Details of the ELDERMET project are being presented by Professor Paul O'Toole, University College Cork. This joint research project, involving scientists from Teagasc, UCC, and Cork University Hospital, is assessing the composition of the gut microbiota of elderly volunteers over 65 years of age in the Irish population, using state-of-the-art molecular technology. The samples collected are being screened for probiotic properties, which could help to produce functional foods for our ageing population.

At the conference Jens Bleiel, chief executive of Food for Health Ireland (FHI) will talk on functional foods from the perspective of the consumer and how to make it a success. Food for Health Ireland is a unique partnership between four of Ireland's major dairy processing companies and four public research organisations. It aims to determine how milk ingredients can be extracted and used to deliver health benefits for consumers. Supported by Enterprise Ireland, FHI combines the expertise of researchers at University College Cork, University College Dublin, Teagasc, and University of Limerick to provide a pipeline for the development of new functional food ingredients and products.

Prof. Rob O'Doherty, University College Cork will talk on 'Over-nutrition to energy imbalance/ lipid metabolism and obesity'. He will focus on the biochemical and molecular mechanisms that link obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia and inflammation in the metabolic syndrome. Metabolic Syndrome comprises a clustering of risk factors (obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia/steatosis, inflammation and hypertension) that dramatically increase the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and coronary vascular disease.

corkff2010