Serena George, a student from the University of Ottawa, interviewed Dr. Melissa Fernandez, an assistant professor at the School of Nutrition Sciences at the University of Ottawa. Her research focuses on understanding the impacts of digital food environments on health and nutrition, with a particular interest in food literacy, eating practices, dietary intake, and mental health. In this episode, Dr. Fernandez gives insights into the research behind one of her studies that suggests that improving cooking skills and reducing processed food use may support healthier diets and overall well-being. Following this, Serena sits down with Nicholas Goulet, a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Human Kinetics at the University of Ottawa, who shares his perspective on Dr. Fernandez's research and the insights discussed in the interview. 

00:19 | Main guest introduction

00:46 | What inspired Dr. Fernandez to focus on nutrition research

01:22 | Main findings of the study, 01:58 - Dr. Fernandez on her research study

04:18 | Food agency and impact of cooking skills, 05:38 Impact of Socioeconomic background, education, and culture

07:46 | Cooking skills and mental health

09:34 | Future research recommendations

11:39 | Message to listeners and general public

13:29 | Input from PhD candidate Nicholas Goulet

14:45 | Closing remarks.

Learn more: https://www.uottawa.ca/faculty-health-sciences/nutrition/our-professors/melissa-a-fernandez.

Music credits: Guitar Beat Intro / Outro 0128 by TuesdayNight on Pixabay.com (copyright-free)

Producer: Svitlana Demchenko, Show Host: Serena George, Writer editor: Nohadra Jeorje, Audio master: Anna Pawelko