Dietary Patterns and Cardiovascular Inflammation

Cardiovascular inflammation occupies a central role in the development and progression of atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction and stroke. Rather than focusing on individual nutrients, modern research emphasises whole‐diet approaches that capture the synergistic effects of diverse food groups. Healthful dietary patterns rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and oily fish tend to lower pro‐inflammatory cytokines and adhesion molecules, while diets high in processed meats, refined carbohydrates, saturated fats and added sugars promote endothelial dysfunction and chronic low‐grade inflammation. Mechanistic studies link beneficial patterns to enhanced antioxidant defences, improved lipid profiles and favourable modulation of the gut microbiome, which collectively attenuate vascular injury. Globally, promoting such dietary frameworks offers a scalable strategy for primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, with clear implications for public health policy, clinical guidance and patient‐centred care.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent large‐scale analyses have applied multidimensional dietary scores to examine associations with inflammation‐related outcomes across broad populations. One comprehensive investigation of prospective cohort data demonstrated that higher adherence to established healthy‐eating indices—including a Mediterranean diet score, an alternate healthy eating index and a healthful plant‐based diet index—was inversely associated with the incidence of cardiometabolic disorders and other chronic conditions. In parallel, an empirically derived dietary inflammatory index showed that diets with lower inflammatory potential correlated with reduced markers of systemic inflammation and a lower risk of cardiovascular events. These findings underscore the predictive value of whole‐diet metrics in identifying individuals at elevated inflammatory risk and support the integration of empirically derived indexes into nutritional surveillance and intervention programmes.

Dietary Patterns and Cardiovascular Inflammation publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in dietary patterns and cardiovascular inflammation across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Mediterranean diet: A dietary pattern characterised by high intakes of plant-based foods, olive oil and fish, with moderate wine consumption and limited red meat, associated with anti-inflammatory effects.

Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII): An empirically derived scoring system that quantifies the inflammatory potential of overall diet based on the combined effects of multiple food components on pro- and anti-inflammatory biomarkers.

C-reactive protein (CRP): An acute-phase protein released by the liver in response to inflammation, widely used as a clinical marker of systemic inflammatory status.

Atherosclerosis: A chronic vascular condition characterised by the accumulation of lipid-laden plaques in arterial walls, driven in part by inflammatory processes.

Inflammatory biomarkers: Molecules such as cytokines, adhesion factors and acute-phase proteins that indicate the presence and intensity of immune activation within the vascular system.

References

1. Healthy dietary patterns and the risk of individual chronic diseases in community-dwelling adults. Nature Communications (2023).
2. Food-based indexes and their association with dietary inflammation. Advances in Nutrition (2025).
3. Nutrition and Cardiovascular Health. International Journal of Molecular Sciences (2018).
4. Dietary Pattern and Macronutrients Profile on the Variation of Inflammatory Biomarkers: Scientific Update. Cardiology Research and Practice (2018).