Grant: Doctoral Award - Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships

Our previous research has shown that lentils and dry beans improve the health of our blood vessels, which is an important factor for preventing cardiovascular disease. The specific items present in lentils and beans that provide this benefit have not been found, but we believe they are natural compounds found within the seed. But the seeds of lentils and different beans do not contain the same compounds, and therefore the health benefits of these seeds may not be the same. It has been reported that plant-based compounds can reduce high blood pressure (hypertension), which is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and so our study will examine the connection between the compounds in beans and their effects on hypertension. The study will be divided into three parts. The first part will look at how fast these compounds enter and exit our bodies after eating four types of beans (white, black, pinto, and red kidney) and identify what these compounds are. The second part will look at the chemical differences between white and black beans, and determine which colour is most beneficial in improving blood vessels in rats with high blood pressure. We will also include a follow-up phase to find out how long the effects from beans last once consumption has stopped. The final part of this study will look at blood vessel cells (endothelial cells) from three different vessel locations within the body (heart, intestinal fat, and thigh muscle) for a protein called T-cadherin. T-cadherin may have an important role in protecting blood vessel health, and no research has yet looked at the influence of diet on T-cadherin function. The natural compounds from beans may alter the levels of T-cadherin found on our blood vessel cells, and this could be important for improving blood vessel health. Overall, this research study will provide new details into how beans can improve blood vessel health.