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Volunteer to take part…

08 November 2023

Health

The following projects are ongoing at the Department of Nutritional Sciences and they need your help. Volunteer to take part in the trials… Click each link to find out more about the project and discover how you can apply.

The Heartbeet Study

In this study, we aim to investigate the effects of natural betalains on cardiovascular health and quality of life in the middle-aged population. This is a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled crossover trial.

We are looking for healthy individuals, aged 40 - 65, with a BMI 25-29.9 kg/m², who have a normal blood pressure (<160/100 mmHg) to take part in a study investigating the effect of beetroot-derived betalains on heart health, sleep quality and quality of life.

More information about this study

The FruGut study

Diet is a crucial target for the improvement of human health. In the modern world, diets are diverse, and diet-related diseases are becoming more and more common. In particular, it is becoming increasingly apparent that stool weight, as well as the bacteria that live in our gut, are strongly linked to both diet and health. What we eat has a great impact on the composition of the bacteria of our gut. In turn, the gut bacteria play diverse roles in human health, influencing not only our gut but also our heart health, and even our brain health. Therefore, optimising our gut bacterial composition is vital to our health and wellbeing.

This research study aims to investigate the effects of fruit products on the gut symptoms, gut function and gut bacteria in people with constipation.

The METRED-P Study

There is currently no evidence for the effects of the Mediterranean diet and time-restricted eating on psoriasis symptoms. We are launching the first dietary intervention study examining the effect of these dietary patterns on the severity of psoriasis. This research will help us understand which dietary pattern is feasible to follow in people living with psoriasis and will provide some preliminary data on the most effective strategy for reducing psoriasis severity.

FOODMOOD Study

In this work, we aim to investigate associations between diet quality, dietary components and mental health in university students. Our hypothesis is that students with better diet quality measured by questionnaires and biomarkers will have lower stress (measured through questionnaires and salivary cortisol levels measured in saliva), lower anxiety and depression symptoms and better mood (measured through questionnaires), as well as a better gut microbiome diversity and composition.

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