The functional foods in the prevention and control of cardiovascular diseases

palavras-chave: alimentos funcionais, doenças cardiovasculares, compostos bioativos.

keywords: functional foods, cardiovascular disease, bioactive compounds.

resumo

As doenças cardiovasculares (DCV) representam cerca de 30% de todas as causas de morte no mundo e, caso não haja medidas preventivas, há estimativas de que estes números poderão ser ainda maiores. Anteriormente, a dieta para o tratamento das DCV era essencialmente a restrição de alimentos fontes de gordura saturada e colesterol. Contudo, com o avanço das pesquisas, verificou-se que alguns alimentos não atuariam apenas na função básica de nutrir, mas beneficiariam também a saúde e diminuiriam os riscos de desenvolver DCV, surgindo desse modo a definição de “alimentos funcionais”.

abstract

Cardiovascular diseases (CD) represent about 30% of all causes of death around the world and, if there is not prevention, it is estimated that these numbers will can be higher. Before, the diet for the treatment of CD was essentially the restriction of food sources of saturated fat and cholesterol, however with the advancement of research, it was found that some foods do not act only in the basic function of nutrition, but they would also benefit the health and decrease the risk of developing CD, appearing therefore the definition of "functional foods”.