The National Institutes of Health has awarded a North Carolina A&T State University researcher a $1.4 million grant to study the heart benefits of plant-based foods.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S., affecting roughly one out of every three Americans. Scientists have known for some time that plant-based foods are linked to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.
But the lingering question remains: How? To find out, A&T Distinguished Professor Shengmin Sang says his research will center around flavonoids — one of the major antioxidants found in plant-based foods.
He says he’ll use them as biomarkers to monitor how they metabolize in different populations.
"The first part is to conduct a controlled feeding study," says Sang. "Provide the flavonoid-rich food to them. We have two different doses: a low dose and a high dose of flavonoid-rich food."
Researchers will collect blood and urine samples from some 2,000 participants and analyze the metabolized flavonoids. The second part of the study will involve samples from African American and Hispanic populations.
Sang says his goal with the five-year study is to understand which plant-based foods and flavonoids can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, and which groups of people stand to benefit most.