PhD ceremony Mr. G.K. Yakala: Diet-associated metabolic and vascular (dys)function. Dietary strategies for prevention

PhD ceremony: Mr. G.K. Yakala, 12.45 uur, Academiegebouw, Broerstraat 5, Groningen

Dissertation: Diet-associated metabolic and vascular (dys)function. Dietary strategies for prevention

Promotor(s): prof. P. Heeringa, prof. G. Molema

Faculty: Medical Sciences

Obesity has turned into a worldwide epidemic. The development of obesity is closely associated with multiple metabolic disorders such as insulin resistance, hyperlipidaemia and hypertension which increase the risk for developing type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases (CVD). The prevalence of these cardio-metabolic diseases is increasing mainly because of rapid changes in dietary intake patterns and unfavourable lifestyles. The main aim of this thesis was to investigate whether (dietary) strategies can be developed and implemented to prevent or reduce the occurrence of high-fat or high-cholesterol-induced cardio-metabolic complications. Treatment strategies studied in this thesis include: 1. Life style changes (calorie restriction). Despite the beneficial health effects of caloric restriction, most individuals find it difficult to comply with such strict regimens. We demonstrated that an alternative form of daily calorie restriction i.e. alternating low-fat / low-cholesterol and high-fat / high-cholesterol, instead of continuous consumption of a high-fat or high-cholesterol diet is beneficial in terms of reducing CVD risk factors. 2. Dietary intake changes (diet enriched with polyphenols). From epidemiological studies it is evident that regular intake of plant-derived products, especially polyphenols, inversely correlates with CVD. Chocolate is a rich source of polyphenols, but we demonstrated that dietary supplementation of chocolate did not show any beneficial effects on cardiovascular health. 3. Pharmacological interventions. Metabolic stress induced by high-fat or high-cholesterol induces systemic inflammation that can adversely affect cardiovascular health. We demonstrated that attenuation of inflammation caused by metabolic stress using an anti-inflammatory drug (Rosiglitazone) improved cardiovascular health.