrome. The mice then started eating two types of mealworms in a dried powdered form, substituting either 50% or 100% of the casein. Mealworm protein didn’t cause weight loss, but their rate of weight gain slowed relative to the control group over the 8 weeks. And the benefits went further than that.
“It’s not a weight loss situation; they just slowed their gain with the mealworms,” Swanson said. “The more significant impact was the improvement in their blood lipid profiles. Their LDL, so-called ‘bad cholesterol,’ went down and the HDL, ‘good cholesterol,’ went up. And from a gene expression perspective, inflammation went down and some of the lipid and glucose metabolism genes were altered. Not everything was positive, but metabolically, they were in a better place.”
Some of the benefits might have been associated with chitin, a fibrous material making up the exoskeleton of insects. Swanson said although the role of chitin hasn’t been well studied, it seems to act like a fiber, stimulating beneficial microbial activity in the gut. He has another paper in the works to characterize the effects of mealworms on the mouse microbiome.
For now, though, mealworm protein hasn’t yet been approved by FDA. Insect-curious folks can try cricket flour, which can be used in foods according to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Read more.
May 2023
How Diet Quality Affects the Gut Microbiota to Promote Health
[University of Illinois, May 4, 2023] We know that eating a healthy diet affects body weight, cholesterol levels, and heart health. A new study from the University of Illinois (Illinois) focuses on another component: the role of diet in supporting a healthy gastrointestinal microbiota. The researchers conclude that following the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) promotes a gut microbiota composition that may support overall health.
“Currently, there is no definition of a ‘healthy’ microbiome. Understanding how diet may influence the structure of the gut microbiota is important so we can make recommendations on dietary approaches,” says Alexis Baldeon, doctoral student in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Illinois. Baldeon is the lead author of the paper, published in The Journal of Nutrition.
The researchers analyzed data from the American Gut Project, a large, crowdsourced database that includes fecal samples from thousands of individuals across the U.S. Their study focused on data from a subset of 432 healthy individuals divided into three groups according to how closely they followed the Healthy Eating Index (HEI), which is based on the DGA.
The group with the highest total HEI score, indicating the strongest compliance with the DGA, had the highest gut microbiota diversity, as well as a larger presence of bacteria that contribute beneficial functions like fiber fermentation, Baldeon says.
Dietary guidelines and nutrient recommendations historically haven’t included considerations for the microbiota. But that could change in the future, says co-author Hannah Holscher, Associate Professor in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition and Personalized Nutrition Initiative Affiliate at Illinois. Health policy is also starting to recognize the importance of the gut microbiome, the researchers say. Indeed, the scientific report for the latest DGA acknowledges that evidence from diet-microbiota studies should be considered in future dietary recommendations.
Holscher and Baldeon note their study supports the current DGA recommendations for a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and fiber. Following those guidelines, outlined in MyPlate, is still the best strategy for your overall health, including nourishing your gut microbes. Read more.
April 2023
Prebiotic Consumption Alters Microbiota but Not Biological Markers of Stress and Inflammation or Mental Health Symptoms in Healthy Adults: A Randomized, Controlled, Crossover Trial
[The Journal of Nutrition, February 23, 2023] A new study by Personalized Nutrition Initiative Affiliates Naiman Khan, PhD, RD, Associate Professor, Kinesiology & Community Health and Hannah Holscher, PhD, RD, Associate Professor, Food Science & Human Nutrition found that consuming fructooligosaccharide (FOS) and galactooligosaccharide (GOS) for 4 weeks altered the microbiota in a cross over study involving 24 healthy adults (25–45 y; 14 females, 10 males; BMI, 29.3 ± 1.8 kg/m2).
The PRE treatments increased change in percent sequences (q = 0.01) of Actinobacteriota (CON: 0.46 ± 0.70%; PRE: 5.40 ± 1.67%) and Bifidobacterium (CON: -1.72 ± 0.43%; PRE: 4.92 ± 1.53%). There were also no differences in change scores between treatments for microbial metabolites, digestive function, emotion, or sleep quality. There were no differences in change scores between the PRE and CON treatments on biological markers of stress and inflammation or mental health. Read more.
February 2023
Studies Discuss How to Get the Benefits of Fiber without Side Effects
[ACES NEWS, February 1, 2023] Two new papers from the University of Illinois (Illinois) make it easier for food manufacturers to amplify fiber in foods and beverages for health benefits without digestive discomfort.
The first paper focuses on tolerance and side effects of non-digestible carbohydrates (NDC), an umbrella term for food components the body can’t break down. “The FDA determines if NDCs qualify as dietary fibers. To be a fiber, they must provide a health benefit. These benefits include things like helping with regularity and aiding in the absorption of calcium,” explains Annemarie Mysonhimer, doctoral student in Food Science and Human Nutrition (FSHN) at Illinois and lead author on the paper.
Mysonhimer and co-author Hannah Holscher, Associate Professor in FSHN and Personalized Nutrition Initiative Affiliate, reviewed findings from more than 100 clinical trials that evaluated dietary fiber intake and included reports of side effects such as gas and bloating, as well as effects on regularity. These trials tested a wide range of intakes, many of which were quite high, to determine how much of a certain fiber would be well tolerated. Few foods or diets currently contain these levels, the researchers note.
Overall, the authors conclude that daily tolerance levels differ widely depending on the type of fiber and how it is consumed. Mysonhimer explains there are also individual differences depending on the gut microbiota, so each person needs to find their own comfort level.
In research testing health effects of fiber, study designs vary widely, including doses tested, types of foods, and population segments, making it difficult for food manufacturers to compare fiber ingredient options and select ones that provide health benefits within acceptable consumer tolerance. To address this challenge, the Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences, Carbohydrate Committee organized a scientific session at the 12th Vahouny Fiber Symposium.
Subsequently, Holscher; George Fahey, Professor Emeritus of Animal Sciences at Illinois; and five other fiber experts published a perspective paper recommending study designs and methods to measure human tolerance to NDCs. The paper comprises a comprehensive tool for planning future human fiber feeding studies. The scientists included examples of daily and weekly subjective questionnaires in the online supplemental materials so others can easily access them for future studies. The methods outlined in the paper will aid the formulation of fiber-rich foods by enabling relevant comparisons of different fiber types.
“Enriching or fortifying foods with fiber can help narrow the substantial gap between actual and recommended fiber intakes. We hope these two new papers will help scientists design more robust studies on the health effects of dietary fibers while also documenting tolerance symptoms. Our work may also help food makers formulate foods in ways that provide enough fiber to benefit health but limit unpleasant gastrointestinal effects,” Holscher says. Read more.
December 2022
USDA Launches New Virtual Nutrition Center of Excellence
[USDA, December 5, 2022] The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced its new Agricultural Science Center of Excellence for Nutrition and Diet for Better Health (ASCEND for Better Health) in support of President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot effort to end cancer as we know it. This new virtual center will accelerate research on diet-related chronic diseases, including cancer. A long-term goal of the center is to translate research into impactful solutions that improve public health and wellbeing, particularly in underserved communities.
“ASCEND will bring together scientists, partner organizations, and communities to develop and deliver science-based solutions that improve the health and well-being of all Americans, particularly in underserved communities,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “The virtual center will connect existing resources, including people and programs, to leverage expertise and increase coordination and cooperation.”
USDA is enhancing its research focus on precision nutrition science to allow us to better understand the needs of underserved communities. This research complements our programmatic efforts to advance food and nutrition security – which means consistent and equitable access to healthy, safe, and affordable foods essential to optimal health and well-being.
As part of today’s announcement, USDA convened a panel of experts that discussed the role that nutrition plays in improving overall health and reducing risks for diet-related chronic diseases. According to the World Cancer Research Fund, 30-50% of all cancer cases are preventable by following a healthy diet and lifestyle. USDA is applying an equity lens to our ongoing and new research as we work to understand the connections between diet and diseases like cancer across different populations.
This effort delivers on a commitment made in the Biden-Harris Administration’s National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health to end hunger and reduce diet-related diseases by 2030 – all while reducing disparities. The National Strategy was released in conjunction with the first White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health in over 50 years, hosted by President Biden on September 28, 2022. Read more.
October 2022
ADM Makes Transformative Investment in Innovation at University of Illinois Research Park
[Research Park University of Illinois, September 23, 2022] ADM celebrated the grand opening of the new ADM Science and Technology Center at the University of Illinois Research Park. The facility quadruples ADM’s footprint at the University of Illinois Research Park and reflects a significant expansion of its capabilities.
In addition to its focus on process and financial modeling as well as business intelligence and business development, the new center’s portfolio will allow the addition of human nutrition research and development, wet chemistry, sensory science, data science, computational fluid dynamics, and customer interface and applications.
“Our partnership with the University of Illinois has been a win for ADM, the university and its students, as well as the industries in which ADM operates, and we are so excited about this new facility and the future of our collaboration,” said Todd Werpy, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Chief Science Officer at ADM. “University of Illinois students and visiting scientists have helped ADM tackle big challenges and have developed business cases for important research projects. For the university and its students, the new facility will provide hands-on experiences working on real projects that are making an impact not just on ADM, but also on the world.
“The new ADM Science and Technology Center at Research Park is a tangible outcome of the depth and breadth of our institutional strategic partnership,” said Robert J. Jones, Chancellor of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. “An alliance of this scale and scope is critical to the future of our region and our state. It also provides unique experiential learning opportunities for our students, which is critical for preparing our future workforce. It also further cements our campus and community as an epicenter of agtech.”
September 2022
White House Releases National Hunger, Nutrition, Health Strategy Proposal and a $8 Billion in New Commitments and FDA Proposes New Definition of “Healthy”
[FDA and the White House, September 28, 2022] Today the Biden-Harris Administration hosted the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. The Administration has released a National Strategy with actions the federal government will take to drive solutions to these challenges.
The Biden-Harris Administration has also released a fact sheet detailing more than $8 billion in new commitments as part of this Conference’s call to action. Read the fact sheet to learn more. President Biden announced a goal of ending hunger goal of ending hunger and increasing healthy eating and physical activity by 2030 so fewer Americans experience diet-related diseases— while reducing related health disparities.
In addition, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also proposed updated criteria for when foods can be labeled with the nutrient content claim “healthy” on their packaging. This proposed rulewould align the definition of the “healthy” claim with current nutrition science, the updated Nutrition Facts label and the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
“Nutrition is key to improving our nation’s health,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “Healthy food can lower our risk for chronic disease. But too many people may not know what constitutes healthy food. FDA’s move will help educate more Americans to improve health outcomes, tackle health disparities and save lives.”
Under the proposed definition, in order to be labeled with the “healthy” claim on food packaging, the products would need to:
- Contain a certain meaningful amount of food from at least one of the food groups or subgroups (e.g., fruit, vegetable, dairy, etc.) recommended by the Dietary Guidelines.
- Adhere to specific limits for certain nutrients, such as saturated fat, sodium and added sugars. The threshold for the limits is based on a percent of the Daily Value (DV) for the nutrient and varies depending on the food and food group. The limit for sodium is 10% of the DV per serving (230 milligrams per serving).
For example, a cereal would need to contain ¾ ounces of whole grains and contain no more than 1 gram of saturated fat, 230 milligrams of sodium and 2.5 grams of added sugars.
Seed Grant Awarded
We are happy to announce the title and research team associated with the seed grant was selected for funding in the Personalized Nutrition Initiative’s fifth call for seed grants. This was a special call with the Center for Social and Behavioral Science to bring together research teams across the Illinois campus to develop ambitious and innovative research projects to advance social and behavioral science-focused personalized nutrition research with promise for external funding.
Effects of Sensory, Emotional, and Biometric Factors on Acceptability and Food Choices
- Damir Dennis Torrico, PhD, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Food Science & Human Nutrition (PI)
- Naiman Khan, PhD, RD, Associate Professor, Dept. of Health & Kinesiology (Co-PI)
- Oguz Kaan Ozturk, PhD, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Food Science & Human Nutrition (Co-PI)
- Florin Dolcos, PhD, Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience, Dept. of Psychology and Beckman Institute for Advanced Science & Technology (Co-PI)
The Personalized Nutrition Initiative has funded 21 seed grants to 62 investigators across 18 different units on campus and collaborating with eight organizations outside of Illinois during 2022 to 2024.
July 2024
Coursera Course – Putting the Personal in Personalized Nutrition
We are excited to announce that our new Coursera course is now live!: Putting the Personal in Personalized Nutrition.
This 4-week (called modules) course is an introduction to personalized nutrition. A “one size fits all” approach to nutrition may not work for everyone. We each have unique variations in our genome, epigenome, and microbiome, which interact with our external environment to affect how our bodies respond to dietary intake. Learners will exam the basic principles of nutrition, explore the foundational aspects of personalized nutrition, and analyze the research about the roles of genetics and microbiomes in our personalized nutrition journey.
The lead instructor is Sharon Donovan, PhD, RD, Director of the Personalized Nutrition Initiative at Illinois. In addition, the course has many Illinois faculty members and external expert lectures, interviews, and panel discussions in the following modules:
Module 1 – Basic Principles of Nutrition
- Introduction to nutrition
- What are nutrients (essential and non-essential)?
- What are Dietary Reference Intakes and the Dietary Guidelines? (John Erdman)
- Planning My Diet?
Module 2: Overview of Personalized Nutrition
- What is personalized nutrition? (Josh Anthony, Mariette Abrahams, Sunnie Southern, Alison Steiber, Gil Blander, Kristin Ricklefs-Johnson, Machiel Reinders)
- What is the evidence that nutrition is not “one size fits all”? (Josh Anthony, Mariette Abrahams, Sunnie Southern, Gil Blander, Kristin Ricklefs-Johnson)
- What are the components of personalized nutrition (biology and exposome)?
