Nutrition, Heart Disease and Diabetes (edX)

You'll learn about the etiology of heart attacks, type 2 diabetes, stroke, other forms of cardiovascular diseases and how often these occur worldwide. You will learn about biological modifiable risk factors, such as blood pressure, blood cholesterol and obesity, and how they impact these diseases in a different way.After completing this course you will also have gained a deeper insight in underlying pathophysiological mechanisms, such as insulin resistance, and the role of (epi)genetic factors.

Dieticians and doctors often get questions from their patients on what they can do to improve their health.In this course, part of the Professional Certificate Program Nutrition and Disease, you will learn about the interaction between nutrients, diets and cardiometabolic disease (heart disease and diabetes).

You'll learn about the current progress in nutrition and cardiometabolic disease research. You will learn how cardio metabolic diseases can be prevented on the population level through lifestyle and dietary modifications.

This course is especially valuable for professionals (in training) from various disciplines related to nutrition and health, e.g. nutritionists, epidemiologists, public health workers, physicians, health care professionals, health policy makers, nutrition educators, biologists, and food scientists.

This course is part of the Nutrition and Disease Professional Certificate.

What you'll learn

- Understand the role of dietary factors in the occurrence, progression and treatment of cardiometabolic diseases

- Understand the biological processes that contribute to cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and other cardiometabolic disorders

- Guidelines for primary prevention

- The role of epigenetics and genetic factors

Syllabus

Module 1 – Cardiometabolic Disease Risk

In this module you will be introduced to the different types of cardiometabolic diseases, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Furthermore both biological and environmental risk factors for these diseases such as age, blood pressure and physical exercise will be presented.

Module 2 – Role of diet – Prevention of Cardiometabolic Disease

The role of macronutrient and food intake in relation to cardiometabolic disease prevention will be presented in this module. You will gain knowledge about the importance and development of dietary guidelines for the prevention of disease.

Module 3 – Pathophysiology of Cardiometabolic Disease

Learn about the pathophysiology and processes that contribute to the development of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Amongst others, insulin resistance, adipose tissue, inflammation, blood lipids and ischemia and reperfusion injury will be discussed.

Module 4 – Molecular Aspects

In this module you will learn about genetic and epigenetic practices in relation to nutrition and cardiometabolic diseases including EWAS, GWAS, diet-gene interactions, DNA methylation and Mendelian Randomisation.

Module 5 – Nutritional Strategies to Reduce Cardiometabolic Diseases

This final module describes some directions for reducing the burden of cardiometabolic diseases. Several dietary patterns, the focus of future scientific research and actions of different stakeholders are discussed.