Eating a diet that encourages a healthy gut microbiome, avoiding central obesity (fat in the stomach region) and gettingenough sleep are among the many dietary and lifestyle factors that may help to protect against heart disease and stroke. That’s according to findings of a new Task Force report from the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF), entitled Car diovascular Disease: Diet, Nutrition and Emer ging Rask Factors: 2nd Edition. The evidence for otheremerging risk factors that may increase risk – such as being sedentary for long periods, and poor diet in pregnancy – were presented at a conference for academics and health professionals to launch the Task Force report in London recently.
In the UK, the death rate from cardiovascular disease (CVD), which includes heart disease and stroke has been falling but it is still one of the leading causes of death. There are a number of treatments available, which have contributed to reducing mortality, but ill health associated with CVD (morbidity) remains high and could even be rising in older age groups.