Poor diet quality is a leading risk factor for death and disability worldwide. Dried fruits and nuts are recommended components of healthy dietary patterns. This presentation will focus on observational and clinical trial evidence examining how intake of dried fruits and nuts influences diet quality. Observational evidence suggests consumers of dried fruits and nuts have higher diet quality. Evidence from clinical trials demonstrates that intake of nuts as a snack meaningfully increases diet quality. These findings have implications for food-based recommendations and ‘Food is Medicine’ programs.
Dr. Kristina Petersen is an Associate Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the Pennsylvania State University. She is the Director of the Diet and Cardiometabolic Health Lab, which studies dietary interventions to delay and prevent the onset of cardiometabolic diseases. The lab conducts human clinical trials to examine the effect of individual foods, bioactives and dietary patterns on risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases. The lab also focuses on strategies to improve diet quality. Dr. Petersen has been a principal investigator or co-investigator on several studies examining the effect of tree nuts and peanut on risk factors for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
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