HNUT10010

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Academic Year 2025/2026

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Human Nutrition I - Understanding Nutrients (HNUT10010)

Subject: : Human Nutrition

College: : Health & Agricultural Sciences

School: : Agriculture & Food Science

Level: : 1 (Introductory)

Credits: : 5

Module Coordinator: : Assoc Professor Aifric O'Sullivan

Trimester: : Autumn

Mode of Delivery: : On Campus

Internship Module: : No

How will I be graded? : Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

This module is designed to give a comprehensive introduction to nutrients and human nutrition. We will look at individual macronutrients (protein, carbohydrate, fat and alcohol) and micronutrients (vitamins, minerals and trace elements), the functions of each and what happens if a person is deficient in any one of these. We will also look at the food sources of nutrients, our requirements across the life span and the national food based dietary guidelines recommended to ensure adequate intakes. Tutorial classes will introduce you to nutrition research, how and where research is published, and how to refer to nutrition research when writing about nutrition. The tutorial classes are mandatory and will cover your continuous assessment for this module.\ \ Food Science Students: This module will contribute to the development of the following COMPETENCIES that are CORE to your development as a professional in Food Science.\ • Food chemistry and analysis - This module will explore the structure and properties of food components, including water, carbohydrates, protein, lipids, and other nutrients.\ • Success skills - This module will introduce communication skills (in particular, written communication), critical thinking/problem solving skills (in particular, scientific reasoning), life-long learning skills, interaction skills (in particular, interpersonal skills) and information acquisition skills. \ \

About this Module

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What will I learn?

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this module students should be able to:\ Interpret and use dietary recommendations\ Identify and consider nutrition research methodologies\ Describe the function and dietary sources of macronutrients\ Describe the function and dietary sources of vitamins, minerals and trace elements\ Demonstrate a knowledge of deficiencies associated with macronutrients and micronutrient\

Indicative Module Content:

Functions, requirements, food sources of carbohydrate, protein and fat\ Introduction to macronutrient metabolism\ Functions, requirements, food sources of vitamins and minerals\ Introduction to micronutrient deficiency diseases and disease related to micronutrient status\ Introduction to nutrition research

How will I learn?

Student Effort Hours:

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Approaches to Teaching and Learning:

There are 12 weeks of teaching on this module. \ \ You have two 1-hour face-to-face lectures each week.\ Lecture outlines will be available online in advance, but lectures will cover additional detail beyond the slides; attendance is essential for full understanding. \ \ You have two 2-hour face-to-face tutorials. \ The tutorials will be built around a series of tasks that are designed to introduce human nutrition research. Tutorial time will also be dedicated to revising some of the difficult lecture content. Your engagement in tutorials and the completion of the tutorial tasks will contribute to your final grade.\ \ You will have 3 short question online exams distributed throughout the semester. These exams will be supervised in a dedicated PC lab in UCD (location TBC).

Am I eligible to take this module?

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Learning Exclusions:\

HNUT10010 Human Nutrition 1

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Module Requisites and Incompatibles

Incompatibles:\ DIET20010 - App Clin Nutrit for Healthcare, HNUT10020 - Human Nutrition I, PHPS20030 - App Clin Nutrit for Healthcare\ \ Equivalents:\ Human Nutrition I (FDSC10020)\ \ \  \

How will I be assessed?

Assessment Strategy

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Carry forward of passed components

No

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What happens if I fail?

Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. \

Assessment feedback

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment\ • Feedback individually to students, post-assessment\ • Group/class feedback, post-assessment\ • Online automated feedback\ • Self-assessment activities\

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Short question exams - students will receive online automated feedback on their grade post-assessment and can request indivdual feedback. Tutorials - students will be supported to assess their own learning and will receive group/class feedback on a draft prior to summative assessment in tutorial sessions. Students can also request individual feedback.

Reading List

Gibney MJ, Lanham-New SA, Cassidy A, Vorster HH. Introduction to Human Nutrition, 2nd Edition: John Wiley & Sons, 2009.\ \ Gropper SS, Smith JL. Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism, 6th Edition, International Edition: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2013.\ \ Whitney E, Rolfes SR. Understanding nutrition, 13th Edition: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2013.\ \ Lanham-New SA, Macdonald IA, Roche HM. Nutrition and Metabolism, 2nd Edition: John Wiley & Sons, 2011.\

Associated Staff

When is this module offered?

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.

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