Raquel Enciso Serradilla: The Nutritional Gaps Behind Millions of Heart Attacks and Strokes
Raquel Enciso Serradilla, Medical Affairs Resource Centre Specialist at Nutricia UK, shared on LinkedIn about a recent article by GBD 2023 IHD and Dietary Risk Factors Collaborators, published in Nature Medicine, adding:
”It’s not what we eat too much of… it’s what we don’t eat enough of that’s driving heart disease.
A new Nature Medicine study analysing 33 years of global data shows a simple pattern:
Millions of heart attacks and strokes are linked to missing foods, not just ‘bad diets’.
The biggest gaps?
- Nuts and seeds
- Whole grains
- Fruit
- Too much salt
But here’s the interesting part: Heart health doesn’t start in the heart—it starts in the gut.
When we lack fibre-rich foods (like whole grains and fruit):
- our gut bacteria change
- harmful compounds like TMAO increase
- inflammation rises
…and over time, this damages our blood vessels.
These foods don’t just ‘add nutrition’ — they act like a daily protective shield, supporting the gut to protect the heart.
My takeaway:
We often look for new solutions in healthcare — but a large part of the impact still lies in applying what we already know works.”
Title: Global, regional and national burden of ischemic heart disease attributable to suboptimal diet, 1990–2023: a Global Burden of Disease study
Authors: GBD 2023 IHD and Dietary Risk Factors Collaborators
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