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Functional foods and cardiovascular disease.
C M Hasler1, S Kundrat, D Wool
1Functional Foods for Health Program, University of Illinois, 1302 West Pennsylvania Avenue, Room 103 Agricultural Bioprocess Laboratory; M/C 640, Urbana, IL 61801, USA. c-hasler@uiuc.edu
Current Atherosclerosis Reports
|December 21, 2000
Summary
Functional foods offer health benefits beyond basic nutrition. Consuming these foods may help prevent and treat cardiovascular disease through various mechanisms.
Area of Science:
- Nutritional Science
- Cardiovascular Health
Background:
- Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of mortality in the United States.
- Functional foods provide health benefits beyond basic nutrition through physiologically active components.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the role of functional foods in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease.
- To identify specific functional foods and their mechanisms of action.
Main Methods:
- Review of literature on functional foods and cardiovascular health.
- Identification of specific food examples like soybeans, oats, garlic, and fish.
- Examination of proposed mechanisms of action.
Main Results:
- Several functional foods show potential in managing cardiovascular disease risk.
- Mechanisms include lowering blood lipids, improving arterial compliance, and reducing LDL oxidation.
- Other mechanisms involve decreasing plaque formation, scavenging free radicals, and inhibiting platelet aggregation.
Conclusions:
- Consistent intake of functional foods may aid in reducing cardiovascular disease risk.
- Functional foods represent a promising dietary strategy for cardiovascular health management.