Module 3: Is Personalized Nutrition All in My Genes?
- Genetics and Epigenetics (Jaume Amengual) (Josh Anthony, Gil Blander, Kristin Ricklefs-Johnson)
- Examples of how genetic variation influences responses to diet from research at Illinois (Margarita Teran-Garcia and Naiman Khan)
- Epigenetics (Yuan-Xiang Pan)
Module 4: How Might My Microbiome Affect Personalized Nutrition?
- Introduction to the microbiome (Hannah Holscher)
- How do we measure the microbiome? (Brett Loman)
- Diet and bi-directional interactions between us and our microbes (Hannah Holscher, Brett Loman, and Jacob Allen)
May 2024
2024 Personalized Nutrition Initiative Graduate Student Travel Award
Congratulations to the four 2024 Personalized Nutrition Initiative Graduate Student Travel award recipients. Award recipients receive up to $1,000 to participate in scientific conferences, workshops, or professional development activities related to personalized nutrition. The review committee was impressed by the high quality and breadth of the applicants’ research areas and their strong interest in continuing to learn and expand their knowledge in personalized nutrition. The Personalized Nutrition Initiative Graduate Student Travel Award Fund was created through a generous donation by Drs. Joshua Anthony and Tracy Gautsch Anthony.
Benjamin Levine, PhD student in the Division of Nutritional Sciences
Research area: Investigate how stress and diet interact with the enteric microbiota to influence communication along the gut-brain axis.
Advisor: Brett Loman, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Animal Sciences, PNI Affiliate
He will attend and present at the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: Science of Resilience Workshop in Washington, DC in September 2024. The title of his presentation is “Prebiotic dietary fibers confer resilience to psychological stress and stress-induced intestinal dysmotility”.
Ananthan Nambiar, PhD student in the Department of Bioengineering
Research area: Computational modeling focused on deep learning models for protein science, microbiomes, and genomics.
Advisor: Sergei Maslov, PhD, Professor, Department of Bioengineering, PNI Affiliate
He will attend and present at the International Conference on Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology in Montreal, Canada in July 2024. His presentation will be titled “MC-Funcformer: A foundational model of microbial community metabolism.”
Haeley Alaina Peters, PhD student in the Department of Health and Kinesiology
Research area: Nutritional composition of culturally tailored meals compares to American Diabetes Association guidelines and their health effects.
Advisor: Minakshi Raj, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Department of Health and Kinesiology
She will attend and present at the NUTRITON 2024 conference in Chicago, Illinois in June 2024. The title of her presentation is “Culturally Tailored Dietary Recommendations for South Asians with Diabetes or Heart Disease and Their Caregivers: Findings From Two Workshops.”
Shreya Verma, PhD student in the Department of Health and Kinesiology
Research area: Building predictive machine learning models for cognitive outcome forecasting based on nutrition and physical activity data, to inform personalized behavioral interventions for improved cognitive health and well-being.
Advisor: Naiman A. Khan, PhD, RD, Associate Professor, Department of Health and Kinesiology, PNI Affiliate
She will attend Machine Learning Week in Phoenix, Arizona in June 2024.
February 2024
Seed Grants Awarded
We are happy to announce the titles and research teams associated with the three seed grants were selected for funding in the Personalized Nutrition Initiative’s fourth call for seed grants.
Development of a Culturally-Tailored Electronic Dietary Assessment Tool to Support Personalized and Inclusive Cuisines in Environments for Healthcare (SPICE-Healthcare)
- Minakshi Raj, PhD, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Kinesiology & Community Health (PI)
- Naiman Khan, PhD, RD, Associate Professor, Dept. of Kinesiology & Community Health (Co-PI)
- Margarita Teran-Garcia, MD, PhD, Assistant Dean and Program Leader for Integrated Health Disparities, Extension (Co-PI)
- Ian Brooks, PhD, Research Scientist &b Director of Center for Health Informatics, ISchool
- Lisa Gatzke, Lead, UIX Team, National Center for Supercomputing Applications (Co-I)
Real-Time Salivary Hormone Assaying and Individualized Research Dissemination: Proof of Concept with Transformative Potential
- Jacinda K. Dariotis, PhD, Professor, Dept. of Human Development & Family Studies (PI)
- Brian Cunningham, PhD, Professor, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering (Co-PI)
- Jenna Riis, PhD, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Kinesiology & Community Health (Co-PI)
Diet and Microbial Factors in Colorectal Cancer: Spanning the Spectrum of Diet and Risk from Native Africans to Native Alaskans
- Jason Ridlon, PhD, Associate Professor, Dept. of Animal Sciences (PI)
- Hannah Holscher, PhD, RD, Associate Professor, Dept. of Food Science & Human Nutrition (Co-PI)
- Sören Ocvirk, PhD, Institute for Food & Health, Technical University of Munich (Co-PI)
- Lisa Tussing-Humphreys, PhD, RD, Associate Professor of Kinesiology and Nutrition, UIC (Co-I)
- Karthik Anantharaman, PhD, Associate Professor of Bacteriology, U of Wisconsin at Madison (Co-I)
- H. Rex Gaskins, PhD, Professor, Dept. of Animal Sciences (Co-I)
- Stephen J.D. O’Keefe, MBBS, MD, MSc, MRCS, FRCP, Professor of Medicine, U of Pittsburgh (Co-I)
- Chun-Jun (CJ) Guo, PhD, Assistant Professor, Microbiology & Immunology in Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine (Co-I)
The Personalized Nutrition Initiative has funded 20 seed grants to 60 investigators across 18 different units on campus during the first four rounds. The next seed grant submission is a special call with the Center for Social and Behavioral Sciences, the pre-proposal deadline is May 1, 2024; see the article above for more information.
November 2023
How to be smarter about protein intake with Dr. Nick Burd
[InsideTracker, November 29, 2023] Now you can watch the interview by Gil Blander, PhD, Founder and Chief Scientific Officer at InsideTracker, and Nicholas “Nick” Burd, PhD, Associate Professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Gil said this is one of the best episodes so far at #LongevitybyDesign featuring a genuine scientist. Nick was in the middle of extracting #muscle fiber from human subjects and took the time to be interviewed, and talk about fascinating topics such as muscle, #protein needs, #exercise, and feeding schedules. A must-episode for anyone who would like to build muscle to live better and longer and would like to understand her/his protein needs.
Dr. Nick Burd, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health and affiliate of the Personalized Nutrition Initiative at Illinois, is a skeletal muscle physiologist with expertise in protein metabolism and exercise. In this episode, Dr. Burd discusses the importance of maintaining muscle mass as we age, expressing that “strong is the new healthy.” While adequate protein intake is an important aspect of gaining muscle and maintaining healthspan, many people in the US actually over consume protein. In this discussion, Dr. Burd talks about how much protein we need, whether or not there is an optimal time to consume protein after exercise, and how to best distribute protein intake throughout the day. He explains why consuming protein from food sources rather than as a powder may be better for muscle growth, and shares why protein is critical for endurance athletes.
September 2023
Study Links Epigenetic Changes to Historic Trauma in Alaska Native Communities
[University of Illinois News Bureau, September 7, 2023] Researchers investigated the relationship between historical traumatic events experienced by Alaska Native communities and epigenetic markers on genes that previous studies have linked to trauma. The new study found a similar pattern among Alaska Native participants, with specific epigenetic differences observed in those who reported experiencing the most intense symptoms of distress when reflecting on historic losses. The study also found that individuals who strongly identified with their Alaska Native heritage and participated in cultural activities generally reported better well-being. The new findings are detailed in the International Journal of Health Equity.
The study is the result of a close collaboration between the scientists and members of two Alaska Native communities. The Native Nations guided the design and interpretation of the study and retain control of all of the data, in accordance with principles of Indigenous data sovereignty, said Ripan Malhi, a professor of anthropology and an Affiliate of the Personalized Nutrition Initiative at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and corresponding author of the new study. Read More.
July 2023
Insect Protein Slows Weight Gain, Boosts Health Status in Obese Mice
[University of Illinois, July 26, 2023] A new study in mice from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Illinois) suggests replacing traditional protein sources with mealworms in high-fat diets could slow weight gain, improve immune response, reduce inflammation, enhance energy metabolism, and beneficially alter the ratio of good to bad cholesterol.
“In addition to more dietary fiber, nutritionists also recommend eating more high-quality proteins as part of a weight management plan. We knew from an earlier study in roosters that mealworms are a high quality, highly digestible protein source that’s also environmentally sustainable,” said lead study author Kelly Swanson, Professor in the Department of Animal Sciences, Interim Director of the Division of Nutritional Sciences, and Affiliate of the Personalized Nutrition Initiative at Illinois.
Swanson’s team fed mice a high-fat diet (46% calories from fat) with casein, a protein from dairy, for 12 weeks before switching to the alternative proteins. Another group, the control, consumed a lean diet with casein throughout the experiment. By the time mealworms were introduced, the high-fat diet group was obese and experiencing metabolic syndrome. The mice then started eating two types of mealworms in a dried powdered form, substituting either 50% or 100% of the casein. Mealworm protein didn’t cause weight loss, but their rate of weight gain slowed relative to the control group over the 8 weeks. And the benefits went further than that.
“It’s not a weight loss situation; they just slowed their gain with the mealworms,” Swanson said. “The more significant impact was the improvement in their blood lipid profiles. Their LDL, so-called ‘bad cholesterol,’ went down and the HDL, ‘good cholesterol,’ went up. And from a gene expression perspective, inflammation went down and some of the lipid and glucose metabolism genes were altered. Not everything was positive, but metabolically, they were in a better place.”
Some of the benefits might have been associated with chitin, a fibrous material making up the exoskeleton of insects. Swanson said although the role of chitin hasn’t been well studied, it seems to act like a fiber, stimulating beneficial microbial activity in the gut. He has another paper in the works to characterize the effects of mealworms on the mouse microbiome.
For now, though, mealworm protein hasn’t yet been approved by FDA. Insect-curious folks can try cricket flour, which can be used in foods according to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Read more.
May 2023
How Diet Quality Affects the Gut Microbiota to Promote Health
[University of Illinois, May 4, 2023] We know that eating a healthy diet affects body weight, cholesterol levels, and heart health. A new study from the University of Illinois (Illinois) focuses on another component: the role of diet in supporting a healthy gastrointestinal microbiota. The researchers conclude that following the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) promotes a gut microbiota composition that may support overall health.
“Currently, there is no definition of a ‘healthy’ microbiome. Understanding how diet may influence the structure of the gut microbiota is important so we can make recommendations on dietary approaches,” says Alexis Baldeon, doctoral student in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Illinois. Baldeon is the lead author of the paper, published in The Journal of Nutrition.
The researchers analyzed data from the American Gut Project, a large, crowdsourced database that includes fecal samples from thousands of individuals across the U.S. Their study focused on data from a subset of 432 healthy individuals divided into three groups according to how closely they followed the Healthy Eating Index (HEI), which is based on the DGA.
The group with the highest total HEI score, indicating the strongest compliance with the DGA, had the highest gut microbiota diversity, as well as a larger presence of bacteria that contribute beneficial functions like fiber fermentation, Baldeon says.
Dietary guidelines and nutrient recommendations historically haven’t included considerations for the microbiota. But that could change in the future, says co-author Hannah Holscher, Associate Professor in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition and Personalized Nutrition Initiative Affiliate at Illinois. Health policy is also starting to recognize the importance of the gut microbiome, the researchers say. Indeed, the scientific report for the latest DGA acknowledges that evidence from diet-microbiota studies should be considered in future dietary recommendations.
Holscher and Baldeon note their study supports the current DGA recommendations for a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and fiber. Following those guidelines, outlined in MyPlate, is still the best strategy for your overall health, including nourishing your gut microbes. Read more.
April 2023
Prebiotic Consumption Alters Microbiota but Not Biological Markers of Stress and Inflammation or Mental Health Symptoms in Healthy Adults: A Randomized, Controlled, Crossover Trial
[The Journal of Nutrition, February 23, 2023] A new study by Personalized Nutrition Initiative Affiliates Naiman Khan, PhD, RD, Associate Professor, Kinesiology & Community Health and Hannah Holscher, PhD, RD, Associate Professor, Food Science & Human Nutrition found that consuming fructooligosaccharide (FOS) and galactooligosaccharide (GOS) for 4 weeks altered the microbiota in a cross over study involving 24 healthy adults (25–45 y; 14 females, 10 males; BMI, 29.3 ± 1.8 kg/m2).
The PRE treatments increased change in percent sequences (q = 0.01) of Actinobacteriota (CON: 0.46 ± 0.70%; PRE: 5.40 ± 1.67%) and Bifidobacterium (CON: -1.72 ± 0.43%; PRE: 4.92 ± 1.53%). There were also no differences in change scores between treatments for microbial metabolites, digestive function, emotion, or sleep quality. There were no differences in change scores between the PRE and CON treatments on biological markers of stress and inflammation or mental health. Read more.
February 2023
Studies Discuss How to Get the Benefits of Fiber without Side Effects
[ACES NEWS, February 1, 2023] Two new papers from the University of Illinois (Illinois) make it easier for food manufacturers to amplify fiber in foods and beverages for health benefits without digestive discomfort.
The first paper focuses on tolerance and side effects of non-digestible carbohydrates (NDC), an umbrella term for food components the body can’t break down. “The FDA determines if NDCs qualify as dietary fibers. To be a fiber, they must provide a health benefit. These benefits include things like helping with regularity and aiding in the absorption of calcium,” explains Annemarie Mysonhimer, doctoral student in Food Science and Human Nutrition (FSHN) at Illinois and lead author on the paper.
