Effectiveness of Changes in Diet Composition on Reducing the Incidence of Cardiovascular Disease

Abstract

To highlight dietary changes shown to be associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular events in epidemiological studies and that have been proven to be effective in preventing cardiovascular diseases in clinical trials Since dietary changes always involve multiple variables, recent observational and intervention studies on dietary prevention of cardiovascular disease focus not only to the limitation of a single nutrient/food intake but also to the other dietary changes implemented to replace it. The available evidence supports three major dietary strategies for cardiovascular disease prevention: (1) the replacement of saturated fat with unsaturated fat and/or fiber-rich carbohydrate foods; (2) the reduction of salt intake; (3) the implementation of dietary patterns resembling the traditional Mediterranean diet. This support derives not only from RCTs but also from the combination of large observational cohort studies and relatively short-term randomized trials on cardiovascular risk factors.