Functional Food and Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Treatment: A Review

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is now the leading cause of death globally and is a growing health concern. Lifestyle factors, including nutrition, play an important role in the etiology and treatment of CVD. Functional foods based on their basic nutritional functions can decrease the risk of many chronic diseases and have some physiological benefits. They contain physiologically active components either from plant or animal sources, marketed with the claim of their ability to reduce heart disease risk, focusing primarily on established risk factors, which are hyperlipidemia, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, obesity/overweight, elevated lipoprotein A level, small dense low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and elevated inflammatory marker levels. Functional foods are suspected to exert their cardioprotective effects mainly through blood lipid profile level and improve hypertension control, endothelial function, platelet aggregation, and antioxidant actions. Clinical and epidemiological observations indicate that vegetable and fruit fiber, nuts and seeds, sea foods, coffee, tea, and dark chocolate have cardioprotective potential in humans, as well whole-grain products containing intact grain kernels rich in fiber and trace nutrients. They are nutritionally more important because they contain phytoprotective substances that might work synergistically to reduce cardiovascular risk. This review will focus on the reciprocal interaction between functional foods and the potential link to cardiovascular health and the possible mechanisms of action.

Dietary intake of omega fatty acids and polyphenols and its relationship with the levels of inflammatory markers in men with chronic coronary syndrome after percutaneous coronary intervention

“…11 Among potential cardioprotective effects of polyphenols, the following are postulated most frequently: inhibition of low -density lipoprotein oxidation, antioxidant action, improvement of endothelial function, and reduction of platelet aggregation. 12 Besides, antiplatelet and anti -inflammatory activity of plant polyphenols is well documented. 13,14 Numerous publications have reported that plant polyphenols reduce the CRP level in inflammatory diseases.…”

Effect of chia seeds (<i>Salvia hispanica</i>) on postprandial glycaemia, body weight and hematological parameters in rats fed a high fat and fructose diet

“…Typical functional food contains bioactive compounds including dietary fiber, polyunsaturated fatty acids, phytochemicals and antioxidants that have potential roles in reducing the risk of chronic diseases (Gazem and Chandrashekariah, 2016). Chia seed is among the growing functional food that have been reported to protect the cardiovascular system, exhibit anti-inflammatory properties, anti-oxidative properties and control blood sugar and lipid metabolism (Gazem and Chandrashekariah, 2016;Marcinek and Krejpcio, 2017;Asgary et al, 2018).…”

“…There is growing evidence that whole grains may play a central role in the prevention of chronic diseases (Vuksan et al, 2007). Epidemiological studies suggest a strong association between increased consumption of whole-grain foods and reduced risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease (Ho et al, 2013;Alissa and Ferns, 2014;Asgary et al, 2018).…”

Anti-Atherosclerotic Properties of Wild Rice in Low-Density Lipoprotein Receptor Knockout Mice: The Gut Microbiome, Cytokines, and Metabolomics Study

“…Appropriate types of diets and levels of physical activities are believed to be major determinants of maintaining optimal health [1,2]. Many studies have reported that regular consumption of certain 2 of 13 foods, particularly plant-based foods, such as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, as well as fish, are associated with decreased prevalence of chronic diseases, specifically cardiovascular disease [3,4]. Phytochemicals that are contained within these foods are believed to mediate these health benefits and include phytosterols, dietary fiber, dietary antioxidants, oleic acid, and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).…”