Mysonhimer and co-author Hannah Holscher, Associate Professor in FSHN and Personalized Nutrition Initiative Affiliate, reviewed findings from more than 100 clinical trials that evaluated dietary fiber intake and included reports of side effects such as gas and bloating, as well as effects on regularity. These trials tested a wide range of intakes, many of which were quite high, to determine how much of a certain fiber would be well tolerated. Few foods or diets currently contain these levels, the researchers note.
Overall, the authors conclude that daily tolerance levels differ widely depending on the type of fiber and how it is consumed. Mysonhimer explains there are also individual differences depending on the gut microbiota, so each person needs to find their own comfort level.
In research testing health effects of fiber, study designs vary widely, including doses tested, types of foods, and population segments, making it difficult for food manufacturers to compare fiber ingredient options and select ones that provide health benefits within acceptable consumer tolerance. To address this challenge, the Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences, Carbohydrate Committee organized a scientific session at the 12th Vahouny Fiber Symposium.
Subsequently, Holscher; George Fahey, Professor Emeritus of Animal Sciences at Illinois; and five other fiber experts published a perspective paper recommending study designs and methods to measure human tolerance to NDCs. The paper comprises a comprehensive tool for planning future human fiber feeding studies. The scientists included examples of daily and weekly subjective questionnaires in the online supplemental materials so others can easily access them for future studies. The methods outlined in the paper will aid the formulation of fiber-rich foods by enabling relevant comparisons of different fiber types.
“Enriching or fortifying foods with fiber can help narrow the substantial gap between actual and recommended fiber intakes. We hope these two new papers will help scientists design more robust studies on the health effects of dietary fibers while also documenting tolerance symptoms. Our work may also help food makers formulate foods in ways that provide enough fiber to benefit health but limit unpleasant gastrointestinal effects,” Holscher says. Read more.
December 2022
USDA Launches New Virtual Nutrition Center of Excellence
[USDA, December 5, 2022] The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced its new Agricultural Science Center of Excellence for Nutrition and Diet for Better Health (ASCEND for Better Health) in support of President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot effort to end cancer as we know it. This new virtual center will accelerate research on diet-related chronic diseases, including cancer. A long-term goal of the center is to translate research into impactful solutions that improve public health and wellbeing, particularly in underserved communities.
“ASCEND will bring together scientists, partner organizations, and communities to develop and deliver science-based solutions that improve the health and well-being of all Americans, particularly in underserved communities,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “The virtual center will connect existing resources, including people and programs, to leverage expertise and increase coordination and cooperation.”
USDA is enhancing its research focus on precision nutrition science to allow us to better understand the needs of underserved communities. This research complements our programmatic efforts to advance food and nutrition security – which means consistent and equitable access to healthy, safe, and affordable foods essential to optimal health and well-being.
As part of today’s announcement, USDA convened a panel of experts that discussed the role that nutrition plays in improving overall health and reducing risks for diet-related chronic diseases. According to the World Cancer Research Fund, 30-50% of all cancer cases are preventable by following a healthy diet and lifestyle. USDA is applying an equity lens to our ongoing and new research as we work to understand the connections between diet and diseases like cancer across different populations.
This effort delivers on a commitment made in the Biden-Harris Administration’s National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health to end hunger and reduce diet-related diseases by 2030 – all while reducing disparities. The National Strategy was released in conjunction with the first White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health in over 50 years, hosted by President Biden on September 28, 2022. Read more.
October 2022
ADM Makes Transformative Investment in Innovation at University of Illinois Research Park
[Research Park University of Illinois, September 23, 2022] ADM celebrated the grand opening of the new ADM Science and Technology Center at the University of Illinois Research Park. The facility quadruples ADM’s footprint at the University of Illinois Research Park and reflects a significant expansion of its capabilities.
In addition to its focus on process and financial modeling as well as business intelligence and business development, the new center’s portfolio will allow the addition of human nutrition research and development, wet chemistry, sensory science, data science, computational fluid dynamics, and customer interface and applications.
“Our partnership with the University of Illinois has been a win for ADM, the university and its students, as well as the industries in which ADM operates, and we are so excited about this new facility and the future of our collaboration,” said Todd Werpy, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Chief Science Officer at ADM. “University of Illinois students and visiting scientists have helped ADM tackle big challenges and have developed business cases for important research projects. For the university and its students, the new facility will provide hands-on experiences working on real projects that are making an impact not just on ADM, but also on the world.
“The new ADM Science and Technology Center at Research Park is a tangible outcome of the depth and breadth of our institutional strategic partnership,” said Robert J. Jones, Chancellor of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. “An alliance of this scale and scope is critical to the future of our region and our state. It also provides unique experiential learning opportunities for our students, which is critical for preparing our future workforce. It also further cements our campus and community as an epicenter of agtech.”
September 2022
White House Releases National Hunger, Nutrition, Health Strategy Proposal and a $8 Billion in New Commitments and FDA Proposes New Definition of “Healthy”
[FDA and the White House, September 28, 2022] Today the Biden-Harris Administration hosted the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. The Administration has released a National Strategy with actions the federal government will take to drive solutions to these challenges.
The Biden-Harris Administration has also released a fact sheet detailing more than $8 billion in new commitments as part of this Conference’s call to action. Read the fact sheet to learn more. President Biden announced a goal of ending hunger goal of ending hunger and increasing healthy eating and physical activity by 2030 so fewer Americans experience diet-related diseases— while reducing related health disparities.
In addition, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also proposed updated criteria for when foods can be labeled with the nutrient content claim “healthy” on their packaging. This proposed rulewould align the definition of the “healthy” claim with current nutrition science, the updated Nutrition Facts label and the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
“Nutrition is key to improving our nation’s health,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “Healthy food can lower our risk for chronic disease. But too many people may not know what constitutes healthy food. FDA’s move will help educate more Americans to improve health outcomes, tackle health disparities and save lives.”
Under the proposed definition, in order to be labeled with the “healthy” claim on food packaging, the products would need to:
- Contain a certain meaningful amount of food from at least one of the food groups or subgroups (e.g., fruit, vegetable, dairy, etc.) recommended by the Dietary Guidelines.
- Adhere to specific limits for certain nutrients, such as saturated fat, sodium and added sugars. The threshold for the limits is based on a percent of the Daily Value (DV) for the nutrient and varies depending on the food and food group. The limit for sodium is 10% of the DV per serving (230 milligrams per serving).
For example, a cereal would need to contain ¾ ounces of whole grains and contain no more than 1 gram of saturated fat, 230 milligrams of sodium and 2.5 grams of added sugars.
2024 Personalized Nutrition Initiative Graduate Student Travel Award
Congratulations to the four 2024 Personalized Nutrition Initiative Graduate Student Travel award recipients. Award recipients receive up to $1,000 to participate in scientific conferences, workshops, or professional development activities related to personalized nutrition. The review committee was impressed by the high quality and breadth of the applicants’ research areas and their strong interest in continuing to learn and expand their knowledge in personalized nutrition. The Personalized Nutrition Initiative Graduate Student Travel Award Fund was created through a generous donation by Drs. Joshua Anthony and Tracy Gautsch Anthony.
Benjamin Levine, PhD student in the Division of Nutritional Sciences
Research area: Investigate how stress and diet interact with the enteric microbiota to influence communication along the gut-brain axis.
Advisor: Brett Loman, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Animal Sciences, PNI Affiliate
He will attend and present at the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: Science of Resilience Workshop in Washington, DC in September 2024. The title of his presentation is “Prebiotic dietary fibers confer resilience to psychological stress and stress-induced intestinal dysmotility”.
Ananthan Nambiar, PhD student in the Department of Bioengineering
Research area: Computational modeling focused on deep learning models for protein science, microbiomes, and genomics.
Advisor: Sergei Maslov, PhD, Professor, Department of Bioengineering, PNI Affiliate
He will attend and present at the International Conference on Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology in Montreal, Canada in July 2024. His presentation will be titled “MC-Funcformer: A foundational model of microbial community metabolism.”
Haeley Alaina Peters, PhD student in the Department of Health and Kinesiology
Research area: Nutritional composition of culturally tailored meals compares to American Diabetes Association guidelines and their health effects.
Advisor: Minakshi Raj, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Department of Health and Kinesiology
She will attend and present at the NUTRITON 2024 conference in Chicago, Illinois in June 2024. The title of her presentation is “Culturally Tailored Dietary Recommendations for South Asians with Diabetes or Heart Disease and Their Caregivers: Findings From Two Workshops.”
Shreya Verma, PhD student in the Department of Health and Kinesiology
Research area: Building predictive machine learning models for cognitive outcome forecasting based on nutrition and physical activity data, to inform personalized behavioral interventions for improved cognitive health and well-being.
Advisor: Naiman A. Khan, PhD, RD, Associate Professor, Department of Health and Kinesiology, PNI Affiliate
She will attend Machine Learning Week in Phoenix, Arizona in June 2024.
February 2024
Seed Grants Awarded
We are happy to announce the titles and research teams associated with the three seed grants were selected for funding in the Personalized Nutrition Initiative’s fourth call for seed grants.
Development of a Culturally-Tailored Electronic Dietary Assessment Tool to Support Personalized and Inclusive Cuisines in Environments for Healthcare (SPICE-Healthcare)
- Minakshi Raj, PhD, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Kinesiology & Community Health (PI)
- Naiman Khan, PhD, RD, Associate Professor, Dept. of Kinesiology & Community Health (Co-PI)
- Margarita Teran-Garcia, MD, PhD, Assistant Dean and Program Leader for Integrated Health Disparities, Extension (Co-PI)
- Ian Brooks, PhD, Research Scientist &b Director of Center for Health Informatics, ISchool
- Lisa Gatzke, Lead, UIX Team, National Center for Supercomputing Applications (Co-I)
Real-Time Salivary Hormone Assaying and Individualized Research Dissemination: Proof of Concept with Transformative Potential
- Jacinda K. Dariotis, PhD, Professor, Dept. of Human Development & Family Studies (PI)
- Brian Cunningham, PhD, Professor, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering (Co-PI)
- Jenna Riis, PhD, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Kinesiology & Community Health (Co-PI)
Diet and Microbial Factors in Colorectal Cancer: Spanning the Spectrum of Diet and Risk from Native Africans to Native Alaskans
- Jason Ridlon, PhD, Associate Professor, Dept. of Animal Sciences (PI)
- Hannah Holscher, PhD, RD, Associate Professor, Dept. of Food Science & Human Nutrition (Co-PI)
- Sören Ocvirk, PhD, Institute for Food & Health, Technical University of Munich (Co-PI)
- Lisa Tussing-Humphreys, PhD, RD, Associate Professor of Kinesiology and Nutrition, UIC (Co-I)
- Karthik Anantharaman, PhD, Associate Professor of Bacteriology, U of Wisconsin at Madison (Co-I)
- H. Rex Gaskins, PhD, Professor, Dept. of Animal Sciences (Co-I)
- Stephen J.D. O’Keefe, MBBS, MD, MSc, MRCS, FRCP, Professor of Medicine, U of Pittsburgh (Co-I)
- Chun-Jun (CJ) Guo, PhD, Assistant Professor, Microbiology & Immunology in Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine (Co-I)
The Personalized Nutrition Initiative has funded 20 seed grants to 60 investigators across 18 different units on campus during the first four rounds. The next seed grant submission is a special call with the Center for Social and Behavioral Sciences, the pre-proposal deadline is May 1, 2024; see the article above for more information.
November 2023
How to be smarter about protein intake with Dr. Nick Burd
[InsideTracker, November 29, 2023] Now you can watch the interview by Gil Blander, PhD, Founder and Chief Scientific Officer at InsideTracker, and Nicholas “Nick” Burd, PhD, Associate Professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Gil said this is one of the best episodes so far at #LongevitybyDesign featuring a genuine scientist. Nick was in the middle of extracting #muscle fiber from human subjects and took the time to be interviewed, and talk about fascinating topics such as muscle, #protein needs, #exercise, and feeding schedules. A must-episode for anyone who would like to build muscle to live better and longer and would like to understand her/his protein needs.
Dr. Nick Burd, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health and affiliate of the Personalized Nutrition Initiative at Illinois, is a skeletal muscle physiologist with expertise in protein metabolism and exercise. In this episode, Dr. Burd discusses the importance of maintaining muscle mass as we age, expressing that “strong is the new healthy.” While adequate protein intake is an important aspect of gaining muscle and maintaining healthspan, many people in the US actually over consume protein. In this discussion, Dr. Burd talks about how much protein we need, whether or not there is an optimal time to consume protein after exercise, and how to best distribute protein intake throughout the day. He explains why consuming protein from food sources rather than as a powder may be better for muscle growth, and shares why protein is critical for endurance athletes.
September 2023
Study Links Epigenetic Changes to Historic Trauma in Alaska Native Communities
[University of Illinois News Bureau, September 7, 2023] Researchers investigated the relationship between historical traumatic events experienced by Alaska Native communities and epigenetic markers on genes that previous studies have linked to trauma. The new study found a similar pattern among Alaska Native participants, with specific epigenetic differences observed in those who reported experiencing the most intense symptoms of distress when reflecting on historic losses. The study also found that individuals who strongly identified with their Alaska Native heritage and participated in cultural activities generally reported better well-being. The new findings are detailed in the International Journal of Health Equity.
The study is the result of a close collaboration between the scientists and members of two Alaska Native communities. The Native Nations guided the design and interpretation of the study and retain control of all of the data, in accordance with principles of Indigenous data sovereignty, said Ripan Malhi, a professor of anthropology and an Affiliate of the Personalized Nutrition Initiative at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and corresponding author of the new study. Read More.
July 2023
Insect Protein Slows Weight Gain, Boosts Health Status in Obese Mice
[University of Illinois, July 26, 2023] A new study in mice from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Illinois) suggests replacing traditional protein sources with mealworms in high-fat diets could slow weight gain, improve immune response, reduce inflammation, enhance energy metabolism, and beneficially alter the ratio of good to bad cholesterol.
