Resources

Nutrition Resources

Diabetes, heart disease, obesity, cancer, and even mental illness can be helped and sometimes even resolved by changing what we eat. Nutrition plays a key role in nearly every public health concern in the United States and abroad. If you are a public health professional, these free online resources can serve as useful tools for your trade.

Open Access Journals

There are many reputable and high-impact research journals that provide all of their content for free online. Below are some of the best for nutritional research.

  • Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition

    Publisher: BioMed Central

    This free online journal is constantly publishing new research on nutritional supplements, body composition, physical performance, and metabolism.

  • Nutrition and Diabetes

    Publisher: Nature Publishing Group

    This open-access journal brings a respectable name and impact factor to research examining the relationship between diabetes and nutrition.

  • Nutrients

    Publisher: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute

    This free online journal publishes the latest research examining the health effects of individual nutrients and food products.

  • International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity

    Publisher: Springer

    This monthly online journal publishes open-access articles on the relationship between nutrition, behavior, and physical activity and their effects on human health.

  • Nutrition Journals

    Publisher: Springer

    With a respectable impact factor of 2.65, this open-access journal publishes novel human studies in nutrition.

OpenCourseWare

Whether you are a public health professional or just want to make sure you are eating right, these free course materials will boost your knowledge of the best practices in human nutrition.

  • Nutrition and Medicine

    An excellent supplemental source for nursing and medical students, this free set of lectures forms the basis for understanding nutrition in the context of other medical courses.

  • Foundational on Nutritional Science

    This well-balanced course from Tufts is an excellent introduction to nutrition, from the individual to the community level, for public health students and professionals alike.

  • Principles of Human Nutrition

    These lecture materials and readings provide a foundation for understanding the latest in nutrition science and how the field is changing our understanding of the human body.

  • International Nutrition

    The implementation of a smart nutritional program in a developing nation is one of the most immediate ways to improve public health. If you are interested in international aid and development, these lectures and readings will serve you well.

  • Food and Nutritional Policy

    This collection of readings and lectures from Johns Hopkins examines how to address nutritional concerns at the community and policy level.

  • Critical Analysis of Popular Diets and Dietary Supplements

    Every year Americans rave about the newest nutrition or weight loss fad, but there is usually little scientific research to back up the hype. This course takes a critical look at the science behind the most popular diets.

Research Organizations

Every few years a new diet fad bursts into the public consciousness, whether it's low carb, low fat, or low gluten. But why the constant change? These organizations aim to understand the real relationship between what we eat and our health.

  • Physicians Committee For Responsible Medicine

    This independent organization aims to improve preventative practices in American medicine through research into the relationship between nutrition and diseases like cancer and diabetes.

  • USDA Western Human Nutrition Research Center

    The USDA Agricultural Research Service is a major federal funder of nutrition research, with hundreds of different projects and programs searchable from the agency's website.

  • American Society for Nutrition

    For more than 80 years this independent organization has brought together researchers with the goal of better understanding the relationship between nutrition and human health.

  • Nutritional Research Foundation

    This independent nonprofit funds clinical research into the advantages of a plant-based diet, advocating less meat and more vegetables as one way to improve human health.

  • NIH: Division of Nutritional Research Coordination

    Through grants and reports, the DNRC seeks to encourage and coordinate nutritional research across all 27 institutes of the federal National Institutes of Health.

Professional Organizations

With obesity, heart disease, and diabetes reaching epidemic proportions, the role of nutritionists and dietitians will be invaluable in the coming years. These organizations support these critical public health professionals.

  • School Nutrition Association

    Good nutrition is key for the millions of children eating lunch at public and private schools, so the SNA works to provide continuing education to school nutrition specialists and cooks across the country.

  • Association for Nutrition and Foodservice Professionals

    With over 15,000 members across the nation, this organization is for the people who feed our children and our sick, working in school, hospital, and prison cafeterias.

  • American Nutrition Association

    For all professionals whose work involves nutrition, this nonprofit's mission is to educate the public and its members about the latest developments in nutritional science.

  • National Association for Nutrition Professionals

    For advocates of holistic nutrition, this professional organization organizes an annual conference and provides courses and discounts for its members.

  • Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

    The world's largest organization of nutrition professionals. Members have access to professional advancement opportunities, research, and networking.

Public Awareness Organizations

Few things can help reduce the burden of disease on society more than proper nutrition. That is why the following organizations work to establish and promote healthy eating, treating it as the key to healthier communities in the long run.