Functional foods for cardiovascular disease in women

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in women. Functional food consumption can play an important role in the prevention and treatment of CVD. The purpose of this review is to establish recommendations for the intake of functional food ingredients in a healthy diet, such as soy proteins and isoflavone, omega-3 fatty acids (FAs) from fish oils (FOs) including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docoshexaenoic acid (DHA) and plant sterols-(PS) enriched foods - for prevention and treatment of CVD in postmenopausal women. First, controversial results exist on CVD risk factors after intake of soy protein and isoflavone that indicates that further clinical studies need to be done to better understand their role in maintaining and improving cholesterol levels. However, since soy contains polyunsaturated fats, replacing some higher fat meat protein sources with soy products may contribute to cardiovascular health. Secondly, FOs, including EPA and DHA, have shown promising effects for lowering triglyceride levels. In addition, emerging research appears to show that omega-3 FAs may have additional health effects with improved arterial health and a reduction in oxidative stress in postmenopausal women. Thirdly, foods and beverages supplemented with PS may reduce cholesterol; therefore, are a worthy addition to interventions aimed at lowering heart disease risk in women. Overall, incorporating functional foods into a healthy diet may be beneficial in helping to reduce lipids levels and thus the risk of CVD.