“In addition to more dietary fiber, nutritionists also recommend eating more high-quality proteins as part of a weight management plan. We knew from an earlier study in roosters that mealworms are a high quality, highly digestible protein source that’s also environmentally sustainable,” said lead study author Kelly Swanson, Professor in the Department of Animal Sciences, Interim Director of the Division of Nutritional Sciences, and Affiliate of the Personalized Nutrition Initiative at Illinois.
Swanson’s team fed mice a high-fat diet (46% calories from fat) with casein, a protein from dairy, for 12 weeks before switching to the alternative proteins. Another group, the control, consumed a lean diet with casein throughout the experiment. By the time mealworms were introduced, the high-fat diet group was obese and experiencing metabolic syndrome. The mice then started eating two types of mealworms in a dried powdered form, substituting either 50% or 100% of the casein. Mealworm protein didn’t cause weight loss, but their rate of weight gain slowed relative to the control group over the 8 weeks. And the benefits went further than that.
“It’s not a weight loss situation; they just slowed their gain with the mealworms,” Swanson said. “The more significant impact was the improvement in their blood lipid profiles. Their LDL, so-called ‘bad cholesterol,’ went down and the HDL, ‘good cholesterol,’ went up. And from a gene expression perspective, inflammation went down and some of the lipid and glucose metabolism genes were altered. Not everything was positive, but metabolically, they were in a better place.”
Some of the benefits might have been associated with chitin, a fibrous material making up the exoskeleton of insects. Swanson said although the role of chitin hasn’t been well studied, it seems to act like a fiber, stimulating beneficial microbial activity in the gut. He has another paper in the works to characterize the effects of mealworms on the mouse microbiome.
For now, though, mealworm protein hasn’t yet been approved by FDA. Insect-curious folks can try cricket flour, which can be used in foods according to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Read more.
May 2023
How Diet Quality Affects the Gut Microbiota to Promote Health
[University of Illinois, May 4, 2023] We know that eating a healthy diet affects body weight, cholesterol levels, and heart health. A new study from the University of Illinois (Illinois) focuses on another component: the role of diet in supporting a healthy gastrointestinal microbiota. The researchers conclude that following the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) promotes a gut microbiota composition that may support overall health.
“Currently, there is no definition of a ‘healthy’ microbiome. Understanding how diet may influence the structure of the gut microbiota is important so we can make recommendations on dietary approaches,” says Alexis Baldeon, doctoral student in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Illinois. Baldeon is the lead author of the paper, published in The Journal of Nutrition.
The researchers analyzed data from the American Gut Project, a large, crowdsourced database that includes fecal samples from thousands of individuals across the U.S. Their study focused on data from a subset of 432 healthy individuals divided into three groups according to how closely they followed the Healthy Eating Index (HEI), which is based on the DGA.
The group with the highest total HEI score, indicating the strongest compliance with the DGA, had the highest gut microbiota diversity, as well as a larger presence of bacteria that contribute beneficial functions like fiber fermentation, Baldeon says.
Dietary guidelines and nutrient recommendations historically haven’t included considerations for the microbiota. But that could change in the future, says co-author Hannah Holscher, Associate Professor in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition and Personalized Nutrition Initiative Affiliate at Illinois. Health policy is also starting to recognize the importance of the gut microbiome, the researchers say. Indeed, the scientific report for the latest DGA acknowledges that evidence from diet-microbiota studies should be considered in future dietary recommendations.
Holscher and Baldeon note their study supports the current DGA recommendations for a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and fiber. Following those guidelines, outlined in MyPlate, is still the best strategy for your overall health, including nourishing your gut microbes. Read more.
April 2023
Prebiotic Consumption Alters Microbiota but Not Biological Markers of Stress and Inflammation or Mental Health Symptoms in Healthy Adults: A Randomized, Controlled, Crossover Trial
[The Journal of Nutrition, February 23, 2023] A new study by Personalized Nutrition Initiative Affiliates Naiman Khan, PhD, RD, Associate Professor, Kinesiology & Community Health and Hannah Holscher, PhD, RD, Associate Professor, Food Science & Human Nutrition found that consuming fructooligosaccharide (FOS) and galactooligosaccharide (GOS) for 4 weeks altered the microbiota in a cross over study involving 24 healthy adults (25–45 y; 14 females, 10 males; BMI, 29.3 ± 1.8 kg/m2).
The PRE treatments increased change in percent sequences (q = 0.01) of Actinobacteriota (CON: 0.46 ± 0.70%; PRE: 5.40 ± 1.67%) and Bifidobacterium (CON: -1.72 ± 0.43%; PRE: 4.92 ± 1.53%). There were also no differences in change scores between treatments for microbial metabolites, digestive function, emotion, or sleep quality. There were no differences in change scores between the PRE and CON treatments on biological markers of stress and inflammation or mental health. Read more.
February 2023
Studies Discuss How to Get the Benefits of Fiber without Side Effects
[ACES NEWS, February 1, 2023] Two new papers from the University of Illinois (Illinois) make it easier for food manufacturers to amplify fiber in foods and beverages for health benefits without digestive discomfort.
The first paper focuses on tolerance and side effects of non-digestible carbohydrates (NDC), an umbrella term for food components the body can’t break down. “The FDA determines if NDCs qualify as dietary fibers. To be a fiber, they must provide a health benefit. These benefits include things like helping with regularity and aiding in the absorption of calcium,” explains Annemarie Mysonhimer, doctoral student in Food Science and Human Nutrition (FSHN) at Illinois and lead author on the paper.
Mysonhimer and co-author Hannah Holscher, Associate Professor in FSHN and Personalized Nutrition Initiative Affiliate, reviewed findings from more than 100 clinical trials that evaluated dietary fiber intake and included reports of side effects such as gas and bloating, as well as effects on regularity. These trials tested a wide range of intakes, many of which were quite high, to determine how much of a certain fiber would be well tolerated. Few foods or diets currently contain these levels, the researchers note.
Overall, the authors conclude that daily tolerance levels differ widely depending on the type of fiber and how it is consumed. Mysonhimer explains there are also individual differences depending on the gut microbiota, so each person needs to find their own comfort level.
In research testing health effects of fiber, study designs vary widely, including doses tested, types of foods, and population segments, making it difficult for food manufacturers to compare fiber ingredient options and select ones that provide health benefits within acceptable consumer tolerance. To address this challenge, the Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences, Carbohydrate Committee organized a scientific session at the 12th Vahouny Fiber Symposium.
Subsequently, Holscher; George Fahey, Professor Emeritus of Animal Sciences at Illinois; and five other fiber experts published a perspective paper recommending study designs and methods to measure human tolerance to NDCs. The paper comprises a comprehensive tool for planning future human fiber feeding studies. The scientists included examples of daily and weekly subjective questionnaires in the online supplemental materials so others can easily access them for future studies. The methods outlined in the paper will aid the formulation of fiber-rich foods by enabling relevant comparisons of different fiber types.
“Enriching or fortifying foods with fiber can help narrow the substantial gap between actual and recommended fiber intakes. We hope these two new papers will help scientists design more robust studies on the health effects of dietary fibers while also documenting tolerance symptoms. Our work may also help food makers formulate foods in ways that provide enough fiber to benefit health but limit unpleasant gastrointestinal effects,” Holscher says. Read more.
December 2022
USDA Launches New Virtual Nutrition Center of Excellence
[USDA, December 5, 2022] The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced its new Agricultural Science Center of Excellence for Nutrition and Diet for Better Health (ASCEND for Better Health) in support of President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot effort to end cancer as we know it. This new virtual center will accelerate research on diet-related chronic diseases, including cancer. A long-term goal of the center is to translate research into impactful solutions that improve public health and wellbeing, particularly in underserved communities.
“ASCEND will bring together scientists, partner organizations, and communities to develop and deliver science-based solutions that improve the health and well-being of all Americans, particularly in underserved communities,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “The virtual center will connect existing resources, including people and programs, to leverage expertise and increase coordination and cooperation.”
USDA is enhancing its research focus on precision nutrition science to allow us to better understand the needs of underserved communities. This research complements our programmatic efforts to advance food and nutrition security – which means consistent and equitable access to healthy, safe, and affordable foods essential to optimal health and well-being.
As part of today’s announcement, USDA convened a panel of experts that discussed the role that nutrition plays in improving overall health and reducing risks for diet-related chronic diseases. According to the World Cancer Research Fund, 30-50% of all cancer cases are preventable by following a healthy diet and lifestyle. USDA is applying an equity lens to our ongoing and new research as we work to understand the connections between diet and diseases like cancer across different populations.
This effort delivers on a commitment made in the Biden-Harris Administration’s National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health to end hunger and reduce diet-related diseases by 2030 – all while reducing disparities. The National Strategy was released in conjunction with the first White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health in over 50 years, hosted by President Biden on September 28, 2022. Read more.
October 2022
ADM Makes Transformative Investment in Innovation at University of Illinois Research Park
[Research Park University of Illinois, September 23, 2022] ADM celebrated the grand opening of the new ADM Science and Technology Center at the University of Illinois Research Park. The facility quadruples ADM’s footprint at the University of Illinois Research Park and reflects a significant expansion of its capabilities.
In addition to its focus on process and financial modeling as well as business intelligence and business development, the new center’s portfolio will allow the addition of human nutrition research and development, wet chemistry, sensory science, data science, computational fluid dynamics, and customer interface and applications.
“Our partnership with the University of Illinois has been a win for ADM, the university and its students, as well as the industries in which ADM operates, and we are so excited about this new facility and the future of our collaboration,” said Todd Werpy, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Chief Science Officer at ADM. “University of Illinois students and visiting scientists have helped ADM tackle big challenges and have developed business cases for important research projects. For the university and its students, the new facility will provide hands-on experiences working on real projects that are making an impact not just on ADM, but also on the world.
“The new ADM Science and Technology Center at Research Park is a tangible outcome of the depth and breadth of our institutional strategic partnership,” said Robert J. Jones, Chancellor of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. “An alliance of this scale and scope is critical to the future of our region and our state. It also provides unique experiential learning opportunities for our students, which is critical for preparing our future workforce. It also further cements our campus and community as an epicenter of agtech.”
September 2022
White House Releases National Hunger, Nutrition, Health Strategy Proposal and a $8 Billion in New Commitments and FDA Proposes New Definition of “Healthy”
[FDA and the White House, September 28, 2022] Today the Biden-Harris Administration hosted the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. The Administration has released a National Strategy with actions the federal government will take to drive solutions to these challenges.
The Biden-Harris Administration has also released a fact sheet detailing more than $8 billion in new commitments as part of this Conference’s call to action. Read the fact sheet to learn more. President Biden announced a goal of ending hunger goal of ending hunger and increasing healthy eating and physical activity by 2030 so fewer Americans experience diet-related diseases— while reducing related health disparities.
In addition, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also proposed updated criteria for when foods can be labeled with the nutrient content claim “healthy” on their packaging. This proposed rulewould align the definition of the “healthy” claim with current nutrition science, the updated Nutrition Facts label and the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
“Nutrition is key to improving our nation’s health,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “Healthy food can lower our risk for chronic disease. But too many people may not know what constitutes healthy food. FDA’s move will help educate more Americans to improve health outcomes, tackle health disparities and save lives.”
Under the proposed definition, in order to be labeled with the “healthy” claim on food packaging, the products would need to:
- Contain a certain meaningful amount of food from at least one of the food groups or subgroups (e.g., fruit, vegetable, dairy, etc.) recommended by the Dietary Guidelines.
- Adhere to specific limits for certain nutrients, such as saturated fat, sodium and added sugars. The threshold for the limits is based on a percent of the Daily Value (DV) for the nutrient and varies depending on the food and food group. The limit for sodium is 10% of the DV per serving (230 milligrams per serving).
For example, a cereal would need to contain ¾ ounces of whole grains and contain no more than 1 gram of saturated fat, 230 milligrams of sodium and 2.5 grams of added sugars.
How to be smarter about protein intake with Dr. Nick Burd
[InsideTracker, November 29, 2023] Now you can watch the interview by Gil Blander, PhD, Founder and Chief Scientific Officer at InsideTracker, and Nicholas “Nick” Burd, PhD, Associate Professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Gil said this is one of the best episodes so far at #LongevitybyDesign featuring a genuine scientist. Nick was in the middle of extracting #muscle fiber from human subjects and took the time to be interviewed, and talk about fascinating topics such as muscle, #protein needs, #exercise, and feeding schedules. A must-episode for anyone who would like to build muscle to live better and longer and would like to understand her/his protein needs.
Dr. Nick Burd, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health and affiliate of the Personalized Nutrition Initiative at Illinois, is a skeletal muscle physiologist with expertise in protein metabolism and exercise. In this episode, Dr. Burd discusses the importance of maintaining muscle mass as we age, expressing that “strong is the new healthy.” While adequate protein intake is an important aspect of gaining muscle and maintaining healthspan, many people in the US actually over consume protein. In this discussion, Dr. Burd talks about how much protein we need, whether or not there is an optimal time to consume protein after exercise, and how to best distribute protein intake throughout the day. He explains why consuming protein from food sources rather than as a powder may be better for muscle growth, and shares why protein is critical for endurance athletes.
September 2023
Study Links Epigenetic Changes to Historic Trauma in Alaska Native Communities
[University of Illinois News Bureau, September 7, 2023] Researchers investigated the relationship between historical traumatic events experienced by Alaska Native communities and epigenetic markers on genes that previous studies have linked to trauma. The new study found a similar pattern among Alaska Native participants, with specific epigenetic differences observed in those who reported experiencing the most intense symptoms of distress when reflecting on historic losses. The study also found that individuals who strongly identified with their Alaska Native heritage and participated in cultural activities generally reported better well-being. The new findings are detailed in the International Journal of Health Equity.
