Know our research

Diet is a major determinant of health and well-being. UNH research aims to develop innovative nutritional strategies to prevent disorders associated with aging and/or chronic diseases (sarcopenia, osteoporosis, metabolic syndrome, atherosclerosis). To address this major societal challenge, UNH is developing an approach that integrates the notion of complexity, both physiologically and metabolically, as well as nutritionally. The objective is to determine the impact of dietary behaviors and the functionality of foods (or the nutrients that compose them) in different pathophysiological situations frequently associated with aging and/or chronic diseases (inflammation, oxidative stress, metabolic stress, lipotoxicity, insulin resistance, vascular dysfunction, hormonal dysregulation, etc.), in order to prevent the decline of the body's major functions and targeted pathologies. The challenges are both understanding the mechanisms leading to the onset of pathologies and identifying early biomarkers that allow intervention at the first signs of metabolic deregulation. Our current research is moving towards more personalized nutrition, taking into account the variability of individual responses to food, and towards multimodal intervention approaches by combining nutrition with physical activity and, if necessary, medical care. Finally, the nutrition of tomorrow will have to be based on more sustainable food production, hence the numerous studies we are currently carrying out on the promotion of plants, as a source of proteins but also of bioactives with positive effects on health, particularly vascular or immune.