Nutrition Research

Health Conscious: Nutrition graduate student Eli Kalman-Rome and Lilian de Jonge quoted and their research cited in story about supplement use among transmasculine people.

tthoma8 — Fri, 26 Apr 2024 15:59:28 +0000

Health Conscious: Nutrition graduate student Eli Kalman-Rome and Lilian de Jonge quoted and their research cited in story about supplement use among transmasculine people. tthoma8 Fri, 04/26/2024 - 11:59

In This Story

Lilian de Jonge, PhD

Study Investigates Supplement Use Among Transmasculine People

Topics

Transmasculine people report higher dietary supplement use than general population

Mary Cunningham — Mon, 25 Mar 2024 16:27:32 +0000

Transmasculine people report higher dietary supplement use than general population Mary Cunningham Mon, 03/25/2024 - 12:27

In This Story

Kerri LaCharite, PhD

Lilian de Jonge, PhD

New study by Mason MS, Nutrition student Eli Kalman-Rome highlights the need for population-level research on the nutritional needs of transgender people.

More than 1 million people in the United States identify as transgender; however, there is limited research on nutrition-related health outcomes for transgender people. To narrow the research gap, Mason MS, Nutrition student Eli Kalman-Rome investigated common motivations of dietary supplement use in transmasculine people. The study defined transmasculine as people on the transgender and gender-nonbinary spectrum who were assigned female at birth.

Transmasculine people reported a higher use of dietary supplements (65%) compared to the total U.S. population (22.5%), according to the study. 90% of transmasculine participants reported using supplements at some point in their life.

“The lack of research on the nutritional needs of transgender people, including transgender/nonbinary transmasculine people navigating social or medical transitioning and the findings of this study highlight the need for population-level research that ensures that nutritional advice is appropriate for the affected communities,” said Kalman-Rome, first author on the paper. Associate Professor Kerri LaCharite Interim Chair of the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies Lilian de Jonge, and adjunct professor Taylor Wallace were co-authors on the paper.

Transmasculine volunteers completed an online survey detailing dietary supplement use, motivations, and demographic information. General population data was taken from the 20217-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Transmasculine people reported using nutritional supplements in unique ways as compared to the general population; differences observed included the numbers of supplements used on average, participants’ reasons for taking supplements, and the variety of supplements taken.

Top reported dietary supplements used by transmasculine people included multivitamins (52%), melatonin (52%), vitamin D (46%), vitamin C (35%), fish oil (33%), B-vitamins or B-complex (31%), iron (29%), and green tea (29%). Participants reported the top reasons for dietary supplements included “improving overall health” (60.4%) and “maintaining health” (54.2%).

“It is important to understand the motivations and types of products being used by transmasculine people, as an increased risk of adverse events, due to use of exogenous testosterone, medications, and other factors, may be present,” said de Jonge.

“Dietary Supplement Use in Transmasculine People: Results of an Online Survey of Volunteer Adults” was published online in the Journal of Dietary Supplements in February 2024. The study was not funded.

Topics

Dietary Supplements

Nutritional Supplement

Diabetes.co.uk: Raedeh Basiri quoted and her team’s research cited in story about the role of diet reducing risks linked to diabetes and mental health

tthoma8 — Fri, 12 Jan 2024 17:55:41 +0000

Diabetes.co.uk: Raedeh Basiri quoted and her team’s research cited in story about the role of diet reducing risks linked to diabetes and mental health tthoma8 Fri, 01/12/2024 - 12:55

In This Story

Raedeh Basiri, PhD, RDN

Study highlights pivotal role of diet in reducing risks linked to diabetes and mental health

Topics

Abnormal biomarkers associated with obesity are identified in very young Latino children

Mary Cunningham — Mon, 13 Mar 2023 14:49:36 +0000

Abnormal biomarkers associated with obesity are identified in very young Latino children Mary Cunningham Mon, 03/13/2023 - 10:49

In This Story

Allison McKay

A new study by Allison McKay, RDN, department manager for the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies, found elevated insulin, hemoglobin A1C, triglycerides, and other abnormal cardiometabolic biomarkers among very young Latino youth.