The study is the result of a close collaboration between the scientists and members of two Alaska Native communities. The Native Nations guided the design and interpretation of the study and retain control of all of the data, in accordance with principles of Indigenous data sovereignty, said Ripan Malhi, a professor of anthropology and an Affiliate of the Personalized Nutrition Initiative at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and corresponding author of the new study. Read More.
July 2023
Insect Protein Slows Weight Gain, Boosts Health Status in Obese Mice
[University of Illinois, July 26, 2023] A new study in mice from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Illinois) suggests replacing traditional protein sources with mealworms in high-fat diets could slow weight gain, improve immune response, reduce inflammation, enhance energy metabolism, and beneficially alter the ratio of good to bad cholesterol.
“In addition to more dietary fiber, nutritionists also recommend eating more high-quality proteins as part of a weight management plan. We knew from an earlier study in roosters that mealworms are a high quality, highly digestible protein source that’s also environmentally sustainable,” said lead study author Kelly Swanson, Professor in the Department of Animal Sciences, Interim Director of the Division of Nutritional Sciences, and Affiliate of the Personalized Nutrition Initiative at Illinois.
Swanson’s team fed mice a high-fat diet (46% calories from fat) with casein, a protein from dairy, for 12 weeks before switching to the alternative proteins. Another group, the control, consumed a lean diet with casein throughout the experiment. By the time mealworms were introduced, the high-fat diet group was obese and experiencing metabolic syndrome. The mice then started eating two types of mealworms in a dried powdered form, substituting either 50% or 100% of the casein. Mealworm protein didn’t cause weight loss, but their rate of weight gain slowed relative to the control group over the 8 weeks. And the benefits went further than that.
“It’s not a weight loss situation; they just slowed their gain with the mealworms,” Swanson said. “The more significant impact was the improvement in their blood lipid profiles. Their LDL, so-called ‘bad cholesterol,’ went down and the HDL, ‘good cholesterol,’ went up. And from a gene expression perspective, inflammation went down and some of the lipid and glucose metabolism genes were altered. Not everything was positive, but metabolically, they were in a better place.”
Some of the benefits might have been associated with chitin, a fibrous material making up the exoskeleton of insects. Swanson said although the role of chitin hasn’t been well studied, it seems to act like a fiber, stimulating beneficial microbial activity in the gut. He has another paper in the works to characterize the effects of mealworms on the mouse microbiome.
For now, though, mealworm protein hasn’t yet been approved by FDA. Insect-curious folks can try cricket flour, which can be used in foods according to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Read more.
May 2023
How Diet Quality Affects the Gut Microbiota to Promote Health
[University of Illinois, May 4, 2023] We know that eating a healthy diet affects body weight, cholesterol levels, and heart health. A new study from the University of Illinois (Illinois) focuses on another component: the role of diet in supporting a healthy gastrointestinal microbiota. The researchers conclude that following the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) promotes a gut microbiota composition that may support overall health.
“Currently, there is no definition of a ‘healthy’ microbiome. Understanding how diet may influence the structure of the gut microbiota is important so we can make recommendations on dietary approaches,” says Alexis Baldeon, doctoral student in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Illinois. Baldeon is the lead author of the paper, published in The Journal of Nutrition.
The researchers analyzed data from the American Gut Project, a large, crowdsourced database that includes fecal samples from thousands of individuals across the U.S. Their study focused on data from a subset of 432 healthy individuals divided into three groups according to how closely they followed the Healthy Eating Index (HEI), which is based on the DGA.
The group with the highest total HEI score, indicating the strongest compliance with the DGA, had the highest gut microbiota diversity, as well as a larger presence of bacteria that contribute beneficial functions like fiber fermentation, Baldeon says.
Dietary guidelines and nutrient recommendations historically haven’t included considerations for the microbiota. But that could change in the future, says co-author Hannah Holscher, Associate Professor in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition and Personalized Nutrition Initiative Affiliate at Illinois. Health policy is also starting to recognize the importance of the gut microbiome, the researchers say. Indeed, the scientific report for the latest DGA acknowledges that evidence from diet-microbiota studies should be considered in future dietary recommendations.
Holscher and Baldeon note their study supports the current DGA recommendations for a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and fiber. Following those guidelines, outlined in MyPlate, is still the best strategy for your overall health, including nourishing your gut microbes. Read more.
April 2023
Prebiotic Consumption Alters Microbiota but Not Biological Markers of Stress and Inflammation or Mental Health Symptoms in Healthy Adults: A Randomized, Controlled, Crossover Trial
[The Journal of Nutrition, February 23, 2023] A new study by Personalized Nutrition Initiative Affiliates Naiman Khan, PhD, RD, Associate Professor, Kinesiology & Community Health and Hannah Holscher, PhD, RD, Associate Professor, Food Science & Human Nutrition found that consuming fructooligosaccharide (FOS) and galactooligosaccharide (GOS) for 4 weeks altered the microbiota in a cross over study involving 24 healthy adults (25–45 y; 14 females, 10 males; BMI, 29.3 ± 1.8 kg/m2).
The PRE treatments increased change in percent sequences (q = 0.01) of Actinobacteriota (CON: 0.46 ± 0.70%; PRE: 5.40 ± 1.67%) and Bifidobacterium (CON: -1.72 ± 0.43%; PRE: 4.92 ± 1.53%). There were also no differences in change scores between treatments for microbial metabolites, digestive function, emotion, or sleep quality. There were no differences in change scores between the PRE and CON treatments on biological markers of stress and inflammation or mental health. Read more.
February 2023
Studies Discuss How to Get the Benefits of Fiber without Side Effects
[ACES NEWS, February 1, 2023] Two new papers from the University of Illinois (Illinois) make it easier for food manufacturers to amplify fiber in foods and beverages for health benefits without digestive discomfort.
The first paper focuses on tolerance and side effects of non-digestible carbohydrates (NDC), an umbrella term for food components the body can’t break down. “The FDA determines if NDCs qualify as dietary fibers. To be a fiber, they must provide a health benefit. These benefits include things like helping with regularity and aiding in the absorption of calcium,” explains Annemarie Mysonhimer, doctoral student in Food Science and Human Nutrition (FSHN) at Illinois and lead author on the paper.
Mysonhimer and co-author Hannah Holscher, Associate Professor in FSHN and Personalized Nutrition Initiative Affiliate, reviewed findings from more than 100 clinical trials that evaluated dietary fiber intake and included reports of side effects such as gas and bloating, as well as effects on regularity. These trials tested a wide range of intakes, many of which were quite high, to determine how much of a certain fiber would be well tolerated. Few foods or diets currently contain these levels, the researchers note.
Overall, the authors conclude that daily tolerance levels differ widely depending on the type of fiber and how it is consumed. Mysonhimer explains there are also individual differences depending on the gut microbiota, so each person needs to find their own comfort level.
In research testing health effects of fiber, study designs vary widely, including doses tested, types of foods, and population segments, making it difficult for food manufacturers to compare fiber ingredient options and select ones that provide health benefits within acceptable consumer tolerance. To address this challenge, the Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences, Carbohydrate Committee organized a scientific session at the 12th Vahouny Fiber Symposium.
Subsequently, Holscher; George Fahey, Professor Emeritus of Animal Sciences at Illinois; and five other fiber experts published a perspective paper recommending study designs and methods to measure human tolerance to NDCs. The paper comprises a comprehensive tool for planning future human fiber feeding studies. The scientists included examples of daily and weekly subjective questionnaires in the online supplemental materials so others can easily access them for future studies. The methods outlined in the paper will aid the formulation of fiber-rich foods by enabling relevant comparisons of different fiber types.
“Enriching or fortifying foods with fiber can help narrow the substantial gap between actual and recommended fiber intakes. We hope these two new papers will help scientists design more robust studies on the health effects of dietary fibers while also documenting tolerance symptoms. Our work may also help food makers formulate foods in ways that provide enough fiber to benefit health but limit unpleasant gastrointestinal effects,” Holscher says. Read more.
December 2022
USDA Launches New Virtual Nutrition Center of Excellence
[USDA, December 5, 2022] The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced its new Agricultural Science Center of Excellence for Nutrition and Diet for Better Health (ASCEND for Better Health) in support of President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot effort to end cancer as we know it. This new virtual center will accelerate research on diet-related chronic diseases, including cancer. A long-term goal of the center is to translate research into impactful solutions that improve public health and wellbeing, particularly in underserved communities.
“ASCEND will bring together scientists, partner organizations, and communities to develop and deliver science-based solutions that improve the health and well-being of all Americans, particularly in underserved communities,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “The virtual center will connect existing resources, including people and programs, to leverage expertise and increase coordination and cooperation.”
USDA is enhancing its research focus on precision nutrition science to allow us to better understand the needs of underserved communities. This research complements our programmatic efforts to advance food and nutrition security – which means consistent and equitable access to healthy, safe, and affordable foods essential to optimal health and well-being.
As part of today’s announcement, USDA convened a panel of experts that discussed the role that nutrition plays in improving overall health and reducing risks for diet-related chronic diseases. According to the World Cancer Research Fund, 30-50% of all cancer cases are preventable by following a healthy diet and lifestyle. USDA is applying an equity lens to our ongoing and new research as we work to understand the connections between diet and diseases like cancer across different populations.
This effort delivers on a commitment made in the Biden-Harris Administration’s National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health to end hunger and reduce diet-related diseases by 2030 – all while reducing disparities. The National Strategy was released in conjunction with the first White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health in over 50 years, hosted by President Biden on September 28, 2022. Read more.
October 2022
ADM Makes Transformative Investment in Innovation at University of Illinois Research Park
[Research Park University of Illinois, September 23, 2022] ADM celebrated the grand opening of the new ADM Science and Technology Center at the University of Illinois Research Park. The facility quadruples ADM’s footprint at the University of Illinois Research Park and reflects a significant expansion of its capabilities.
In addition to its focus on process and financial modeling as well as business intelligence and business development, the new center’s portfolio will allow the addition of human nutrition research and development, wet chemistry, sensory science, data science, computational fluid dynamics, and customer interface and applications.
“Our partnership with the University of Illinois has been a win for ADM, the university and its students, as well as the industries in which ADM operates, and we are so excited about this new facility and the future of our collaboration,” said Todd Werpy, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Chief Science Officer at ADM. “University of Illinois students and visiting scientists have helped ADM tackle big challenges and have developed business cases for important research projects. For the university and its students, the new facility will provide hands-on experiences working on real projects that are making an impact not just on ADM, but also on the world.
“The new ADM Science and Technology Center at Research Park is a tangible outcome of the depth and breadth of our institutional strategic partnership,” said Robert J. Jones, Chancellor of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. “An alliance of this scale and scope is critical to the future of our region and our state. It also provides unique experiential learning opportunities for our students, which is critical for preparing our future workforce. It also further cements our campus and community as an epicenter of agtech.”
September 2022
White House Releases National Hunger, Nutrition, Health Strategy Proposal and a $8 Billion in New Commitments and FDA Proposes New Definition of “Healthy”
[FDA and the White House, September 28, 2022] Today the Biden-Harris Administration hosted the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. The Administration has released a National Strategy with actions the federal government will take to drive solutions to these challenges.
The Biden-Harris Administration has also released a fact sheet detailing more than $8 billion in new commitments as part of this Conference’s call to action. Read the fact sheet to learn more. President Biden announced a goal of ending hunger goal of ending hunger and increasing healthy eating and physical activity by 2030 so fewer Americans experience diet-related diseases— while reducing related health disparities.
In addition, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also proposed updated criteria for when foods can be labeled with the nutrient content claim “healthy” on their packaging. This proposed rulewould align the definition of the “healthy” claim with current nutrition science, the updated Nutrition Facts label and the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
“Nutrition is key to improving our nation’s health,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “Healthy food can lower our risk for chronic disease. But too many people may not know what constitutes healthy food. FDA’s move will help educate more Americans to improve health outcomes, tackle health disparities and save lives.”
Under the proposed definition, in order to be labeled with the “healthy” claim on food packaging, the products would need to:
- Contain a certain meaningful amount of food from at least one of the food groups or subgroups (e.g., fruit, vegetable, dairy, etc.) recommended by the Dietary Guidelines.
- Adhere to specific limits for certain nutrients, such as saturated fat, sodium and added sugars. The threshold for the limits is based on a percent of the Daily Value (DV) for the nutrient and varies depending on the food and food group. The limit for sodium is 10% of the DV per serving (230 milligrams per serving).
For example, a cereal would need to contain ¾ ounces of whole grains and contain no more than 1 gram of saturated fat, 230 milligrams of sodium and 2.5 grams of added sugars.
Insect Protein Slows Weight Gain, Boosts Health Status in Obese Mice
[University of Illinois, July 26, 2023] A new study in mice from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Illinois) suggests replacing traditional protein sources with mealworms in high-fat diets could slow weight gain, improve immune response, reduce inflammation, enhance energy metabolism, and beneficially alter the ratio of good to bad cholesterol.
“In addition to more dietary fiber, nutritionists also recommend eating more high-quality proteins as part of a weight management plan. We knew from an earlier study in roosters that mealworms are a high quality, highly digestible protein source that’s also environmentally sustainable,” said lead study author Kelly Swanson, Professor in the Department of Animal Sciences, Interim Director of the Division of Nutritional Sciences, and Affiliate of the Personalized Nutrition Initiative at Illinois.
