Cardiovascular Nutrition

Research Overview

Lifestyle behaviors, especially diet, can have a significant effect on reducing the risk of developing heart disease. Major components of diet that can alter this risk include type of fat (fatty acid profile), type of protein, plant sterols, glycemic index and other food associated compounds. The research conducted in the Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory is focused on assessing the interplay between diet and cardiovascular disease risk factors. Work in the Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory includes studies of trans fatty acids and trans fatty acid alternatives, soy protein and isoflavones, sterol/stanol esters, genetically modified/selectively bred oils and glycemic index. Selected issues are investigated in animal models with the aim of determining the underlying biochemical and molecular mechanisms by which dietary factors alter cardiovascular disease risk, and in humans with kinetic studies to address issues related to lipoprotein metabolism. Current projects are addressing the relationship between markers of cholesterol homeostasis on cardiovascular disease risk factors and outcomes, and plasma biomarkers of nutrient intake relative to self reported data on cardiovascular disease incidence. The application of the systematic evidence based review process in determining Dietary Reference Intake values and other dietary guidelines is being investigated. Ongoing collaborations include the assessment of immune function as altered by fatty acid intake, vitamin K activity as altered by hydrogenation and as a marker for partially-hydrogenated fat intake, and the relationship between very long chain omega-3 fatty acids and cognitive function and osteoarthritis. The laboratory has also collaborated with the Evidence Based Practice Group at the Tufts-New England Medical Center on comprehensive evaluations of a number of nutrition topics.

Capabilities

The Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory has the ability to perform fatty acid analysis on plasma/serum, red blood cell and tissue samples, and to assess cholesterol homeostasis by measuring circulating levels of cholestanol and phytosterols (beta-sitosterol and campesterol) as markers of cholesterol absorption efficiency and the cholesterol precursors (lathosterol, desmosterol and squalene) as markers of cholesterol synthesis rates. The Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory also has the capacity to do the following methods on both tissue and cell samples: RNA extraction, reverse transcription, real time PCR, PCR, primer design, protein extraction, subcellular fractionation, agarose and polyacrylamide gel eletrophoresis, and Western blotting. Available is the necessary equipment to perform cell culture studies.

Related Links (not HNRCA-sponsored)

Learn More

For more information about the Cardiovascular Health Laboratory, please visit the USDA, Agricultural Research Service.

Taking the "Strong Women" Message to Heart
For Tufts' Miriam Nelson and Alice Lichtenstein, writing a book that provides women with accessible, applicable information on heart disease was both a professional and personal mission.

Modified Pyramid
Thanks to the work of Tufts Nutrition faculty Robert Russell, Alice Lichtenstein and Helen Rasmussen, the Modified Food Pyramid for Older Adults is now available to the public.

Scholar with national impact named to Gershoff Chair
Lichtenstein named the first recipient of the Stanley N. Gershoff Chair of Nutrition Science and Policy at the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy

Sacrificing Food In The Name Of Nutrition
It takes dedicated researchers and disciplined volunteers to fuel nutrition studies, which lead to important discoveries about food and health.

Soy Puzzle
This 'wonder food' may be more hype than help

Volunteer for Research Studies
Glycemic Index - Variability Among Individuals
Purpose: To determine whether people have different blood sugar responses to the same food