In the United States, low-income, Latino youth are disproportionately affected by obesity with 25.8% of Latino youth aged 2-19 considered to have obesity, which is approximately two times more likely when compared to their non-Latino white counterparts. A higher level of obesity results in an increased risk of cardiometabolic diseases, which are a group of related diseases caused by an unhealthy lifestyle and/or an increased genetic predisposition.

A new study by Allison McKay, RDN, department manager for the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies, identified elevated insulin, hemoglobin A1C, triglycerides, and other cardiometabolic biomarkers in early elementary-aged Latino youth. Similar abnormal biomarkers are found in adults. She compared cardiometabolic biomarkers between age and sex-matched pairs of elementary school-aged Latino children with obesity vs. healthy weight peers.

“Tracking the biomarker difference in children with obesity and children with healthy weight may help to identify those at greater risk of developing several diseases and health issues. This will allow earlier interventions and reduce the number and severity of children who are affected by obesity and its related diseases later in life,” said McKay.

Additionally, the study found elevated liver markers in both groups, which may indicate a genetic or ethnic predisposition for abnormal liver function, but more research is needed.

The data was collected from the VALÉ study (Vidas Activas Familias Saludables), which was funded by the Potomac Health Foundation and George Mason University.

“Differences in Cardiometabolic Biomarkers between Elementary School–Age Latinx Children with Obesity versus Healthy Weight” was published in Southern Medical Journal in February 2023. Former Mason faculty member Sina Gallo was the principal investigator and Margaret T Jones in Mason’s School of Kinesiology was also part of the research team.

Topics

Loneliness associated with unhealthful diets and physical inactivity among U.S. college students

Mary Cunningham — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 17:05:50 +0000

Loneliness associated with unhealthful diets and physical inactivity among U.S. college students Mary Cunningham Thu, 01/19/2023 - 12:05

In This Story

Lawrence J. Cheskin, MD

Lilian de Jonge, PhD

With data from the Mason: Health Starts Here study, Master of Science, Nutrition alum Li Jiang, Department Chair Lawrence Cheskin, and Associate Professor Lilian de Jonge found that students reporting a higher level of loneliness also reported a higher level of sedentary behavior and low activity.

Transitioning to a new environment, as many college freshman do, can increase feelings of loneliness, and feelings of loneliness in college students have dramatically increased in the last decade, according to the National College Health Assessment. Additionally, a 2021 survey reported that 44% of U.S. college students described their weight as more than normal, i.e. either in the overweight or obese category. Though loneliness has been linked to unhealthy weight and physical inactivity, there is a lack of research on dietary behaviors in college students and the role it can play in obesity in college students.

With data from the Mason: Health Starts Here cohort study, Master of Nutrition alum Li Jiang found that loneliness was related to altered diet quality and physical inactivity. The research was done as part of Jiang’s master’s thesis, and Mason Nutrition and Food Studies Department Chair Lawrence J. Cheskin, Associate Professor Lilian de Jonge, former faculty member Cara Frankenfeld, and former postdoctoral fellow Ziaul H. Rana also contributed to the project.

“Our study supports a potential need for further research in understanding unhealthful dietary behavior and physical activity which may be related to loneliness, an emotion that impacts many college students,” says Jiang.

Sedentary (19.2%) and low active (53.8%) behaviors were more frequent in students reporting high loneliness (score ranges of 4–6 and 7–9) than those reporting low loneliness (score of 10-12). Students reporting more loneliness had higher fat diets than students reporting less loneliness.

“Interventions to reduce loneliness may have a positive effect on health promotion in this population. This data go along with other initial findings from the Health Starts Here study that college students are not meeting healthy dietary guidelines or getting enough physical activity,” said Cheskin, who has an MD.

The study is a cross-sectional study that analyzed baseline data collected in the first wave of Mason: Health Start Here in 2019, and was funded by George Mason University’s Institute for BioHealth Innovation.

