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Wageningen University

Nutrition and Health: Micronutrients and Malnutrition

Wageningen University via edX

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.

Taught by

Sander Kersten

Reviews

4.7 rating, based on 222 Class Central reviews

4.8 rating at edX based on 12 ratings

Start your review of Nutrition and Health: Micronutrients and Malnutrition

  • I found this course quite interesting, engaging and informative. It made me learn lots of things under the umbrella of micronutrients along with answers to many questions I earlier had to understand the cause of global burden of micronutrients and work done in this field for its solution and overcome the deficiencies.

    I would highly recommend this course for those who are interested or looking for building their career in subject like these.
  • Very informative course.
    This course improved my knowledge and skill to choose better food for myself and people around me
  • Anonymous
    I love this course. It's very informative and easy to understand.
    Before I took this course, I was not fully interested and understanding about micronutrients. However, the course not only changed my opinion but also gave me a lot of insightful and valuable information about how I should eat and look at foods and how I can maintain my diet and health better. I shared the information from the course with my husband, and it also helped my husband. He told me that he does not feel much stress anymore! Thank you!
  • Anonymous
    A very good overview to give a concise view on micronutrients to know what is true and what is not. And also a nice view on the malnutrition side for low income bbut also for high income countries which are sometimes forgotten. Some of the videos would have been nice to have been spoken by a person instead of a computer but thats about it
  • Anonymous
    I really enjoyed it and learned a lot about micronutrients and malnutrition. I can now benefit myself and my family and friends. I look forward to improving my diet and including varied components in it. I'm interested in learning more about nutrition and getting a professional certificate from edX of nutrition and health. I hope to become an ambassador of good nutrition and keep pursuing my nutritional interest in other educational settings.
    Thank you so much
    Assif
  • Anonymous
    This course helps me to learn all about lipids, carbohydrates, proteins and various things, I have learned so much from the professors of Wageningen University via edX, • The videos, and the reading sections are very understandable and easy to lea…
  • Anonymous
    Very informative and useful course for people who want to learn more about healthy nutrition, how it works, what mechanisms of action in the body of all micronutrients, contents of each micronutrient in a particular food, etc. It was interesting and fun to take this course. You do not disappoint too.
  • Anonymous
    I really enjoyed learning the micronutrients and malnutrition course. The course was challenging at times but also very interesting. I appreciate professors are supportive and making this course enjoyable. The course has a tons of valuable information, and I learned so much. I look forward to continue taking another course (Macronutrients) and working toward the professional certification.
  • Anonymous
    Very interesting and detailed, with a good balance between biology and sociology. I learned a lot about the role of micronutrients in our bodies, and about the malnutrition in the world.
  • Anonymous
    A good course worth doing because of the wealth of information disseminated in easy to read, hear and understand modes. Will be able to understand the importance of adequate nutrition and components needed to consumed to achieve it. The impact of micronutrients in the world's malnutrition scenario is well explained and appreciated.
  • Anonymous
    Actually so many of our country people are suffering with micronutrient deficiency but we don't have proper guidance to do research . This course is excellent ,i felt happy to see Mr, Zimmerman ,my INSPIRATION so many things i learned from his books, Thank you for this great opportunity.

    Sairam
    Dr.Padmavathy.
  • Anonymous
    its a great course to be a part of. you will get to know not only the basics but a complete guidance of micronutrient and why are they important
  • Anonymous
    I have been interested in topics related to nutrition for a very long time. So the course was just right for me to expand my knowledge.

  • Anonymous
    Thanks for this knowledge. It was pleasure for me to learn from this course. I filled in my knowledges with new one.
  • Profile image for Sabrina Hogan
    Sabrina Hogan
    I love the Nutr101x and nutr102x MOOC from Wageningen university via EdX . Good info covered and lots of videos so you can visually see the info.
  • Julius Darius Ochet
    I am Darius currently finishing my undergraduate degree in Gastronomic Sciences. A couple of months ago, I shared with a friend my desire to advance my knowledge and pursue a career in nutrition and food-related behavior. She recommended for me this…
  • Anonymous
    It has allowed me to update and review my knowledge on nutrition as the same time that I am working full time in topics related to fortification and amino acids
  • Anonymous
    Great job! I found the course very informative. It's also very well structured. I personally hold a degree in Linguistics and Management and I'm passionate about Nutrition Science. I was really concerned if I should take the courses on Macro and Mi…
  • Anonymous
    the subjects are easy to understand. I love the animation, especially for metabolism subject. But I miss the writing assignments. I downloaded the edx app in my phone. hopefully there will be a certain sign to help me remember the deadline. I hope there is the opportunity to do my assignment
  • Anonymous
    This course is very informal and help full. Stray to the point easy to understand. The only problem I have (this is for me not anyone else problem I have because of my dyslexia so don't take this to seriously.) Is for me understanding the last part in paragraphs I have a hard time how to present my work because it's to me not clear what the topic should be about. I get it about health but like a clear page on what of the (topic of nutrients) I should use. I found one but I need my mom's help to pick one. But in all I really liked this course it's just hard for me at first it was hard in the terms and questions. But in time it became easier but challenging.

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