UM & wellbeing

In the upcoming months, we’ll share tips for our students on how to live a healthier life. Not just a random collection, but tips based on actual research happening at our faculty. The brains behind this idea are Lieve Vonken and Gido Metz, PhD candidates at CAPHRI, the Care and Public Health Research Institute and researchers at the Department of Health Promotion. In this edition, Kathelijne Bessems covers eating healthy and tasty on a budget. 

“You look young for your age!”, “Young people are innovative” or “Population ageing is a problem”. These are all statements that express wrongful assumptions about age. Prof. dr. Aagje Swinnen holds a chair with specialised remit in Ageing Studies at UM. She studies the cultural meaning behind ageing and the stigmas attached to growing old. This month, she started running a humorous T-shirt campaign amongst UM students and staff, to make them aware of the ideal of youth that our society clings to. 

In the series ‘From Alumnus to Author’, we shine a spotlight on UM alumni who share their knowledge and experiences through books. This time, we focus on Jikkie Has, who in 2020, right in the midst of the pandemic, published her first book Zakelijk Zelfvertrouwen (Professional Confidence). By sharing her insights and expertise, she hopes to help others stand strong and confident in their professional lives.

Researchers at Maastricht University's CAPHRI institute have uncovered a significant link between healthy eating, increased physical activity, and improved mathematics performance in primary school children. This groundbreaking research aligns perfectly with CAPHRI's mission to improve public health through innovative solutions, bridging the gap between science and society.

An international research consortium, including NUTRIM researcher Zlatan Mujagic and other researchers from Maastricht, has investigated the effects of stress on the gut. At last, this research has unraveled how stress leads to worsening inflammatory bowel diseases. This knowledge opens doors for new treatments for IBD. The study was published in the leading journal Cell and recently summarized by Zlatan in the Dutch Journal of Medicine. 

Healthy eating is not only good for the body, but also for the brain. Research by Kevin Nijssen shows that elderly people who eat two handfuls of nuts every day had better memory and brain perfusion after four months than during a period when they did not eat any additional nuts.