Loneliness is associated with unhealthful dietary behaviors and physical inactivity among US college students was published in November 2022 in the Journal of American College Health.

Mason: Health Starts Here is a first-of-its-kind transdisciplinary student cohort study to understand and improve the health and well-being of university students. This research will follow a broad sample of young adults, specifically Mason students, over time to capture the diversity of their experiences in college and how it affects their health and well-being.

Topics

Nutrition

Health Starts Here

Nutrition Research

College of Public Health

Public Health

Nutrition education can benefit individuals who are overweight with diabetic foot ulcers

Mary Cunningham — Fri, 14 Oct 2022 00:44:49 +0000

Nutrition education can benefit individuals who are overweight with diabetic foot ulcers Mary Cunningham Thu, 10/13/2022 - 20:44

In This Story

Raedeh Basiri, PhD, RDN

A new study by Raedeh Basiri, assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies, suggests that dietary recommendations should prioritize proper wound healing for people who are overweight/obese with diabetic foot ulcers.

Raedeh Basiri, assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies,

Nutrition can play an important role in the treatment of chronic wounds; however, it is often overlooked as part of wound care. Diet therapy is not currently part of standard care for diabetic foot ulcers (DFU), though some research has shown that nutrition can support healing. A new study by Raedeh Basiri, assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies, further supports nutrition intervention to improve clinical outcomes.

Basiri’s new study suggests that dietary recommendations should prioritize proper wound healing for individuals who are overweight/obese with DFUs. Proper wound healing can be prioritized by recommending that patients consume adequate energy sources and essential nutrients, according to the study.

“Routine visits with a dietitian are essential for assessing the dietary needs of patients with diabetic foot ulcers and designing individualized nutrition therapy, which can result in effective clinical outcomes,” said Basiri, the principal investigator. “Identifying the adequate dietary intake of macro- and micronutrients in these patients, especially for those who are overweight or obese, is critical for expediting the wound-healing process and can make a substantial difference to medical expenses and quality of life in this population.”

To the researchers’ knowledge, this is the first study that evaluates the effects of nutrition education and supplementation with extra calories, protein, and micronutrients on long-term blood glucose control and body composition in patients who are overweight and obese with DFUs. In addition to standard DFU care, the treatment group was asked to consume more low-fat protein sources, vegetables, and high-fiber carbohydrates, and a lower amount of simple carbohydrates; educated about and given examples of healthier food items; and provided a nutritional supplement to take twice a day.

On average, patients in the treatment group lost less lean body mass (8.4 lb. vs. 10 lb.) and gained less fat (2 lb. vs. 8 lb.) than the control group. Additionally, DFUs healed 12.85 times faster in the treatment group than in the control group, and inflammation significantly decreased in the treatment group. Previous research by Basiri found that nutritional education and supplements reduced inflammation in DFUs. The research team suspects that Basiri’s previous research, along with previous studies reporting that preventing the loss of lean body mass leads to faster healing of chronic wounds, could be why the treatment group healed quicker.

The findings of this study showed that supplementing a patient’s diet with extra energy sources and nutrients had positive effects on body composition and phase angle (an indicator of cellular health) and did not have any significant negative effects on long-term blood glucose control when combined with nutrition education.

Effects of Nutrition Intervention on Blood Glucose, Body Composition, and Phase Angle in Obese and Overweight Patients with Diabetic Foot Ulcers was published in Nutrients in September 2022. Other researchers included Maria T. Spicer and Thomas Ledermann, and Bahram H. Arjmandi from Florida State University.

Topics

Using Personalized Nutrition to Help Prevent Type 2 Diabetes

Mary Cunningham — Tue, 02 Aug 2022 18:46:25 +0000

Using Personalized Nutrition to Help Prevent Type 2 Diabetes Mary Cunningham Tue, 08/02/2022 - 14:46

In This Story

Raedeh Basiri, PhD, RDN

Lawrence J. Cheskin, MD

Lilian de Jonge, PhD

Raedeh Basiri’s new clinical trial seeks to answer whether personalized nutrition intervention can be effective in lowering blood sugar (and thereby help to prevent or delay type 2 diabetes and related cardiovascular diseases) in people with prediabetes.

Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies Raedeh Basiri

One in 10 Americans has diabetes and of those who do, 90% have type 2 diabetes. More than 1 in 3 Americans (96 million people) have prediabetes, many of whom don’t know it. Type 2 diabetes is a preventable disease and Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies Raedeh Basiri’s new study hopes that personalized nutrition can stop prediabetes from progressing into type 2 diabetes.

“Many people know general health tips, such as eat more vegetables, yet are not following the health guidelines, which can increase the risk of chronic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases,” said Basiri, who is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist. “We understand that there are many factors that influence individual’s food choices – and sometimes those factors are outside their control. I want to study the why behind why people aren’t following health/dietary guidelines that can help prevent/delay these diseases. Is it access to foods? Their culture? The lack of knowledge? This study looks at how can we as dietitians help people put education into practice based on their individual body and personal desire.”

Type 2 diabetes occurs when there is too much sugar in someone’s bloodstream and it impairs the way the body processes insulin, a hormone that helps the body process sugar (glucose) as fuel. High blood sugar levels can lead to disorders including heart disease, kidney disease, blindness, non-healing foot ulcers, and stroke. With the correct diet and lifestyle adjustments, a person’s blood glucose levels can decrease and return to the non-diabetes range, but type 2 diabetes does not have a cure.

Prediabetes, when blood sugar levels are elevated but not yet at diabetes levels, is reversible if the appropriate lifestyle changes are made. A new study from Basiri and colleagues will help determine to what extent personalized nutrition intervention can help lifestyle changes in participants, who are unaware of having prediabetes or have been diagnosed with prediabetes.

The study emphasizes healthy eating and not weight loss or changing routine exercise to determine if only adjusting food intake will decrease blood glucose level, which in the long term could prevent or delay type 2 diabetes. In the study, the treatment and control groups will receive general dietary recommendations, similar to what would be provided to them in clinical settings currently, and be visited by the researchers once a week.

Participants in the treatment group will receive more individualized nutrition education. The goal is to lower participants’ blood sugar levels while meeting their dietary needs with foods they enjoy. Each person has a unique physiology, which makes food affect people differently. For example, if a person is very sensitive to a certain type of carbohydrates and it raises their blood sugar levels, but they love it, the dietitian will work with the participant on portion size and the best time of day for them to eat it. This is personalized nutrition.

The study, “Individualized Nutrition Therapy for Preventing or Delaying Onset of Type-2 Diabetes,” is a clinical trial. It has been approved by Mason’s Institutional Review Board and ClinicalTrials.gov and is funded by Mason's College of Health and Human Services. Nutrition and Food Studies Chair Larry Cheskin and associate professor Lilian de Jonge are co-investigators on the study.

Topics

Nutritional Supplements and Education Decrease Inflammation in Diabetic Patients with Foot Ulcers

Mary Cunningham — Tue, 28 Jun 2022 15:36:04 +0000

Nutritional Supplements and Education Decrease Inflammation in Diabetic Patients with Foot Ulcers Mary Cunningham Tue, 06/28/2022 - 11:36

In This Story

Raedeh Basiri, PhD, RDN

A new study by Assistant Professor of Nutrition and Food Studies Raedeh Basiri shows that nutritional interventions play a pivotal role in treatment and healing.

Nutritional supplementation and education would support faster healing in patients with Diabetic Foot Ulcers.

A diabetic foot ulcer, an open wound on the foot, affects about 25% of diabetes patients, and without proper care, ulcers can lead to amputation. As with all chronic wounds, diabetic foot ulcers are persistently inflamed, which slows the healing process.

A new study by George Mason University Assistant Professor of Nutrition and Food Studies Raedeh Basiri finds that in people with diabetic foot ulcers, nutritional supplements and nutritional education can significantly decrease inflammation and enhance the healing process.

