APC's Jens Walter delivers the Annual Myrtle Allen Memorial Lecture

25 Apr 2025

Adult Continuing Education’s Annual Myrtle Allen Memorial Lecture will take place on Tuesday, 27 May 2025, 6.00 to 7.15 p.m. in University College Cork. This annual lecture is a free event open to the public and it celebrates the legacy of Mrs Allen and her contribution to Irish Food Culture.

 When Science Meets Tradition

‘Can Food Be Both Tasty and Healthy? A Scientific Take on Myrtle Allen’s Food Philosophy.’

This year’s lecture will be delivered by Professor Jens Walter,  a PI at APC Microbiome Ireland, a world leading Research Centre at University College Cork. Professor Walter’s research focuses on nutrition and gut health in traditional societies where the consumption of processed and industrially produced foods is typically very limited.

This lecture will align Jens recent research findings with the food philosophy of Myrtle Allen. Mrs Allen championed a food philosophy rooted in seasonal, local, and minimally processed ingredients. While celebrated for her culinary legacy, her approach resonates with emerging research in nutrition and microbiome science.

 In this presentation, Jens will discuss the effects of industrially processed foods on the gut microbiome and human health. He will speak about his team’s research evaluating the health and microbiome impacts of a diet modelled on traditional, non-industrialized dietary patterns. These findings underscore the relevance of several core principles central to Mrs. Allen’s food philosophy.

Addressing Myrtle Allen’s approach to food and its significance today, Jens points out that ‘she recognised that healthy food should be delicious—and delicious food healthy—and by providing practical means to realize this vision, Mrs. Allen was a pioneer whose insights remain pertinent to current efforts to promote healthier eating at the population level.’

He will also describe his Non-Industrialized Microbiome Restore diet, or NiMe diet (pronounced Nee-Mee), which he developed with microbiome scientist Anissa Armet (PhD in Nutrition and Metabolism, and registered dietitian), aimed at restoring key microbiome features affected by industrialization and promoting cardiometabolic health.

For anyone interested in Irish food culture, food and health and wellbeing, and how we might design future approaches to consumption and dietary behaviours, this event is not to be missed.

This is a public and free event and open to all - booking is essential 

 LINK TO BOOK TICKETS

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For further information contact: Regina Sexton 087 6134500