Indian Professor Addresses Nutrition Congress in Japan

Punjab Agricultural University's professor and Head of Department of Food and Nutrition, Dr. Kiran Bains addressed the 22nd International Union of Nutritional Sciences (IUNS) - International Congress of Nutrition held in Tokyo, Japan. The 6-day international event was organized on the theme - “The Power of Nutrition: For the smiles of 10 billion people”, and attracted close to 5,000 attendees from more than 60 countries.

At the meet, Dr. Bains spoke on the topic ‘Digestibility of amino acids in foods of India’ and shared her research findings in an open symposium titled "The Importance of Protein Quality in a Sustainable Diet," which was sponsored by the Proteos Initiative and organized by the Global Dairy Platform, Chicago. She collaborated on this study with Massey University in New Zealand's Riddet Institute.

She explained that it is crucial to precisely track the dietary supply of ‘available amino acids’ in relation to dietary requirements since the dietary amino acid supply may potentially restrict protein metabolism.

“The availability of lysine is of interest since it is often limiting in cereal-based Indian diets. Furthermore, lysine intakes are marginal in low socio-economic group Indians. The presence of poorly digested protein fractions and high levels of insoluble fibre and anti-nutritional factors in cereals and legume-based meals are responsible for poor digestibility of proteins,” she observed at the conference.

Furthermore, legumes include fewer amino acids containing sulphur than grains, lysine tends to be limited in cereals, she continued. The issue in grains and to some extent in legumes is made worse by the losses of accessible lysine caused by Maillard reactions that may take place during meal preparation.

It is assumed that a sizable portion of the Indian population may be eating inadequate amounts of lysine, which could have a negative impact on muscle protein synthesis and muscle function, in the current Indian food environment, where consumption of milk and legumes is gradually declining due to a sharp increase in their prices, she added.

Meanwhile, the International Union of Nutritional Sciences (IUNS) organizes the conference after every four years to promote the advancement of the science of nutrition, research and development through international cooperation globally.

About IUNS

IUNS was first proposed in July 1946 in London, and formalized in 1948. Since then, the union has grown steadily to over 85 members and held 21 international congresses around the world.

The mission and objectives of IUNS, as mentioned on its official website, are as follows:

1. To promote advancement in nutrition science, research and development through international cooperation at the global level.

2. To encourage communication and collaboration among nutrition scientists as well as to disseminate information in nutritional sciences through modern communication technology.