Assistant Professor and Graduate Program Director, Department of Nutrition and Health Care Management, Beaver College of Health Sciences
Does an apple a day really keep the doctor away? Surprisingly, not much research has been done on determining the validity of the famous proverb about apples. However, Appalachian State University’s Dr. Martin “Marty” Root is changing this. He is currently researching the health benefits of triterpenoids, a family of compounds found in the waxy skin of apples and pears. These compound are thought to reduce inflammation, a benefit useful for athletes and arthritis sufferers.
Root has been at the university since 2008. He started his science career as a research technician studying insect biochemistry and toxicology at Cornell University. From there, he moved to nutrition and spent 16 years in the lab of T. Colin Campbell researching diet and chronic disease, particularly involving animal models of liver cancer. From 1980 to 1996 he was involved in an epidemiologic study in rural China that examined the dietary correlates of chronic diseases. The study became the basis for the well-known book by Campbell on plant-based diets called “The China Study.” Root later worked in a start-up firm in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, that developed risk models for chronic diseases into web-based services for health promotion and insurance companies. Root and a colleague patented a statistical tool for aggregating risk factors into these models.
Areas of Expertise
Diet and chronic diseases
Nutritional biomarkers
The health benefits of apples
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About Dr. Martin Root
Does an apple a day really keep the doctor away? Surprisingly, not much research has been done on determining the validity of the famous proverb about apples. However, Appalachian State University’s Dr. Martin “Marty” Root is changing this. He is currently researching the health benefits of triterpenoids, a family of compounds found in the waxy skin of apples and pears. These compound are thought to reduce inflammation, a benefit useful for athletes and arthritis sufferers.
Root has been at the university since 2008. He started his science career as a research technician studying insect biochemistry and toxicology at Cornell University. From there, he moved to nutrition and spent 16 years in the lab of T. Colin Campbell researching diet and chronic disease, particularly involving animal models of liver cancer. From 1980 to 1996 he was involved in an epidemiologic study in rural China that examined the dietary correlates of chronic diseases. The study became the basis for the well-known book by Campbell on plant-based diets called “The China Study.” Root later worked in a start-up firm in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, that developed risk models for chronic diseases into web-based services for health promotion and insurance companies. Root and a colleague patented a statistical tool for aggregating risk factors into these models.
Areas of Expertise
Diet and chronic diseases
Nutritional biomarkers
The health benefits of apples
| Present | Faculty Member, Appalachian State University ‐ Beaver College of Health Sciences | |
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| Present | Associate Professor, Appalachian State University ‐ Department of Nutrition and Health Care Management | |
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Disciplines
Research Interests
Honors and Awards
- Academy of Outstanding Graduate Mentors, Appalachian State University
Courses
- NUT 4206 Advanced Nutrition II
- NUT 4200 Advanced Nutrition I
- NUT 2351 Global Nutrition
- NUT 2202 Nutrition and Health
| 1999 | Ph.D., Cornell University ‐ Nutrition | |
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| 1991 | M.S., Cornell University ‐ Toxicology | |
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| 1973 | B.S., Cornell University ‐ Biochemistry | |
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Links
Contact Information
rootmm@appstate.edu
828-262-2064