Publications by authors named "Kristin M Davis"

Background: Abdominal obesity is associated with endothelial dysfunction and poorer vascular health. Avocado consumption improves postprandial endothelial function; however, the longer-term effects remain unclear. It was hypothesized that the daily addition of 1 avocado to a habitual diet for 6 months would improve flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity in individuals with abdominal obesity (waist circumference ≥35 in for women, ≥40 in for men), compared with a habitual diet low in avocados.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The Heart of Detroit Study investigates how psychosocial factors, particularly racism and interpersonal stressors, influence cardiovascular disease risk among urban African American adults aged 55 to 75.
  • - The study will involve 500 participants and will gather data through biomarker measurements, ecological momentary assessments, and qualitative interviews over two waves spanning two years.
  • - Findings from this research will enhance understanding of the relationship between stress, health behaviors, and cardiovascular health, helping to develop culturally relevant interventions to address racial disparities in cardiovascular disease risk.
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The objective of this study was to assess Mediterranean diet (MD) scores (i.e., alignment with a MD pattern) among students and professors, in addition to assessing how adherence to the MD was associated with other lifestyle behaviors.

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Purpose: Suboptimal hydration has been linked to a variety of adverse health outcomes. Few studies have examined the impact of hydration status on immune function, a plausible physiological mechanism underlying these associations. Therefore, we tested how variation in hydration status was associated with circulating pro-inflammatory cytokine levels and ex vivo lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated pro-inflammatory cytokine production.

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Purpose Of Review: The recent rise in cardiovascular disease (CVD) deaths in the USA has sparked interest in identifying and implementing effective strategies to reverse this trend. Healthy lifestyle behaviors (i.e.

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Partial replacement of saturated fatty acids (SFA) with unsaturated fatty acids is recommended to reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), including oleic acid, are associated with lower CVD risk. Measurement of flow-mediated dilation of the brachial artery (FMD) is the gold standard for measuring endothelial function and predicts CVD risk.

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Background Excess visceral adiposity is associated with increased risk of cardiometabolic disorders. Short-term well-controlled clinical trials suggest that regular avocado consumption favorably affects body weight, visceral adiposity, and satiety. Methods and Results The HAT Trial (Habitual Diet and Avocado Trial) was a multicenter, randomized, controlled parallel-arm trial designed to test whether consuming 1 large avocado per day for 6 months in a diverse group of free-living individuals (N=1008) with an elevated waist circumference compared with a habitual diet would decrease visceral adiposity as measured by magnetic resonance imaging.

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Background: Intake of a single meal containing herbs and spices attenuates postprandial lipemia, hyperglycemia, and oxidative stress, and improves endothelial function. There has been limited investigation of the effect of longer-term intake of mixed herbs and spices on risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases.

Objectives: The objective was to assess the effect of an average American diet containing herbs and spices at 0.

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Background: Empirical and theoretical evidence suggest that because of the co-evolution of the endocrine and immune response systems, different types of stressors may lead to similar levels of physiological activation. The present analyses examined associations between two physiological stress responses: the cortisol response to an acute laboratory stressor and ex vivo lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulated inflammatory cytokine production.

Methods: Healthy middle-aged adults (N = 65) completed testing at two appointments, two weeks apart.

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