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It may sound like a New Age claim, but clinical research suggests thatcertain foods may help reduce inflammation linked to cardiovascular disease(CVD), according to Stephen Phinney, MD, PhD, professor emeritus of medicineat University of California,Davis.
"There are opportunities to find things in the diet that have aneffect on inflammation," Phinney says. "In our diet are naturalsubstances that have powerful anti-inflammatory effects."
Integrating key scientific findings into a meaningful paradigm, Phinneypresented a session on the topic at the American Society of BariatricPhysicians Annual Symposium, held October 31–November 2 in LasVegas.
Although the relationship of inflammatory mediators to CVD, obesity, andtype 2 diabetes is becoming increasingly clear, treatment options are limited.Other than some statins, there are few drugs that reduce levels ofnonlocalized, "constitutive" inflammation, Phinney notes.
Intriguing dietary intervention studies with fish and the so-calledMediterranean diet suggest "impressive decreases in cardiovascularevents and total mortality," Phinney says, that cannot be explained bychanges in lipids alone.
The Mediterranean diet features high consumption of fruits, vegetables,bread and other cereals, potatoes, beans, nuts and seeds; moderate amounts ofolive oil; moderate amounts of dairy products; low to moderate quantities offish and poultry; limited red meat and eggs; and moderate amounts of wine.
Research indicates that moderate consumption of wine lowers concentrationof C-reactive protein, and the effect is independent of statins or theinfluence of alcohol on lipids. Phinney says that no prospective studies havebeen done with specific forms of alcohol, but epidemiology points to wine ashaving the best effect per drink.
In 1989, Michael Burr, MD, and colleagues at Cardiff University in the U.K.reported a study of >2,000 men who were recovering from heart attack. Theinvestigators found that those advised to eat fatty fish two to three timesper week had a 29% reduction in all-cause mortality over a 2-year periodcompared with those who did not receive theadvice.1
Further evidence cited by Phinney includes the Lyon Diet Heart Study, whichfound in a prospective study of 2,000 men followed for 5 years that thoserandomized to a Mediterranean-style diet had a 72% lower rate of cardiac andnoncardiac mortality and a 47% reduction in cardiovascular events such asheart attack, congestive heart failure, and pulmonaryembolism.2
Phinney says that nutrients known to lower inflammatory mediators includeomega-3 fatty acids, gamma-tocopherol (vitamin E), flavonoids, coumarins, andanthrocyanins. Nutrients that tend to raise inflammatory markers includeomega-6 fatty acids, iron, and trans fats, he adds.
As data accumulate on the effects of nutrients on inflammation and otherdisease processes, clinicians need to remain informed on the link between dietand health, Phinney says. "This is not weird science; this is solidresearch." 
References
2. De Lorgeril M, Salen P, Martin JL, et al.: Mediterranean diet,traditional risk factors, and the rate of cardiovascular complications aftermyocardial infarction: Final report of the Lyon Diet Heart Study.Circulation 99:779–785, 1999.
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