Human Nutrition From Molecular Biology to Everyday Life: Chapter 8 - Microbiota and Cardiovascular disease: The potential role of diet

A growing number of studies suggest that the microbiota can indirectly or directly influence cardiovascular risk. In this regard, the microbiota could act in both a potentially atherogenic and protective sense by modifying compounds naturally present in the diet. On the other hand, specific bacterial strains, whose growth could also be facilitated by compounds of alimentary origin, i.e., prebiotics, could instead have direct effects on atherogenesis. In other words, the relationship between microbiota and food is a bidirectional relationship in which the latter modifies the former, which in turn produces metabolites with healthy or harmful effects. In this chapter, we will explore some of the interactions between microbiota and cardiovascular risk that can already be considered scientifically sound given the available evidence. In particular, we will focus on the oral and intestinal microbiota, where research is most active, and we will suggest some future dietary strategies.