Background:

At present, controversies exist around nutrition recommendations for cardiovascular diseases.

Objective :

We proposed to analyze over time the historical transition and paradigm shifts in the study of diet and cardiovascular disease in order to advance the field of nutritional epidemiology, considering dietary patterns and lifestyles.

Reflection:

Historically, studies that investigate the association between diet and cardiovascular risk have centered on calories or nutrients as isolated factors. However, this has been problematic in addressing the multidi mensional phenomenon of chronic diseases. In the last few years, the analysis of dietary patterns has been proposed along with the degree of food processing, which includes the global combination of foods and the synergistic effects of certain nutrients.

Conclusion:

Nutritional epidemiology has evidenced that the focus on calories and nutrients is not sufficient for the analysis of chronic diseases. It’s also been shown that cardiovascular diseases - both multicausal and complex - are influenced by: synergistic effects of food and nutrients; the quality of foods consumed; the degree of industrial processing; food environments; and dietary patterns in general.

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