The Nutritional Sciences department of Profil, headed by Dr Martina Heer, designs and performs studies with day-by-day highly standardised, constant nutrient intake (metabolic balance studies). This helps to reduce variability e.g. in postprandial blood glucose, thereby minimising sample sizes. Investigations of drug and food effects on metabolism also benefit from standardized nutrient intake since any nutritional impact on study outcome parameters can be excluded. This is of particular importance when providing scientific evidence for potential health claims of new food products.

The metabolic balance studies will be supported by additional methods for the assessment of body composition using air displacement phlethysmography and/or determination of energy expenditure through indirect calorimetry.

• Metabolic balance studies with individually tailored and constant day-by-day nutrient intake
• Highly standardised clinical trials to achieve scientific evidence for health claims (functional food products, dietary supplements)
• Investigation of drug and food effects on muscle, liver and bone turnover in line with GCP
• Quantification of nutrient intake, body composition and energy expenditure (indirect calorimetry)
• Estimation of glycaemic index
• Standardization of nutrient intake to different degrees in order to reduce variability and thereby sample size and to reliably assess markers (e.g of bone turnover and insulin sensitivity) easily confounded by variable nutrient intake

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