Nutrition and its impact on cardiovascular disease

Abstract

Globalization, and more recently the COVID-19 pandemic, has resulted in major changes in nutrition and health [1 & ]. In some countries hunger and undernutrition persist, but in middle-income and developed countries malnutrition-related obesity and chronic diseases prevail. The type and availability of food consumed appears to be changing worldwide and impacting on cardiovascular disease [2]. It is, therefore, useful to see a reappraisal of data linking diet and cardiovascular disease.Opinions vary on whether dairy products contribute to cardiovascular disease. An interesting Swedish cohort study [3 && ] of about 4000 adults found that higher levels of a marker for dairy intake was associated with lower incident cardiovascular disease. The authors also carried out a meta-analysis of 18 cohorts, including their own, and once again dietary markers of dairy intake were associated with lower cardiovascular risk. There are a variety of dairy products with differing fat content and the authors acknowledge that the biomarkers did not distinguish between the type of dairy food.Another overarching systematic review of guidelines, systematic reviews and randomized controlled trials [4 && ] foundthat dairy products and redmeathad no clear effect on LDL cholesterol, but foods high in saturated fat and unfiltered coffee showed a moderate-to-large increase in LDL cholesterol. Eggs, marine oils, and sugar also showed a small increase in LDL cholesterol. This study very usefully presented the GRADE evidence (The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation) for the effects of foods on LDL cholesterol.