The Power of Diet in CVD Risk Factor Reduction

Abstract This chapter investigates how factors like body-weight, blood pressure, and blood lipid levels can contribute to the developof cardiovascular disease (CVD) and what qualifies an individual to be at risk. These factors were chosen as the focus of this chapter due to their extensive association with CVD. The effectiveness of the Portfolio diet in reducing these risk factors, is compared to other diets, including The Mediterranean diet, the Okinawan diet, the Nordic diet, a low glycemic index (GI) diet the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet. Many of these diets were developed to mimic the traditional diets of populations known to have low levels of these risk factors and the incidence of CVD. In contrast, the Portfolio diet was developed by combining components known to individually reduce the risk of CVD and situating them in the context of a healthy eating pattern. These compoinclude nuts, viscous fiber, plant sterols, and soy protein. When combined the effect on risk factor reduction is much greater than any component individually. As some of these components are also found in the other diets which we discussed, this chapter reviews the overlap in risk reduction with other evidence-based diets. Key points: Weight ● Low-carbohydrate diets like Atkins may negatively affect CVD risk in the long run once the benefits of weight-loss have plateaued as low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) levels remain high. ● Eco-Atkins, a high protein, plant-based variation of the Atkins diet, resulted in reductions in both waistlines and LDL. ● Both a low GI diet and the Portfolio diet have been observed to reduce body weight over the long term. Blood pressure ● Significant reductions in blood pressure (BP) were observed for the DASH diet, the Vegetarian diet, the Portfolio diet, and the Mediterranean diet, likely due to the high consumption of fruits and vegetables common in these diets. ● Reducing salt intake may only be effective for already hypertensive individuals. Blood lipids ● LDL reductions are seen in the Portfolio, Nordic, Mediterranean, DASH, and Low GI diet. ● Strong evidence for the benefits of reducing LDL irrespective of baseline LDL levels. ● LDL: HDL (low density lipoprotein: high density lipoprotein) ratios may be more predictive of CVD than either LDH or HDL alone. ● The Portfolio and Mediterranean Diets both decreased the ratio of LDL:HDL, likely because of the high concentration of monounsaturated fats from plant-based oils and nuts found in both diets. Framingham equation: ● Reduced 10 year risk of CHD/CVD found in Portfolio diet, vegetarian diets and the DASH diet.