EURRECA – Meeting individual need

Last Updated : 19 October 2011

In an interview with EUFIC at EURRECA’s 5th Integrating Meeting, Dr Jildau Bouwman, from TNO in the Netherlands, explains EURRECA's work studying individual differences in micronutrient requirements and how micronutrients are interlinked in the physiological network.

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The overall objective of the EU-funded initiative EURRECA is to harmonise nutrient recommendations across Europe by developing standardised methods for setting them. Current micronutrient recommendations represent the amount judged necessary to avoid deficiency in the majority of individuals within a population group.

We know, however, that nutrient requirements can vary widely from one individual to another depending on genetic set-up, health status and other biological differences. EURRECA researchers have therefore studied individual differences in micronutrient requirements, as well as, how micronutrients are interlinked in the physiological network.

In an interview with EUFIC at EURRECA’s 5th Integrating Meeting, Dr Jildau Bouwman, from TNO in the Netherlands, explains this research and the methods developed to help improve public health in the future.

Jildau Bouwman (TNO, The Netherlands)

Jildau Bouwman is scientist at TNO - Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research. She has been working on systems biology in several biological systems (mouse, human and yeast). She is currently working on interpretation of metabolomics data in nutritional studies and developed of ICT infrastructure to facilitate interpretation of omics data.

For more information about EURRECA click here or visit the website www.eurreca.org.

EURRECA – EURopean RECommendations Aligned – Network of Excellence is funded by the European Commission (2007 – 2011), contract number FP6 036196-2 (FOOD) and is co-ordinated by ILSI Europe.