“Currently, nutritional interventions or referral to dietitians are not part of diabetic foot ulcer standard care. Our results show that nutritional interventions play an important role in decreasing inflammation and should be an integral part of treatment, underscoring the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to clinical care,” said Basiri, who is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist.

Assistant Professor of Nutrition and Food Studies Raedeh Basiri

Participants in the intervention group of the study were educated about improving their dietary intake by increasing their consumption of low-fat/high-bioavailable protein sources, vegetables, and high-fiber carbohydrates, as well as decreasing their intake of refined and simple carbohydrates.

In addition to nutritional education, patients took a nutritional supplement. People with diabetic foot ulcers have a significantly lower intake of micronutrients, especially potent antioxidants, which have shown the potential to alleviate chronic inflammation. The nutritional supplement provided at least 50% of the Food and Nutrition Board’s recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for antioxidants, and the nutrition education supported patients receiving the remaining antioxidant recommendations from their diet.

The study evaluated the effects of nutrition supplementation and education on inflammatory biomarkers in patients with diabetic foot ulcers. After 12 weeks, concentrations of the inflammatory biomarker IL6 decreased significantly in the intervention group, but increased drastically in the control group. Results on other biomarkers were not statistically significant. The sample size was relatively small, so researchers recommend more clinical trials with larger sizes to confirm the results.

To the research team’s knowledge, this is the first randomized controlled trial that uses both nutrition education and supplementation for improving inflammation status in patients with diabetic foot ulcers. “Improving Dietary Intake of Essential Nutrients Can Ameliorate Inflammation in Patients with Diabetic Foot Ulcers” was published in Nutrients in June 2022.

Topics

CHHS News

CHHS Research

Department of Nutrition and Food Studies

Graduation Spotlight: Laurel Jennings (MSN ’22) Rises as a Researcher

John Brandon Cantrell — Mon, 16 May 2022 12:46:23 +0000

Graduation Spotlight: Laurel Jennings (MSN ’22) Rises as a Researcher John Brandon C… Mon, 05/16/2022 - 08:46

In This Story

Raedeh Basiri, PhD, RDN

Jennings’ research in the Master of Nutrition program propelled her interest in incorporating scholarship with a career as a Registered Dietitian.

Laurel Jennings’ devotion to public health led her to Mason to better understand how the food system can impact social justice and health equity. She found the coursework and research opportunities at Mason to support and propel her goal of educating others on the power of micronutrients and how vitamins and minerals can aid disease prevention. As she graduates with a Master of Science in Nutrition degree in May 2022, she shares how she discovered an interest in research and how it will improve her future work as a dietitian.

“I am passionate about the pursuit of social justice in the food system, and I believed that an education at Mason would prepare me to meet the diverse demands of the world’s most vulnerable populations,” said Jennings. “As Mason prepares new health professionals to conduct innovative research to better domestic and global public health, I sought out this opportunity in the preparation of transforming nutrition interventions at all population levels.”

At Mason, Jennings’ aspirations for working in health equity and social justice were met and even exceeded with research opportunities that allowed her to have a role in strengthening public health.

Jennings began in the Master of Public Health program, but she transitioned into the Master of Nutrition program when she realized the program better aligned with her career interests. She soon became a graduate research assistant (GRA) to Raedeh Basiri, assistant professor of Nutrition, to help progress Basisri’s research on individualized nutrition therapy and type 2 diabetes. The opportunity gave Jennings insight into how to design research, apply for grants, conduct human studies, and conduct her own research for publication.

“I completed the process of submitting our protocols to Mason’s Institutional Review Board and the Institutional Biosafety Committee. I also completed the clinical trials application and worked rigorously to develop our questionnaires [for research participants],” Jennings said.

The experience of working with Basiri inspired Jennings to pursue her own research project. With Basiri’s supervision, Jennings wrote a review paper on the relationship between amino acids, B vitamins, and choline to study how they may influence Autism Spectrum Disorder. In April, Jennings’ research resulted in her winning a 2022 Celebration of Scholarship award.

Jennings said that the opportunities she obtained in the Master of Nutrition program grew her interest in pursuing research in her future career.

