10 JEAN MAYER USDA HUMAN NUTRITION RESEARCH CENTER ON AGING 2016 PROGRESS REPORT 11 Regular intake of sugary beverages, but not diet soda, is associated with prediabetes. A significant body of research has found associations between regular consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Researchers in the Nutritional Epidemiology Program took it a step further and looked at 1,685 middle-aged adults over a period of 14 years, and found those who drank the highest amounts of sugar-sweetened beverages had a significantly greater risk of developing prediabetes, compared to low or non-consumers. An even more interesting finding from the study; diet soda intake had no statistical associations with risk for either prediabetes or insulin resistance. Ma et al. “Sugar-Sweetened Beverage but Not Diet Soda Consumption Is Positively Associated with Progression of Insulin Resistance and Prediabetes.” J. Nutrition 2016; 146:1-7. 
 Looking to policy to tackle health disparities in the age of personalized medicine Focusing on breast cancer and chronic kidney disease, researchers in the Nutrition and Genomics Lab showed that while genetic knowledge has grown and been used to fight these diseases in the last decade, significant racial and ethnic health disparities persist and hinder universal progress. In a paper published in Health Affairs, researchers outlined policy efforts needed to ensure that genetic applications advance in healthcare in ways that reduce existing disparities. Three key areas where their recommendations would make improvements? Incomplete genetic databases, inadequate treatment options, and insufficiently understood disease mechanisms. Smith, C.E., et al. “Using genetic technologies to reduce, rather than widen, health disparities,” Health Affairs. 2016; 35(8):1367-1373. Rethinking an important nutrition benchmark The glycemic index (GI) of a given food is a value that aims to indicate the food’s effect on a person’s blood glucose (also called blood sugar) level. Developed as a way to help diabetic individuals control their blood sugar, GI is intended to represent the effects a food has on blood sugar levels. GI has also served as the basis for several popular diets. Researchers in our Cardiovascular Nutrition Lab discovered that glucose response varies among individuals, hence, it should be used with caution on an individual level. It is one of many parameters that go into defining a healthy diet. Matthan, N.R., et al. “Estimating the reliability of glycemic index values and potential sources of methodological and biological variability.” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2016. Cancer fighting colors in everyday foods Researchers in our Nutrition and Cancer Biology Lab conduct a lot of research on how carotenoid pigments (red, yellow, orange) fruits and vegetables effect cancer pathways. Last year, they tested the effects of Beta-cryptoxanthin (BCX), a carotenoid pigment compound found in sweet red peppers, on a mouse strain that develops lung tumors when exposed to a carcinogen found in tobacco products and some electronic-cigarette liquids. Mice that were fed BCX developed 50 to 60 percent fewer tumors than mice not fed BCXT. Iskandar, et al. “β-Cryptoxanthin reduced lung tumor multiplicity and inhibited lung cancer cell motility by down-regulating nicotinic acetylcholine receptor α7 signaling,” Cancer Prev Res; 9(11); 1–12. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS OF 2016