An increasing number of clinical and epidemiological studies support the beneficial effects of long chain omega-3 PUFA against various diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular illnesses. More recently, an omega-3 deficiency has been related to the development of various mental illnesses, including depression, ADHD and dementia. Hence, it is of utmost importance to increase the human intake of the healthy omega-3 PUFA, and the interest in omega-3 enriched foods is therefore escalating.
 
However, these highly unsaturated lipids are prone to lipid oxidation, which will eventually lead to deterioration of flavor and nutritional value of the food to which they are added. Furthermore, lipid oxidation products can have potentially harmful consequences in humans, such as the development of atherosclerosis and thrombosis.
 
My research therefore focuses on minimizing lipid oxidation in simple emulsions and more complex food products. Thus, my fields of research are i) physical stabilization and characterization of omega-3 oil-in-water emulsions ii) lipid oxidation in simple emulsion systems, as affected by the use of different emulsifiers and emulsification techniques and iii) lipid oxidation in complex food systems enriched with omega-3 oil.