Human Health and Nutrition

Not applicable

This CU is structured based on an active pedagogical model, student-centered, focused on accessibility, information sharing, and fostering critical thinking.
The classes are both theoretical and practical, with the practical activities being preceded by an expository session and an explanation/demonstration of the activity, in which the student is expected to participate actively.
The practical activities involve online research and guided discussions on covered topics, case study analysis, and in-class questions solving.

O1 – Recognize the complexity and constant evolution of food.

O2 – Identify the determinants of food choices.

O3 – Distinguish between different groups of nutrients.

O4 – Analyze dietary and nutritional guidelines.

O5 – Analyze nutritional labeling.

O6 – Recognize common dietary mistakes and conceptualize a healthy diet.

O7 – Recognize the specific dietary needs at different life stages.

O8 – Compare the composition of bioactive compounds between conventional agriculture and livestock and foods obtained through sustainable production methods.

O9 – Recognize the importance of dietary intervention in various pathological conditions.

O10 – Identify relevant chemical compounds in food toxicology.

O11 – Recognize the main categories of functional foods.

O12 – Distinguish the main categories of dietary supplements.

O13 – Distinguish between different types of plant-based diets.

1. History and evolution of human food. 1.1 Factors that determine food choice. 2. Basic human anatomy and physiology 2.1 Chemical composition of the human body 2.2 Systems of the human body 3. Nutrition 3.1 Classification of food 3.2 Notion of nutrient and food 3.3 Functions of nutrients 3.4 Classification, sources, function and metabolism of the various groups of nutrients. 3.5 Characterization of the Food Wheel 3.6 Food balance and nutritional balance 3.7 Most frequent eating errors 3.8 Basic rules of healthy eating 3.9 Food in different stages and circumstances of life, namely with regard to health. 3.10 The table of composition of Portuguese foods 4. Diet therapy applied to different states of chronic non-communicable disease (CNCD) 5. Food Toxicology 6. Bioactive compounds present in food. 6.1. Comparison of the composition of bioactive compounds between food from conventional agriculture and sustainable agriculture systems. 7. Food supplements 8. Functional foods 9. Nutritional labeling of foodstuffs. 10. Plant-based diets.

NAO