Functional Food Interventions for Mitigating Cardiovascular Risk Markers in Adults

Cardiovascular diseases continue to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality around the world, primarily due to lifestyle and dietary modifiable factors. Functional foods offer a promising dietary approach to improve cardiovascular risk markers. Studies have demonstrated that enriched foods with bioactive compounds (oats, omega-3 fatty acid, and probiotics) are able to increase lipid profiles, blood pressure control, and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Yet, data are scarce on the community level view.

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to determine the extent to which taking functional food affects the cardiovascular risk parameters of adults. A standardized questionnaire was applied to collect diet habits, knowledge and frequency of functional food intake as well as self-reported cardiovascular indicators comprised of blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides, and glucose from 512 individuals aged 25 to 65 years.

This descriptive cross-sectional study was designed to explore association between functional food intake and markers of CVD risk in adults. A structured questionnaire was developed using a review of literature as well as through expert consults in the areas of nutrition and public health.

Most participants (78%) knew about functional foods and oats, nuts, and fatty fish were the products most ingested. Higher consumption of β-glucan-rich foods (≥ 5 times/week) was significantly related to lower odds ratio for high cholesterol (OR: 0.66, p = 0.03), and that of omega-3 rich foods was significantly associated with reduced odds ratio for hypertriglyceridemia (OR: 0.60, p = 0.02). There was no significant relation with plant sterol fortified food intake and LDL cholesterol, largely because usage was low. Obstacles to utilization were cost and lack of availability. The results indicated that the increased consumption of some functional foods was accompanied by a more favorable cardiovascular risk profile. The results also highlighted the significance of recommending functional foods in preventive policies.

The study found significant benefit of functional food interventions on risk markers for cardiovascular health, but advocacy is limited by behavioral and socioeconomic determinants. The public health programs that will advocate functional foods would be an essential measure to alleviate the burden of CVDs.