
Priority Research Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition (PRCPAN)
Clinical and Experimental Nutrition
- Theme Leader: Professor Manohar Garg
- Deputy Theme Leader: Dr Rohith Thota
It is generally advised that people should obtain all essential nutrients by eating natural foods, but in reality it's not always possible, so supplements or functional foods are important alternatives.
The research conducted by researchers in the Clinical and Experimental Nutrition theme of the PRC in PAN examines the role of dietary supplements and fortified foods in weight loss and maintenance, diabetes, asthma, mental health, heart disease and physical activity.
Current Research Programs
Five pronged approach to diabetes and heart disease
Researchers have five new clinical trials concurrently under recruitment in the Hunter, aiming to combat type 2 diabetes and heart disease with an array of natural dietary supplements and tasty foods.
Research Programs
![]() | Dietary management of hypertriglyceridemia in acute pancreatitis |
![]() | PAC-Food Trial - Novel foods enriched with phytosterols and curcumin for heart health benefits |
![]() | β-GAPS Trial - β-Glucan and phytosterols for attenuation of cardiovascular disease risk: a randomised control trial |
![]() | Saturated fats of variable chain length and cardio-metabolic health |
![]() | Metabolic effects of cross-sex hormone treatment in transgender individuals |
![]() | Cognition Study - association between plasma phospholipid omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and cognitive measures in older people |
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O3FA-IR - do omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids have a gender specific effect on insulin resistance? A double blind randomised control trial
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![]() | Omega-3 fish oil for the prevention of gestational diabetes: A double-blind randomised controlled trial |
![]() | Lipemic load - criteria for grading foods and meals based on postprandial triglyceride kinetics |
![]() | Glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK-3) as a target for reducing the risk of Alzheimer's Disease in people with pre-diabetes |
![]() | GlucoTRIG - a novel criteria for ranking foods and meals for the healthiness |
![]() | COmega Trial - complementary and/or synergistic lipid lowering effects of omega-3 and medium chain fatty acids |
InsuTAG as a novel predictor of metabolic disease | |
Food structure influences nutrient bioavailability from foods and influence human health |
Selected Publications
Altmetrics | Citation |
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Thota RN, Abbott KA, Ferguson JJA, Veysey M, Lucock M, Niblett S, et al., 'InsuTAG: A novel physiologically relevant predictor for insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome.', Scientific reports, 7 15204 (2017) [C1] DOI 10.1038/s41598-017-15460-z | |
Ferguson JJA, Stojanovski E, MacDonald-Wicks L, Garg ML, 'Curcumin potentiates cholesterol-lowering effects of phytosterols in hypercholesterolaemic individuals. A randomised controlled trial', Metabolism: Clinical and Experimental, 82 22-35 (2018) [C1] DOI 10.1016/j.metabol.2017.12.009 | |
Abbott KA, Burrows TL, Thota RN, Acharya S, Garg ML, 'Do v-3 PUFAs affect insulin resistance in a sex-specific manner? A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials', American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 104 1470-1484 (2016) [C1] DOI 10.3945/ajcn.116.138172 | |
Panth N, Abbott KA, Dias CB, Wynne K, Garg ML, 'Differential effects of medium- and long-chain saturated fatty acids on blood lipid profile: a systematic review and meta-analysis.', American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 108 675-687 (2018) DOI 10.1093/ajcn/nqy167 | |
Dias CB, Moughan PJ, Wood LG, Singh H, Garg ML, 'Postprandial lipemia: Factoring in lipemic response for ranking foods for their healthiness', Lipids in Health and Disease, 16 1-11 (2017) [C1] DOI 10.1186/s12944-017-0568-5 |
The University of Newcastle acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands within our footprint areas: Awabakal, Darkinjung, Biripai, Worimi, Wonnarua, and Eora Nations. We also pay respect to the wisdom of our Elders past and present.