Nutrition and Health: Micronutrients and Malnutrition

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Free Online Course: Nutrition and Health: Micronutrients and Malnutrition provided by edX is a comprehensive online course, which lasts for 7 weeks long, 6-8 hours a week. The course is taught in English and is free of charge. Upon completion of the course, you can receive an e-certificate from edX. Nutrition and Health: Micronutrients and Malnutrition is taught by Sander Kersten.

Overview
  • There is an overload of information about nutrition and health, but what is the truth and what can you do to improve the health of your patients? Learn more about nutrition and how our diet profoundly impacts our current and future health. This course addresses the relationship between nutrition and human health, with a focus on health problems related to malnutrition.

    In this course, Professor Sander Kersten from Wageningen University & Research will explain about the micronutrient (vitamins, minerals, and trace elements) content of foods. You will learn about their role in the body and their impact on our health. Moreover, this course will discuss how suboptimal nutrition may affect human health, with particular attention to malnutrition and global hunger. You will learn about strategies to improve and combat these problems of malnutrition. Finally, the course will make you familiar with nutritional research and research methodologies.

    For whom?

    This MOOC is especially useful for health care professionals and people working in the food industry with a non-nutrition background. You will develop a critical mind set by learning to better weigh and interpret information about food, nutrition and health. to improve overall health

    This course, is part of the Food, Nutrition and Health Professional Certificate Program of Wageningen University & Research. Did you already complete Nutrition and Health: Macronutrients and Overnutrition? That is the first course in the Food, Nutrition and Health Professional Certificate Program. To explore other learning opportunities about nutrition, have a look at the courses

    • Food Risks
    • Human Microbiome
    • Nutrition and Cancer
    • Nutrition, Heart Disease and Diabetes

Syllabus
  • Module 1: Basic Principles of micronutrients
    Start the course by learning about the general principles that apply to vitamins
    and minerals.

    Module 2: Water, minerals, trace elements
    In this module you will look at the health effects of water, and will cover the various
    dietary minerals.

    Module 3: Fat soluble vitamins and health
    Learn about the fat soluble vitamins: vitamin A, vitamin D and vitamin E.

    Module 4: Water soluble vitamins and health
    For this module, you'll shift your focus to a few of the water soluble vitamins: vitamin C, folate and vitamin B12.

    Module 5: The global burden of micronutrient malnutrition
    Discuss the prevalence and trends of micronutrient deficiencies
    and their geographical distribution. We will also talk about the double burden of
    malnutrition.

    Module 6: Global solutions to micronutrient deficiencies
    This module will outline the available strategies to alleviate micronutrient
    malnutrition.

    Module 7: Insight in the future of Nutritional Science (verified learners only)
    In this module you will get to see some of the exciting research that is currently being
    done in the field of Nutritional Science.