Hello Dear Readers!
After eight years as serving as executive editor for Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter, I am pleased to be stepping into the role of editor-in-chief.
My involvement with Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter began soon after I arrived at Tufts, in the early 1990’s. As the opportunities presented themselves, I increased my involvement because I felt it was not only important to do good scientific research but also to take the time to translate research findings into actionable advise for the general public.
Our Mission. Here at Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter, we work hard to highlight recent nutrition-related research findings and explain how they fit into the big picture. There is an immense amount of nutrition misinformation and disinformation in today’s crowded information space. In addition to translating science into actionable advice and giving you the tools you need to implement that advice, we seek to provide you with the skills to sort the wheat from the chaff. It can be difficult to know whom to trust. We want you to know you can trust us.
With both the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA), Tufts University is home to a large number of nutrition researchers and educators. Additionally, Tufts Medical Center and Tufts University School of Medicine are filled with great minds in all areas of health and wellness. You will see these experts and more quoted on these pages every month.
My Background. I, myself, am the Stanley N. Gershoff Professor at the Friedman School and a senior scientist and director of the Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory at the HNRCA, with a secondary appointment as a professor of medicine at the Tufts University School of Medicine. My primary area of research focuses on the interplay between diet and risk for cardiometabolic diseases —common and often preventable chronic diseases that can affect your cardiovascular system (heart and blood vessels) and your cognitive and metabolic health. This includes lifestyle factors that can minimize the risk of developing heart attack, stroke, heart failure, vascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, brain health, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
My Goals. One of my goals for my time in this new position is to gain a better understanding of what you, our readers, feel is most relevant and useful to your everyday lives. We want to hear from you! Feel free to send us a message at www.nutritionletter.tufts.edu/contact-the-editor/ or mail your nutrition questions or suggestions to Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter, PO Box 5656, Norwalk, CT 06856-5656. We cannot guarantee you’ll receive a direct reply, but we do read and carefully consider everything that comes in.
Looking Back…and Ahead. 2023 has been a big year for health and nutrition news. As the year draws to a close, I’ve been thinking about the wide range of stories we have covered, like:
• how the gut microbiome is turning out to be important to much more than gut health
• progress toward understanding the potential value of personalized nutrition
• shifting away from dietary supplements as research continues to turn in disappointing outcomes when nutrients are isolated outside of foods
• the growing list of adverse health effects of ultraprocessed foods and tips on how to limit intake
• recognizing the importance of getting enough quality sleep and managing stress
• how food waste and dietary choices impact the environment and how your behaviors can make a difference
• ways to set yourself up for successful, long-term, dietary and behavior changes.
Also, this year we’ve seen an explosion of interest in two new drugs for weight loss (see page 6) and the first treatments that may slow cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease (see page 5). And questions reemerged about the value of non-nutritive sweeteners and use of body mass index (BMI) as an indicator of health.
We have expanded our offerings on topics like cooking and meal planning to make sure all of our readers have the knowledge and tools they need to put our evidence-based information into practice. And, we continue to bring you a monthly recipe to assist you in reaching your dietary goals.
Starting with the January 2024 issue, you will see two new additions to this newsletter. See if you can answer the “Do You Know?” question on page 1. (Hint: the answer to each monthly question is somewhere in that month’s newsletter!) On page 8, you will find the “Myth of the Month,” where our experts debunk some of the most common health and nutrition misinformation. We hope you enjoy these changes!
It is difficult to predict what the next big story will be. (If I had a crystal ball, I would be a very rich woman!) What I can predict with certainty is that it will be explained, put into context, and translated into actionable advice on the pages of Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter.
Sincerely Yours,
Alice H. Lichtenstein, DSc
Editor in Chief