Diet and Cardiovascular Health Research Programme (N02)

Cardiovascular health can be influenced by a number of dietary, environmental and nutritional factors. Promoting cardiovascular health means helping to prevent such cardiovascular diseases as coronary heart disease (CHD), cerebrovascular disease (stroke) and peripheral vascular disease.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death world-wide. CVD mortality rates in the UK are among the highest in the world, accounting for 36% of deaths in men aged less than 75 years and 28% among women. Over half these deaths are from CHD, making it the leading cause of death in the UK. CHD is also a major cause of morbidity. There is consistent evidence that nutritional factors can reduce the risk of CVD.

The aim of the Diet and Cardiovascular Health Programme is to provide sound scientific evidence on the biological effects of dietary components on cardiovascular health which can be used in the formulation of healthy eating recommendations for consumers. The scientific and technical objectives of the programme focus on long term, free living human in vivo intervention studies, examining the effects of modifying dietary lipid and plant food (e.g. fruit and vegetable) intake on cardiovascular health.

Dietary lipids
Both the level and type of dietary lipid have been implicated in the causation and/or progression of a number of different diseases including cardiovascular disease. Work undertaken as part of this programme aims to examine the effects of the total and relative quantities of different dietary fatty acids on cardiovascular health. Current dietary recommendations for different dietary lipids are incomplete and more evidence is required. There is, therefore, a need for randomised controlled trials to further assess and quantify the effects of dietary lipids, accounting for nutrient interactions, on cardiovascular health.

Plant foods
Numerous observational studies present consistent evidence that diets rich in fruit and vegetables protect against cardiovascular disease (CVD) - a strong protective effect of fruit and vegetables for stroke and a weaker protective effect for coronary heart disease has been observed. These observations have led to the recommendation that populations with high rates of cardiovascular disease should substantially increase consumption of fruit and vegetables, e.g. Our Healthier Nation.

Despite plasma antioxidant levels being inversely associated with CVD, intervention trials supplementing with antioxidant nutrients have failed to show any consistent benefit on CVD, and some trials have even suggested possible harmful effects in certain subgroups. Although dietary interventions increasing fruit and vegetable consumption have demonstrated beneficial effects on blood pressure, there are limited experimental data exploring the relationship between fruit and vegetable consumption and CVD risk. There is, therefore, a need for randomised controlled trials to further assess and quantify the dose-response effects of fruit and vegetable intake (and relevant constituents therein) on cardiovascular health.

Questions addressed within the programme:

• How do dietary factors influence insulin resistance syndrome and related cardiovascular disease risk factors?
• How do dietary factors affect cardiovascular and haematological function? The determination of the effects of dietary factors on immune function, vascular function, inflammation and lipoprotein metabolism relative to cardiovascular health should also be considered.
• What is the optimal dietary intake for cardiovascular health for specific groups of individuals as a consequence of special vulnerability, e.g. social, geographic, gender, ethnicity, environmental, stage-of-life and genetic factors?

Workshops
Sanderson P, Gill JMR, Packard CJ, Sanders TAB, Vessby B & Williams CM. UK Food Standards Agency cis-monounsaturated fatty acid workshop report. British Journal of Nutrition (2002) 88, 99-104. Workshop on cis-monounsaturated fatty acids held by the Agency

Sanderson P, Finnegan YE, Williams CM, Millward DJ, Griffin B, Wootton S, Pegge N & Bemelmans W. UK Food Standards Agency alpha-linolenic acid workshop report British Journal of Nutrition (2002), 88, 573–579. Workshop on alpha-linolenic acid held by the Agency

Name: Rachel Elsom
Tel: 020 7276 8959
Email: rachel.elsom@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk