Nutrition

Through Bryant’s minor in nutrition, you’ll study how the foods we eat impact everything from health and human performance to chronic disease. Our evidence-based approach will help you understand how to critically analyze trendy diets and other popular claims in today’s marketplace. Explore topics such as nutrient requirements, weight control, nutritional supplements, and the causes and treatments of eating disorders. You’ll also develop practical skills to assess nutrient intake and study emerging topics like food technology and policy.

The nutrition minor includes four required courses and one accompanying lab:

• Principles of Biology: Learn about the fundamental principles of biology, including topics such as scientific methodology, biological classification and nomenclature, cell structure and function, cellular biochemistry, principles of energy and metabolism, genetics, aspects of ecology, and evolution.
   
• Fundamentals of Nutrition: Gain an understanding of human diet and nutritional needs and develop the ability to think critically about nutrition claims and counterclaims in the marketplace. You’ll also explore recent advances in nutrition research related to weight loss, performance enhancement, and mood control.
   
• Current Topics in Nutrition: Review and evaluate a wide variety of topics in nutrition, such as emerging techniques to assess nutrient intake, advancements in food technology to improve nutrient quality and reduce environmental impact, and upcoming policy change that will impact our food environment. 

Select one of the following:

• Biochemistry: Study the chemical processes that are continually occurring within living organisms, such as metabolism, generation of energy and the biosynthesis of major biomolecules, and photosynthesis. You’ll also examine the biochemical basis of disease and how biological systems deal with toxins.
   
• Sports Nutrition: Examine the role professionals in the exercise industry play in promoting optimal nutrition to enhance athletic performance and recovery. You’ll explore how factors like nutritional supplements, popular diets, weight control, eating disorders, performance enhancing substances, and alcohol and tobacco use influence an athlete’s performance.