Swanson’s team fed mice a high-fat diet (46% calories from fat) with casein, a protein from dairy, for 12 weeks before switching to the alternative proteins. Another group, the control, consumed a lean diet with casein throughout the experiment. By the time mealworms were introduced, the high-fat diet group was obese and experiencing metabolic syndrome. The mice then started eating two types of mealworms in a dried powdered form, substituting either 50% or 100% of the casein. Mealworm protein didn’t cause weight loss, but their rate of weight gain slowed relative to the control group over the 8 weeks. And the benefits went further than that.
“It’s not a weight loss situation; they just slowed their gain with the mealworms,” Swanson said. “The more significant impact was the improvement in their blood lipid profiles. Their LDL, so-called ‘bad cholesterol,’ went down and the HDL, ‘good cholesterol,’ went up. And from a gene expression perspective, inflammation went down and some of the lipid and glucose metabolism genes were altered. Not everything was positive, but metabolically, they were in a better place.”
Some of the benefits might have been associated with chitin, a fibrous material making up the exoskeleton of insects. Swanson said although the role of chitin hasn’t been well studied, it seems to act like a fiber, stimulating beneficial microbial activity in the gut. He has another paper in the works to characterize the effects of mealworms on the mouse microbiome.
For now, though, mealworm protein hasn’t yet been approved by FDA. Insect-curious folks can try cricket flour, which can be used in foods according to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Read more.
May 2023
How Diet Quality Affects the Gut Microbiota to Promote Health
[University of Illinois, May 4, 2023] We know that eating a healthy diet affects body weight, cholesterol levels, and heart health. A new study from the University of Illinois (Illinois) focuses on another component: the role of diet in supporting a healthy gastrointestinal microbiota. The researchers conclude that following the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) promotes a gut microbiota composition that may support overall health.
“Currently, there is no definition of a ‘healthy’ microbiome. Understanding how diet may influence the structure of the gut microbiota is important so we can make recommendations on dietary approaches,” says Alexis Baldeon, doctoral student in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Illinois. Baldeon is the lead author of the paper, published in The Journal of Nutrition.
The researchers analyzed data from the American Gut Project, a large, crowdsourced database that includes fecal samples from thousands of individuals across the U.S. Their study focused on data from a subset of 432 healthy individuals divided into three groups according to how closely they followed the Healthy Eating Index (HEI), which is based on the DGA.
The group with the highest total HEI score, indicating the strongest compliance with the DGA, had the highest gut microbiota diversity, as well as a larger presence of bacteria that contribute beneficial functions like fiber fermentation, Baldeon says.
Dietary guidelines and nutrient recommendations historically haven’t included considerations for the microbiota. But that could change in the future, says co-author Hannah Holscher, Associate Professor in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition and Personalized Nutrition Initiative Affiliate at Illinois. Health policy is also starting to recognize the importance of the gut microbiome, the researchers say. Indeed, the scientific report for the latest DGA acknowledges that evidence from diet-microbiota studies should be considered in future dietary recommendations.
Holscher and Baldeon note their study supports the current DGA recommendations for a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and fiber. Following those guidelines, outlined in MyPlate, is still the best strategy for your overall health, including nourishing your gut microbes. Read more.
April 2023
Prebiotic Consumption Alters Microbiota but Not Biological Markers of Stress and Inflammation or Mental Health Symptoms in Healthy Adults: A Randomized, Controlled, Crossover Trial
[The Journal of Nutrition, February 23, 2023] A new study by Personalized Nutrition Initiative Affiliates Naiman Khan, PhD, RD, Associate Professor, Kinesiology & Community Health and Hannah Holscher, PhD, RD, Associate Professor, Food Science & Human Nutrition found that consuming fructooligosaccharide (FOS) and galactooligosaccharide (GOS) for 4 weeks altered the microbiota in a cross over study involving 24 healthy adults (25–45 y; 14 females, 10 males; BMI, 29.3 ± 1.8 kg/m2).
The PRE treatments increased change in percent sequences (q = 0.01) of Actinobacteriota (CON: 0.46 ± 0.70%; PRE: 5.40 ± 1.67%) and Bifidobacterium (CON: -1.72 ± 0.43%; PRE: 4.92 ± 1.53%). There were also no differences in change scores between treatments for microbial metabolites, digestive function, emotion, or sleep quality. There were no differences in change scores between the PRE and CON treatments on biological markers of stress and inflammation or mental health. Read more.
February 2023
Studies Discuss How to Get the Benefits of Fiber without Side Effects
[ACES NEWS, February 1, 2023] Two new papers from the University of Illinois (Illinois) make it easier for food manufacturers to amplify fiber in foods and beverages for health benefits without digestive discomfort.
The first paper focuses on tolerance and side effects of non-digestible carbohydrates (NDC), an umbrella term for food components the body can’t break down. “The FDA determines if NDCs qualify as dietary fibers. To be a fiber, they must provide a health benefit. These benefits include things like helping with regularity and aiding in the absorption of calcium,” explains Annemarie Mysonhimer, doctoral student in Food Science and Human Nutrition (FSHN) at Illinois and lead author on the paper.
Mysonhimer and co-author Hannah Holscher, Associate Professor in FSHN and Personalized Nutrition Initiative Affiliate, reviewed findings from more than 100 clinical trials that evaluated dietary fiber intake and included reports of side effects such as gas and bloating, as well as effects on regularity. These trials tested a wide range of intakes, many of which were quite high, to determine how much of a certain fiber would be well tolerated. Few foods or diets currently contain these levels, the researchers note.
Overall, the authors conclude that daily tolerance levels differ widely depending on the type of fiber and how it is consumed. Mysonhimer explains there are also individual differences depending on the gut microbiota, so each person needs to find their own comfort level.
In research testing health effects of fiber, study designs vary widely, including doses tested, types of foods, and population segments, making it difficult for food manufacturers to compare fiber ingredient options and select ones that provide health benefits within acceptable consumer tolerance. To address this challenge, the Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences, Carbohydrate Committee organized a scientific session at the 12th Vahouny Fiber Symposium.
Subsequently, Holscher; George Fahey, Professor Emeritus of Animal Sciences at Illinois; and five other fiber experts published a perspective paper recommending study designs and methods to measure human tolerance to NDCs. The paper comprises a comprehensive tool for planning future human fiber feeding studies. The scientists included examples of daily and weekly subjective questionnaires in the online supplemental materials so others can easily access them for future studies. The methods outlined in the paper will aid the formulation of fiber-rich foods by enabling relevant comparisons of different fiber types.
“Enriching or fortifying foods with fiber can help narrow the substantial gap between actual and recommended fiber intakes. We hope these two new papers will help scientists design more robust studies on the health effects of dietary fibers while also documenting tolerance symptoms. Our work may also help food makers formulate foods in ways that provide enough fiber to benefit health but limit unpleasant gastrointestinal effects,” Holscher says. Read more.
December 2022
USDA Launches New Virtual Nutrition Center of Excellence
[USDA, December 5, 2022] The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced its new Agricultural Science Center of Excellence for Nutrition and Diet for Better Health (ASCEND for Better Health) in support of President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot effort to end cancer as we know it. This new virtual center will accelerate research on diet-related chronic diseases, including cancer. A long-term goal of the center is to translate research into impactful solutions that improve public health and wellbeing, particularly in underserved communities.
“ASCEND will bring together scientists, partner organizations, and communities to develop and deliver science-based solutions that improve the health and well-being of all Americans, particularly in underserved communities,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “The virtual center will connect existing resources, including people and programs, to leverage expertise and increase coordination and cooperation.”
USDA is enhancing its research focus on precision nutrition science to allow us to better understand the needs of underserved communities. This research complements our programmatic efforts to advance food and nutrition security – which means consistent and equitable access to healthy, safe, and affordable foods essential to optimal health and well-being.
As part of today’s announcement, USDA convened a panel of experts that discussed the role that nutrition plays in improving overall health and reducing risks for diet-related chronic diseases. According to the World Cancer Research Fund, 30-50% of all cancer cases are preventable by following a healthy diet and lifestyle. USDA is applying an equity lens to our ongoing and new research as we work to understand the connections between diet and diseases like cancer across different populations.
This effort delivers on a commitment made in the Biden-Harris Administration’s National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health to end hunger and reduce diet-related diseases by 2030 – all while reducing disparities. The National Strategy was released in conjunction with the first White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health in over 50 years, hosted by President Biden on September 28, 2022. Read more.
October 2022
ADM Makes Transformative Investment in Innovation at University of Illinois Research Park
[Research Park University of Illinois, September 23, 2022] ADM celebrated the grand opening of the new ADM Science and Technology Center at the University of Illinois Research Park. The facility quadruples ADM’s footprint at the University of Illinois Research Park and reflects a significant expansion of its capabilities.
In addition to its focus on process and financial modeling as well as business intelligence and business development, the new center’s portfolio will allow the addition of human nutrition research and development, wet chemistry, sensory science, data science, computational fluid dynamics, and customer interface and applications.
“Our partnership with the University of Illinois has been a win for ADM, the university and its students, as well as the industries in which ADM operates, and we are so excited about this new facility and the future of our collaboration,” said Todd Werpy, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Chief Science Officer at ADM. “University of Illinois students and visiting scientists have helped ADM tackle big challenges and have developed business cases for important research projects. For the university and its students, the new facility will provide hands-on experiences working on real projects that are making an impact not just on ADM, but also on the world.
“The new ADM Science and Technology Center at Research Park is a tangible outcome of the depth and breadth of our institutional strategic partnership,” said Robert J. Jones, Chancellor of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. “An alliance of this scale and scope is critical to the future of our region and our state. It also provides unique experiential learning opportunities for our students, which is critical for preparing our future workforce. It also further cements our campus and community as an epicenter of agtech.”
September 2022
White House Releases National Hunger, Nutrition, Health Strategy Proposal and a $8 Billion in New Commitments and FDA Proposes New Definition of “Healthy”
[FDA and the White House, September 28, 2022] Today the Biden-Harris Administration hosted the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. The Administration has released a National Strategy with actions the federal government will take to drive solutions to these challenges.
The Biden-Harris Administration has also released a fact sheet detailing more than $8 billion in new commitments as part of this Conference’s call to action. Read the fact sheet to learn more. President Biden announced a goal of ending hunger goal of ending hunger and increasing healthy eating and physical activity by 2030 so fewer Americans experience diet-related diseases— while reducing related health disparities.
In addition, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also proposed updated criteria for when foods can be labeled with the nutrient content claim “healthy” on their packaging. This proposed rulewould align the definition of the “healthy” claim with current nutrition science, the updated Nutrition Facts label and the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
“Nutrition is key to improving our nation’s health,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “Healthy food can lower our risk for chronic disease. But too many people may not know what constitutes healthy food. FDA’s move will help educate more Americans to improve health outcomes, tackle health disparities and save lives.”
Under the proposed definition, in order to be labeled with the “healthy” claim on food packaging, the products would need to:
- Contain a certain meaningful amount of food from at least one of the food groups or subgroups (e.g., fruit, vegetable, dairy, etc.) recommended by the Dietary Guidelines.
- Adhere to specific limits for certain nutrients, such as saturated fat, sodium and added sugars. The threshold for the limits is based on a percent of the Daily Value (DV) for the nutrient and varies depending on the food and food group. The limit for sodium is 10% of the DV per serving (230 milligrams per serving).
For example, a cereal would need to contain ¾ ounces of whole grains and contain no more than 1 gram of saturated fat, 230 milligrams of sodium and 2.5 grams of added sugars.
Prebiotic Consumption Alters Microbiota but Not Biological Markers of Stress and Inflammation or Mental Health Symptoms in Healthy Adults: A Randomized, Controlled, Crossover Trial
[The Journal of Nutrition, February 23, 2023] A new study by Personalized Nutrition Initiative Affiliates Naiman Khan, PhD, RD, Associate Professor, Kinesiology & Community Health and Hannah Holscher, PhD, RD, Associate Professor, Food Science & Human Nutrition found that consuming fructooligosaccharide (FOS) and galactooligosaccharide (GOS) for 4 weeks altered the microbiota in a cross over study involving 24 healthy adults (25–45 y; 14 females, 10 males; BMI, 29.3 ± 1.8 kg/m2).
The PRE treatments increased change in percent sequences (q = 0.01) of Actinobacteriota (CON: 0.46 ± 0.70%; PRE: 5.40 ± 1.67%) and Bifidobacterium (CON: -1.72 ± 0.43%; PRE: 4.92 ± 1.53%). There were also no differences in change scores between treatments for microbial metabolites, digestive function, emotion, or sleep quality. There were no differences in change scores between the PRE and CON treatments on biological markers of stress and inflammation or mental health. Read more.
February 2023
Studies Discuss How to Get the Benefits of Fiber without Side Effects
[ACES NEWS, February 1, 2023] Two new papers from the University of Illinois (Illinois) make it easier for food manufacturers to amplify fiber in foods and beverages for health benefits without digestive discomfort.
The first paper focuses on tolerance and side effects of non-digestible carbohydrates (NDC), an umbrella term for food components the body can’t break down. “The FDA determines if NDCs qualify as dietary fibers. To be a fiber, they must provide a health benefit. These benefits include things like helping with regularity and aiding in the absorption of calcium,” explains Annemarie Mysonhimer, doctoral student in Food Science and Human Nutrition (FSHN) at Illinois and lead author on the paper.
Mysonhimer and co-author Hannah Holscher, Associate Professor in FSHN and Personalized Nutrition Initiative Affiliate, reviewed findings from more than 100 clinical trials that evaluated dietary fiber intake and included reports of side effects such as gas and bloating, as well as effects on regularity. These trials tested a wide range of intakes, many of which were quite high, to determine how much of a certain fiber would be well tolerated. Few foods or diets currently contain these levels, the researchers note.
Overall, the authors conclude that daily tolerance levels differ widely depending on the type of fiber and how it is consumed. Mysonhimer explains there are also individual differences depending on the gut microbiota, so each person needs to find their own comfort level.
