High folic acid intake in aged mice causes a lowered immune response

Previous studies have shown an association between high folic acid intake and a reduction in the immune system defenses needed to fight viral infections and cancer. In a new study in mice published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, scientists at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University (HNRCA) set out to determine if excess folic acid intake caused adverse changes in the immune system.

A Nutrition Policy Balancing Act

The new U.S. Dietary Guidelines, which focus on eating patterns more than individual foods, are stirring controversy among experts.

Is it perfect? No one seems to think so. But if you want a plan to gently nudge Americans away from the unhealthy way of eating we’re accustomed to, you could do worse than the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which were released on Jan. 7.

Incentives for Healthy Eating

A little extra purchasing power at the grocery seems to help promote better diets for people on public assistance.

Very few of us eat enough fruits and vegetables, and for the more than 47 million Americans who participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, that number is a bit smaller still. 

Restaurant Meals Tipping the Scales

Meals consumed at fast-food restaurants are often seen as one of the biggest contributors to the obesity epidemic. But according to a new study in the Journal of the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 92 percent of 364 measured restaurant meals from both large-chain and non-chain (local) restaurants exceeded recommended calorie requirements for a single meal. In 123 restaurants in three cities across America, the research team found that a single meal serving, without beverages, appetizers, or desserts sometimes exceeded the caloric requirements for an entire day.

New Dietary Guidelines

In the wake of the release of the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans, Circulation, a journal of the American Heart Association, has published an Authoritative Review on the dietary and policy priorities by Friedman's Dean, Dariush Mozaffarian.

Body by Smartphone

We love our smartphones. Since they marched out of the corporate world and into the hands of consumers about 10 years ago, we’ve relied more and more on our Blackberry, iPhone and Android devices to organize our schedules, our social lives, our finances and now, even our bodies. Americans are increasingly downloading health and fitness apps designed to help them get in shape, lose weight or manage a variety of health issues.

Faculty Positions at Friedman

The Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy distinguishes itself by its breadth of scholarship in nutrition research, education, and public impact: from cell to society, food security to healthy aging, individuals to policy, and health to sustainability. We bring together biomedical, interventional, social, behavioral, public health, economics, and food systems scientists to conduct work that improves the nutritional health and well-being of populations throughout the world. 

Stay Active for a Healthy Heart

People in their 70s can likely lower their risk of stroke and heart attack with regular moderate exercise such as walking, according to a Tufts study, which provides some of the first evidence that continuing to exercise as we age really does make a difference.

The cause of nearly a third of all deaths, cardiovascular disease is the number-one killer worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. In the United States, more than a third of all adults have some form of the disease, including about half of people over age 60.

If You Build It, They Will Come

As the sedan cruises around a Massachusetts town, Mark Fenton juts his arm out of the passenger window like a zealous tourist, snapping seemingly random photos of crosswalks, traffic signs, rollerbladers, trash cans, jay walkers. The car comes to a stop, and Fenton sprints off, jogging down a bike trail to see what it connects to, what businesses are nearby, what drinking fountains and mile markers he can see.

Research Impact: Coconut Oil

A new inter-disciplinary study led by researchers at Tufts University found that coconut oil effectively controlled the overgrowth of a fungal pathogen called Candida albicans (C. albicans) in mice. In humans, high levels of C. albicans in the gastrointestinal tract can lead to bloodstream infections, including invasive candidiasis.