“A career goal of mine is to work directly with micronutrients, as they relate to vitamin and mineral deficiencies and to improve disease outcomes,” said Jennings. “Coming into the program, I intended to do this solely through a clinical focus, but after my GRA position and coursework, I’ve found the importance of research. Although I still hope to focus on clinical dietetics, my MS degree program has influenced my interests in incorporating research in my career.”

When asked what others should know about Mason’s Nutrition program, Jennings spoke about the value that the Nutrition Department’s teachers and staff provide. “I experienced a positive and encouraging environment at Mason, where peers and teachers aimed to assist my learning and provide me with constructive feedback,” Jennings said. “This was essential in my learning processes and improving my work without discouraging me.”

After graduating with her master's degree in nutrition, Jennings will attend North Carolina Central University in August to pursue the Future Education Model Dietetics Certificate Program.

Topics

Department of Nutrition and Food Studies

Graduation

New Study Finds that College Freshmen Exceed Many U.S. Dietary Guidelines, Increasing Risk of Chronic Health Conditions

John Brandon Cantrell — Wed, 09 Feb 2022 15:31:52 +0000

New Study Finds that College Freshmen Exceed Many U.S. Dietary Guidelines, Increasing Risk of Chronic Health Conditions John Brandon C… Wed, 02/09/2022 - 10:31

Topics

Mason: Health Starts Here study finds most college freshmen exceed U.S. dietary guidelines for added sugar, refined grains, sodium, and saturated fat.

Photo by Armin Rimoldi from Pexels

The “Freshman 15” is common among college students, when newfound independence and unrestricted access to dining halls make them more susceptible to poor nutritional intake. Poor nutrition in college students is correlated with an increased risk of a variety of chronic health conditions.

Mason: Health Starts Here (HSH), a longitudinal cohort study, finds that most college freshmen exceed U.S. dietary guidelines for added sugar, refined grains, sodium, and saturated fat, which are all nutrients that should be limited. Physical activity, race/ethnicity, and living on campus contributed to the excess intake of these nutrients.

Why don’t college freshmen meet the US dietary guidelines for added sugar, refined grains, sodium, and saturated fat? is published in the Journal of American College Health.

The data analysis in the study was conducted by Ziaul Rana, a former postdoctoral research fellow at Mason and current researcher at the New York Academy of Sciences; Erika Kennedy, Master of Public Health student; Lilian De Jonge, associate professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies; Lawrence Cheskin, chair of the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies; Cara Frankenfeld, associate professor at the University of Puget Sound; and Jaclyn Bertoldo from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

“There’s very little published information on young adult college students’ diets,” said Cheskin. “While it is known that college students suffer from poorer nutrition on average, less is known about the food source contributors to nutrients recommended for limited consumption and personal characteristics associated with meeting dietary guidelines.” This study has filled in some of those gaps.

One-third of participants met added sugar guidelines and only 4% met daily refined grains requirements. Fewer than half met saturated fat guidelines, and slightly over half met recommended sodium guidelines. Recommendations for each nutrient came from Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which is released by the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services. Most sugar intake was from fruits, soda, and sweetened water. Pizza and rice were the most popular source of refined grains and sodium with pizza hitting the trifecta and also coming in at the top of the saturated fat category.

Funded by Mason’s Institute of BioHealth Innovation, HSH is a first-of-its-kind transdisciplinary student cohort study to understand and improve the health and well-being of university students. It follows a broad sample of young adults, specifically Mason students, over time to capture the diversity of their experiences in college and how it affects their health and well-being. The added sugar, refined grains, sodium, and saturated fat study was done using the 2019-20 HSH cohort using a food frequency questionnaire that reflected the past month’s food with portion size designed to assess food and dietary intakes.

In order to determine whether this study can be used to generalize across other college-aged students, the team compared it with similar age and education data from the 2015-16 and 2017-18 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a representative sample collected by the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Most participants in the HSH study resided in urban areas and had mid-level socio-economic status. Thus, the results may not be generalizable to students living in rural areas or those with a lower level of income,” says Cheskin.