In research testing health effects of fiber, study designs vary widely, including doses tested, types of foods, and population segments, making it difficult for food manufacturers to compare fiber ingredient options and select ones that provide health benefits within acceptable consumer tolerance. To address this challenge, the Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences, Carbohydrate Committee organized a scientific session at the 12th Vahouny Fiber Symposium.
Subsequently, Holscher; George Fahey, Professor Emeritus of Animal Sciences at Illinois; and five other fiber experts published a perspective paper recommending study designs and methods to measure human tolerance to NDCs. The paper comprises a comprehensive tool for planning future human fiber feeding studies. The scientists included examples of daily and weekly subjective questionnaires in the online supplemental materials so others can easily access them for future studies. The methods outlined in the paper will aid the formulation of fiber-rich foods by enabling relevant comparisons of different fiber types.
“Enriching or fortifying foods with fiber can help narrow the substantial gap between actual and recommended fiber intakes. We hope these two new papers will help scientists design more robust studies on the health effects of dietary fibers while also documenting tolerance symptoms. Our work may also help food makers formulate foods in ways that provide enough fiber to benefit health but limit unpleasant gastrointestinal effects,” Holscher says. Read more.
December 2022
USDA Launches New Virtual Nutrition Center of Excellence
[USDA, December 5, 2022] The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced its new Agricultural Science Center of Excellence for Nutrition and Diet for Better Health (ASCEND for Better Health) in support of President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot effort to end cancer as we know it. This new virtual center will accelerate research on diet-related chronic diseases, including cancer. A long-term goal of the center is to translate research into impactful solutions that improve public health and wellbeing, particularly in underserved communities.
“ASCEND will bring together scientists, partner organizations, and communities to develop and deliver science-based solutions that improve the health and well-being of all Americans, particularly in underserved communities,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “The virtual center will connect existing resources, including people and programs, to leverage expertise and increase coordination and cooperation.”
USDA is enhancing its research focus on precision nutrition science to allow us to better understand the needs of underserved communities. This research complements our programmatic efforts to advance food and nutrition security – which means consistent and equitable access to healthy, safe, and affordable foods essential to optimal health and well-being.
As part of today’s announcement, USDA convened a panel of experts that discussed the role that nutrition plays in improving overall health and reducing risks for diet-related chronic diseases. According to the World Cancer Research Fund, 30-50% of all cancer cases are preventable by following a healthy diet and lifestyle. USDA is applying an equity lens to our ongoing and new research as we work to understand the connections between diet and diseases like cancer across different populations.
This effort delivers on a commitment made in the Biden-Harris Administration’s National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health to end hunger and reduce diet-related diseases by 2030 – all while reducing disparities. The National Strategy was released in conjunction with the first White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health in over 50 years, hosted by President Biden on September 28, 2022. Read more.
October 2022
ADM Makes Transformative Investment in Innovation at University of Illinois Research Park
[Research Park University of Illinois, September 23, 2022] ADM celebrated the grand opening of the new ADM Science and Technology Center at the University of Illinois Research Park. The facility quadruples ADM’s footprint at the University of Illinois Research Park and reflects a significant expansion of its capabilities.
In addition to its focus on process and financial modeling as well as business intelligence and business development, the new center’s portfolio will allow the addition of human nutrition research and development, wet chemistry, sensory science, data science, computational fluid dynamics, and customer interface and applications.
“Our partnership with the University of Illinois has been a win for ADM, the university and its students, as well as the industries in which ADM operates, and we are so excited about this new facility and the future of our collaboration,” said Todd Werpy, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Chief Science Officer at ADM. “University of Illinois students and visiting scientists have helped ADM tackle big challenges and have developed business cases for important research projects. For the university and its students, the new facility will provide hands-on experiences working on real projects that are making an impact not just on ADM, but also on the world.
“The new ADM Science and Technology Center at Research Park is a tangible outcome of the depth and breadth of our institutional strategic partnership,” said Robert J. Jones, Chancellor of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. “An alliance of this scale and scope is critical to the future of our region and our state. It also provides unique experiential learning opportunities for our students, which is critical for preparing our future workforce. It also further cements our campus and community as an epicenter of agtech.”
September 2022
White House Releases National Hunger, Nutrition, Health Strategy Proposal and a $8 Billion in New Commitments and FDA Proposes New Definition of “Healthy”
[FDA and the White House, September 28, 2022] Today the Biden-Harris Administration hosted the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. The Administration has released a National Strategy with actions the federal government will take to drive solutions to these challenges.
The Biden-Harris Administration has also released a fact sheet detailing more than $8 billion in new commitments as part of this Conference’s call to action. Read the fact sheet to learn more. President Biden announced a goal of ending hunger goal of ending hunger and increasing healthy eating and physical activity by 2030 so fewer Americans experience diet-related diseases— while reducing related health disparities.
In addition, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also proposed updated criteria for when foods can be labeled with the nutrient content claim “healthy” on their packaging. This proposed rulewould align the definition of the “healthy” claim with current nutrition science, the updated Nutrition Facts label and the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
“Nutrition is key to improving our nation’s health,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “Healthy food can lower our risk for chronic disease. But too many people may not know what constitutes healthy food. FDA’s move will help educate more Americans to improve health outcomes, tackle health disparities and save lives.”
Under the proposed definition, in order to be labeled with the “healthy” claim on food packaging, the products would need to:
- Contain a certain meaningful amount of food from at least one of the food groups or subgroups (e.g., fruit, vegetable, dairy, etc.) recommended by the Dietary Guidelines.
- Adhere to specific limits for certain nutrients, such as saturated fat, sodium and added sugars. The threshold for the limits is based on a percent of the Daily Value (DV) for the nutrient and varies depending on the food and food group. The limit for sodium is 10% of the DV per serving (230 milligrams per serving).
For example, a cereal would need to contain ¾ ounces of whole grains and contain no more than 1 gram of saturated fat, 230 milligrams of sodium and 2.5 grams of added sugars.
USDA Launches New Virtual Nutrition Center of Excellence
[USDA, December 5, 2022] The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced its new Agricultural Science Center of Excellence for Nutrition and Diet for Better Health (ASCEND for Better Health) in support of President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot effort to end cancer as we know it. This new virtual center will accelerate research on diet-related chronic diseases, including cancer. A long-term goal of the center is to translate research into impactful solutions that improve public health and wellbeing, particularly in underserved communities.
“ASCEND will bring together scientists, partner organizations, and communities to develop and deliver science-based solutions that improve the health and well-being of all Americans, particularly in underserved communities,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “The virtual center will connect existing resources, including people and programs, to leverage expertise and increase coordination and cooperation.”
USDA is enhancing its research focus on precision nutrition science to allow us to better understand the needs of underserved communities. This research complements our programmatic efforts to advance food and nutrition security – which means consistent and equitable access to healthy, safe, and affordable foods essential to optimal health and well-being.
As part of today’s announcement, USDA convened a panel of experts that discussed the role that nutrition plays in improving overall health and reducing risks for diet-related chronic diseases. According to the World Cancer Research Fund, 30-50% of all cancer cases are preventable by following a healthy diet and lifestyle. USDA is applying an equity lens to our ongoing and new research as we work to understand the connections between diet and diseases like cancer across different populations.
This effort delivers on a commitment made in the Biden-Harris Administration’s National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health to end hunger and reduce diet-related diseases by 2030 – all while reducing disparities. The National Strategy was released in conjunction with the first White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health in over 50 years, hosted by President Biden on September 28, 2022. Read more.
October 2022
ADM Makes Transformative Investment in Innovation at University of Illinois Research Park
[Research Park University of Illinois, September 23, 2022] ADM celebrated the grand opening of the new ADM Science and Technology Center at the University of Illinois Research Park. The facility quadruples ADM’s footprint at the University of Illinois Research Park and reflects a significant expansion of its capabilities.
In addition to its focus on process and financial modeling as well as business intelligence and business development, the new center’s portfolio will allow the addition of human nutrition research and development, wet chemistry, sensory science, data science, computational fluid dynamics, and customer interface and applications.
“Our partnership with the University of Illinois has been a win for ADM, the university and its students, as well as the industries in which ADM operates, and we are so excited about this new facility and the future of our collaboration,” said Todd Werpy, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Chief Science Officer at ADM. “University of Illinois students and visiting scientists have helped ADM tackle big challenges and have developed business cases for important research projects. For the university and its students, the new facility will provide hands-on experiences working on real projects that are making an impact not just on ADM, but also on the world.
“The new ADM Science and Technology Center at Research Park is a tangible outcome of the depth and breadth of our institutional strategic partnership,” said Robert J. Jones, Chancellor of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. “An alliance of this scale and scope is critical to the future of our region and our state. It also provides unique experiential learning opportunities for our students, which is critical for preparing our future workforce. It also further cements our campus and community as an epicenter of agtech.”
September 2022
White House Releases National Hunger, Nutrition, Health Strategy Proposal and a $8 Billion in New Commitments and FDA Proposes New Definition of “Healthy”
[FDA and the White House, September 28, 2022] Today the Biden-Harris Administration hosted the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. The Administration has released a National Strategy with actions the federal government will take to drive solutions to these challenges.
The Biden-Harris Administration has also released a fact sheet detailing more than $8 billion in new commitments as part of this Conference’s call to action. Read the fact sheet to learn more. President Biden announced a goal of ending hunger goal of ending hunger and increasing healthy eating and physical activity by 2030 so fewer Americans experience diet-related diseases— while reducing related health disparities.
In addition, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also proposed updated criteria for when foods can be labeled with the nutrient content claim “healthy” on their packaging. This proposed rulewould align the definition of the “healthy” claim with current nutrition science, the updated Nutrition Facts label and the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
“Nutrition is key to improving our nation’s health,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “Healthy food can lower our risk for chronic disease. But too many people may not know what constitutes healthy food. FDA’s move will help educate more Americans to improve health outcomes, tackle health disparities and save lives.”
Under the proposed definition, in order to be labeled with the “healthy” claim on food packaging, the products would need to:
- Contain a certain meaningful amount of food from at least one of the food groups or subgroups (e.g., fruit, vegetable, dairy, etc.) recommended by the Dietary Guidelines.
- Adhere to specific limits for certain nutrients, such as saturated fat, sodium and added sugars. The threshold for the limits is based on a percent of the Daily Value (DV) for the nutrient and varies depending on the food and food group. The limit for sodium is 10% of the DV per serving (230 milligrams per serving).
For example, a cereal would need to contain ¾ ounces of whole grains and contain no more than 1 gram of saturated fat, 230 milligrams of sodium and 2.5 grams of added sugars.
White House Releases National Hunger, Nutrition, Health Strategy Proposal and a $8 Billion in New Commitments and FDA Proposes New Definition of “Healthy”
[FDA and the White House, September 28, 2022] Today the Biden-Harris Administration hosted the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. The Administration has released a National Strategy with actions the federal government will take to drive solutions to these challenges.
The Biden-Harris Administration has also released a fact sheet detailing more than $8 billion in new commitments as part of this Conference’s call to action. Read the fact sheet to learn more. President Biden announced a goal of ending hunger goal of ending hunger and increasing healthy eating and physical activity by 2030 so fewer Americans experience diet-related diseases— while reducing related health disparities.
In addition, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also proposed updated criteria for when foods can be labeled with the nutrient content claim “healthy” on their packaging. This proposed rulewould align the definition of the “healthy” claim with current nutrition science, the updated Nutrition Facts label and the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
“Nutrition is key to improving our nation’s health,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “Healthy food can lower our risk for chronic disease. But too many people may not know what constitutes healthy food. FDA’s move will help educate more Americans to improve health outcomes, tackle health disparities and save lives.”
Under the proposed definition, in order to be labeled with the “healthy” claim on food packaging, the products would need to:
- Contain a certain meaningful amount of food from at least one of the food groups or subgroups (e.g., fruit, vegetable, dairy, etc.) recommended by the Dietary Guidelines.
- Adhere to specific limits for certain nutrients, such as saturated fat, sodium and added sugars. The threshold for the limits is based on a percent of the Daily Value (DV) for the nutrient and varies depending on the food and food group. The limit for sodium is 10% of the DV per serving (230 milligrams per serving).
For example, a cereal would need to contain ¾ ounces of whole grains and contain no more than 1 gram of saturated fat, 230 milligrams of sodium and 2.5 grams of added sugars.
August 2022
[PepsiCo, August 16, 2022] What’s new: PepsiCo’s Advanced Personalization Ideation Center has created a new Personalized Nutrition section that houses a variety of exciting resources on the Health &Nutrition Sciences Health Care Professionals website.
Why it matters: As PepsiCo H&NS serves to understand, interpret and translate nutrition science and its relationship to diet and health, this new Personalized Nutrition section is a robust hub of capabilities that Health Care Professionals will now be able to access.
The purpose is to drive awareness of PepsiCo’s personalized nutrition initiatives meant to develop consumer centric solutions, education on events organized and/or participated in by the API Center, partnerships and other initiatives. The Personalized Nutrition section will also assist in the expansion efforts to advance communication and build visibility externally for the API Center. Check it out today!
June 2022
[Medpage Today, June 22, 2022] Two endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) may increase the risk of breast cancer, particularly among racial and ethnic minorities, a team of experts has suggested. Finding out for sure, however, requires more study and more deliberate policy efforts aimed at dismantling structural determinants of health, such as the location of neighborhoods and environmentally sensitive sites. That was the conclusion of a literature review recently published in the journal of Endocrinology. Zeynep Madak-Erdogan, PhD, an Affiliate of the Personalized Nutrition Initiative and breast cancer researcher and director of the Women’s Health, Hormones, and Nutrition lab at the University of Illinois at, Urbana Champaign, co-authored the report.
