Objective:

To explore how specific dietary patterns and food components influence cardiometabolic health and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk.

Key Findings:

• 1.55 million deaths in the WHO European Region in 2019 were attributed to suboptimal diets.
• High adherence to the Mediterranean diet linked to reduced plaque probability in men.
• Higher organic food consumption associated with lower risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
• No significant association found between processed/red meat and CVD/type 2 diabetes, suggesting the need for further research.
• Higher intake of dietary dicarbonyl compounds correlated with lower risk of non-fatal CVD.
• Maternal intake of dairy protein inversely associated with hypertension; red meat protein positively associated.
• Dietary patterns significantly influence individual cardiometabolic health.

Interpretation:

Dietary choices play a crucial role in CVD prevention, with specific patterns and food components demonstrating significant impacts on health outcomes, emphasizing the need for dietary diversity.

Limitations:

• Potential confounding factors, such as socioeconomic status and lifestyle choices, not accounted for in some studies.
• Variability in individual responses to dietary patterns may affect generalizability.

Conclusion:

Adopting specific dietary patterns, particularly plant-based and Mediterranean diets, can significantly reduce CVD risk and improve overall cardiometabolic health, highlighting the importance of individual dietary choices.