Contact
jana.pickova@slu.se
Health effects of bioactive substances in food
Last changed: 22 May 2023
The link between food and health, as well as studies of various bioactive substances in foods, are increasingly importance in our activities. Within this competence area we explore how food and specific food components as well as food structure, affect metabolic processes and conditions of relevance to human health and wellbeing.
Focus areas in our research include studies of fiber-rich cereal-based food and how they affect human appetite and metabolism. In collaboration with clinicians and epidemiologists we study intake of different food components, individual foods and diets in relation to chronic diseases and their risk factors, e.g. obesity, diabetes, and various cancers.
To increase the reliability of this type of studies, we develop tools, biomarkers, which can be used to objectively reflect the intake of specific foods and dietary patterns. We also study the bioavailability, uptake and elimination of nutrients and bioactive substances in different models. In another focus area, we link production of food with quality characteristics of importance for health, and we study of how bioactive components in feed can be used to achieve a healthy fatty acid composition of animal derived foods.