March 2022
Develops Fast, Low-Cost Blood Test for Detecting Early-Stage Liver Cancer
A study led by Brian Cunningham, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Personalized Nutrition Initiative Steering Committee member, has developed a low-cost, portable, point-of-care technology capable of diagnosing early-stage liver cancer within 30 minutes.
The instrument, a photonic resonator absorption microscopy (PRAM) assay, can detect small non-coding RNAs (snRNAs) associated with liver cancer from only a few drops of blood, and is much faster than PCR, the predominant method of detecting snRNAs. PRAM uses a microscope objective, red LED light, and a simple webcam to detect gold nanoparticles that attach to the target snRNAs. “The detection instrument, PRAM, is very inexpensive, small, and has about $7,000 worth of components including the computer, which makes it ideal for point-of-care diagnostic tests for genomic mutations in the clinic,” said Cunningham. Read the full story.
All of Us Research Program genomic dataset launches with nearly 100,000 whole genome sequences
[NIH, March 17, 2022] The National Institutes of Health’s All of Us Research Program has launched its first genomic dataset, now available to scientists across the U.S. for a wide range of studies. The dataset includes whole genome sequences of nearly 100,000 participants, with nearly 50% from individuals who self-identify with a racial or ethnic minority group. In the past, these communities were often left out of biomedical research.
The genomic data is integrated in the All of Us Researcher Workbench alongside information from participants’ electronic health records, Fitbit devices, and survey responses. The platform also links to data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to provide more details about the communities where participants live. This combination of data will allow researchers to better understand how genes can cause or influence diseases in the context of other health determinants, ultimately enabling more precise approaches to care for all populations. With this release of genomic data, All of Us ranks among other large genomic research efforts worldwide, including the UK Biobank, the Million Veteran Program, and the NIH’s Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) program. Read the full article
Nutrition Science Data and Biospecimen Resources Portal
[NIH Office of Nutrition Research, February 24, 2022] The NIH Office of Nutrition Research has announced the launch of its Nutrition Science Data and Biospecimens Resources Portal, which promotes access to publicly available datasets, biospecimens, and data analysis tools and resources. It will continue to grow over time. The site is organized into four nutrition science categories: common data elements and measures; data analysis tools and resources; repositories for data and biospecimens; and research study query and reporting tools.
February 2022
[NIH Director’s Blog, February 22, 2022] NIH is Seeking Consensus on the Use of Population Descriptors in Genomics: To answer this call, NIH is sponsoring a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) study that aims to develop best practices in the use of race, ethnicity, and genetic ancestry in genomics research. The NASEM study is sponsored by 14 NIH institutes, centers, offices, and programs, and the resulting report will be released in February 2023.
Experts from various fields—including genomics, medicine, and social sciences—are conducting the study. Much of the effort will revolve around reviewing and assessing existing methodologies, benefits, and challenges in the use of race and ethnicity and other population descriptors in genomics research. The ad hoc committee will host three public meetings to obtain input. Look for more information regarding the committee’s next public session planned for April 2022 on the NASEM “Race, Ethnicity, and Ancestry as Population Descriptors in Genomics Research” website. To read the full blog article, click here.
[IFT, Food Technology Magazine, February 1, 2022] Joshua Anthony, CEO of personal nutrition company Nlumn, was recently interviewed about the personalized nutrition market and the areas where research is driving its evolution. To read the full article, click here. Josh is an alum of the Division of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is a pioneer in the personal nutrition space. He is the former Chief Science Officer of Habit LLC and is co-author of the Habit PATH study, which was published in Nutrients in 2021 (doi: 10.3390/nu13061763).
December 2021
[NASEM Health and Medicine, December 8, 2021] New Publication: Challenges and Opportunities for Precision and Personalized Nutrition: Proceedings of a Workshop – In Brief
The Food Forum of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a public workshop exploring potential challenges and opportunities in applying precision and personalized nutrition approaches to optimize dietary guidance and improve nutritional status. The workshop, held on August 10-12, 2021, discussed ways to define both approaches, described current research designs and methodologies in diverse populations, and examined limitations in design and data. The workshop also reviewed innovative methodologies and technologies at the various scales of precision nutrition (including the genetic, physiologic/microbiome, individual, and social-ecologic scales) and discussed challenges and opportunities for implementing these approaches equitably. This Proceedings of a Workshop-in Brief highlights the expert perspectives from academia, the federal government, and industry presented in the workshop.
November 2021
[LinkedIn, November 12, 2021] Tristin Brisbois, Director, Advanced Personalization Ideation Center, Life Sciences, Global R&D at PepsiCo published a call for action article on titled Need for Industry standards in Personalized Nutrition. Her main take-home is “…there is no room for error. With the dependence on consumers providing their personal information and data, the whole industry could collapse if trust is eroded. We need to connect regulators and policy makers with industry and academics to try and get ahead of the curve with a set of core principles that are evidence based (or based on best available evidence) to even the playing field and avoid consumer confusion through conflicting or misleading advice.”
[Nutrition Today, November 10, 2021] A new publication intended to be a guide for nutritionists was published by Leila Shinn, MS, RDN, FAND, Division of Nutritional Sciences, and Hannah Holscher, PhD, RD, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Personalized nutrition aims to enhance human health by tailoring dietary recommendations to individuals based on their physiology. This article covers the concept of personalized nutrition using the example of dietary modulation of the human gut microbiome and implications for human health. It provides readers with a basic understanding of multiomics analyses and machine learning tools and how these may be used by nutrition professionals to evaluate studies involving them and personalized nutrition.
October 2021
[Foodvalley NL] Foodvalley NL together with 53 stakeholders have written a personalized nutrition position paper that includes the definition, status, and future opportunities of personalized nutrition. Read the full paper.
Foodvalley NL is an international and independent platform that has been a major driver of the sustainable food system since 2004. While Foodvalley NL used to offer a stage to innovative agri-food organizations, the organization is now acting as a catalyst for transition. Why? Because the food system has to change more rapidly if we want to have tasty, affordable, healthy and sustainable food available for 10 billion people by the year 2050. Food that should be produced while respecting the animals and our planet.
September 2021
Sep 28, 2021 [ScienceDaily] 5 or more’: Higher fruit, vegetable servings linked to kids’ improved mental well-being. New research finds that children who eat more fruit and veg have better mental health. The study is the first to investigate the association between fruit and vegetable intakes, breakfast and lunch choices, and mental wellbeing in UK school children. The research team studied data from almost 9,000 children in 50 schools. They found that the types of breakfast and lunch eaten by both primary and secondary school pupils were significantly associated with wellbeing.
Sep 3, 2021 [Illinois News Bureau] An avocado a day could help redistribute belly fat in women toward a healthier profile, according to a new study led by Naiman Khan, PhD, RD, Associate Professor, Department of Kinesiology and Community Health at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. One hundred and five adults with overweight and obesity participated in a randomized controlled trial that provided one meal a day for 12 weeks. Women who consumed an avocado a day as part of their meal had a reduction in visceral abdominal fat – the hard-to-target fat associated with higher risk – and experienced a reduction in the ratio of visceral fat to subcutaneous fat, indicating a redistribution of fat away from the organs. However, fat distribution in males did not change, and neither males nor females had improvements in glucose tolerance. Read the full press release.
August 2021
August 9, 2021 [Current Development in Nutrition] A recent peer-reviewed perspective paper published in Current Developments in Nutrition analyzed the current research on gut microbiome testing and how it may inform custom nutritional intervention. Authored by the science team at Cambridge, MA-based InsideTracker, a platform that uses blood biometric, DNA insights and physiobiomarkers to create custom nutrition and lifestyle plans, and InsideTracker scientific advisory board member Jeffrey Bumberg, PhD, FACN, CNS, professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University (Boston, MA), the paper argues that microbiome analysis is not yet mature enough to be used reliably in creating custom health interventions, in and of itself.
This is because of the lack of reproducible microbiome associations across independent studies, as well as inconsistent documentation of sampling collection and processing, and no standardized data processing and analytical methods. According to the paper, “until microbiota associations are more consistently replicated, and randomized clinical trials and/or other longitudinal cohort approaches revealing causal effects of modifying the microbiome on wellness (not just clinical) phenotypes, the interpretation of individual microbiomes toward personalized recommendations remains a challenge.”
July 2021
July 30, 2021 [American Society for Nutrition] In honor of National Breastfeeding Month and World Breastfeeding Week, American Society for Nutrition (ASN) has curated a special free collection of research from ASN Journals, ASN Meetings, and an interview with ASN Member Sharon M. Donovan, PhD, RD at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who studies the impact of nutrition on the first 1,000 days of life.
June 2021
June 1, 2021 [NoCamels] Israeli startup DayTwo, a company that developed a personalized health platform based on the gut microbiome, raised $37 million to continue developing solutions that help people improve their health and manage diabetes and other metabolic diseases through nutrition, the company announced.
The company’s platform provides microbiome-based, customized nutrition recommendations and diagnostic solutions backed by AI and machine learning. DayTwo’s initial product enables glycemic control and is targeted for people with type 2 diabetes, helping them balance blood sugar levels, lower HbA1C, and manage their weight using a food-as-medicine approach personalized to the subject’s clinical and personal traits. The new investment will fund more research “into the links between the bacteria in our bodies and other diseases, and the development of new algorithms, to provide new scientific discoveries,” Lev indicated. The read the full article, click here.
April 2021
April 30, 2021 [News Medical Life Sciences] In one of the first studies of its kind, medical and engineering researchers have shown wearable devices that continuously monitor blood sugar provide new insights into the progression of Type 2 diabetes among at-risk Hispanic/Latino adults. The findings by researchers from Sansum Diabetes Research Institute (SDRI) and Rice University are available online in EClinicalMedicine, an open-access clinical journal published by The Lancet.
“The fresh look at the glucose data sheds new light on disease progression, which could have a direct impact on better management,” said Rice study co-author Ashutosh Sabharwal, professor and department chair in electrical and computer engineering and founder of Rice’s Scalable Health Labs. “An important aspect of our analysis is that the results are clinically interpretable and point to new directions for improved Type 2 diabetes care.” “We are excited about the application of digital health technologies for underserved populations as a way to eliminate health disparities and improve health equity,” David Kerr said (co-author). “This opens up potential for a larger number of collaborations to support SDRI’s evolving focus on precision nutrition and also the expanded use of digital health technologies for both the prevention and management of all forms of diabetes.” The read the full article, click here
April 26, 2021 [bioRxiv] A new publication by Janelle Connell et al. of Viome, Inc. in bioRxiv demonstrated that their data precision technology platform supports the integration of precision food and supplements into the standard of care for people with depression, anxiety, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Their platform focuses on personalized, and data-driven nutritional recommendations that consist of foods and supplements, based on the individual molecular data, to support healthy homeostasis. They report that their precision nutritional recommendations resulted in improvements in clinical outcomes by 36% in severe cases of depression, 40% in severe cases of anxiety, 38% in severe cases of IBS, and more than 30% in the T2D risk score which was validated against clinical measurement of HbA1c. The read the full article, click here.
March 2021
March 1, 2021 [American Heart Association] Higher consumption of fruits and vegetables is associated with a lower risk of death in men and women, according to data representing nearly 2 million adults. Five daily servings of fruits and vegetables, eaten as 2 servings of fruit and 3 servings of vegetables, may be the optimal amount and combination for a longer life. These findings support current U.S. dietary recommendations to eat more fruits and vegetables and the simple public health message ‘5-a-day.’ The read the full article report, click here
February 2021
February 13, 2021 [mgbhealth] Sharon Donovan, PhD, RD, Director of the Personalized Nutrition Initiative is in the news in the article “An RD Digests The New Dietary Guidelines For Americans, 2020–2025” that reviews the new Dietary Guidelines 2020-2025: And while nutrient needs differ by life stage, our overall dietary patterns (quantity, variety, and foods that are consumed together) are surprisingly stable throughout life. “What is striking is that after age 2, healthy dietary patterns are remarkably consistent across the life span,” says Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee member Sharon Donovan, Ph.D., R.D., professor of nutrition and director of the personalized nutrition initiative at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. The read the full article, click here.
November 2020
November 7, 2020 [University of Illinois] A new breakthrough by Illinois ECE researchers will make it easier to detect, prevent, and treat nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The research team’s methods use noninvasive ultrasound, that could be used during a routine physical, to measure the amount of fat in the liver. The discovery could have a major impact on the prognoses of millions of people suffering from NAFLD around the world.
The research, led by Electrical and Computer Engineering Research Professor William D O’Brien, Jr., Donald Biggar Willet Professor of Engineering, and Research Assistant Professor Aiguo Han, Food Science and Human Nutrition Professor John Erdman at UIUC, along with UCSD colleagues Professor Claude Sirlin (radiologist), Professor Rohit Loomba (hepatologist) and Professor Michael Andre (medical physicist), was recently published in two Radiology papers.
Early detection of liver fat changes offers the potential to halt or reverse increasing liver fat that could lead to disease which is why O’Brien and Erdman have spent several decades investigating how to improve early-detection techniques. Full Press Release
October 2020
Campus Press Release – Exercise and nutrition regimen benefits physical, cognitive health
Campus Press Release – Machine learning helps researchers identify bacterial biomarkers to determine food intake
July 2020
July 16, 2020 [University of Illinois Campus Press Release] Donovan to lead Illinois Personalized Nutrition Initiative
Sharon Donovan, professor and Melissa M. Noel Endowed Chair in Diet and Health at University of Illinois, will assume the role of director of the newly established Personalized Nutrition Initiative (PNI). The PNI is a partnership between the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB) and the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at U of I. Precision or personalized nutrition, which was identified as a key area for strategic investment in the U of I’s The Next 150 2018-2023 Strategic Plan, is also a keystone of the new National Institutes of Health 10-year Strategic Plan for Nutrition.