How nutrition can impact cardiovascular health

The link between nutriton and heart health

A balanced and nutritious diet is a cornerstone of cardiovascular disease prevention.¹ Dietary habits influence cardiovascular risk by affecting factors such as blood pressure, blood lipids, obesity, inflammation, and endothelial function.²

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death and a major cause of illness and disability globally.^1,3 In Europe, dietary risks are responsible for around half of the death and disability caused by cardiovascular disease and may cost the European Union economy €102 billion a year.¹

There is a clear need for health professionals to provide evidence-based nutritional information to increase access to nutrition education and improve public health. The World Health Organisation (WHO) also recognises that consultations between patients and health professionals can act as an effective way to support patient behaviour change.⁴

As a pharmacist, you are among the most accessible health professionals who can help educate and coach patients on healthy lifestyle habits by providing nutrition advice and counselling on safe use of multivitamins and supplements.⁴ However, pharmacists worldwide report a gap in knowledge, skillset, and confidence in counselling patients in nutrition.⁵

At Haleon, we want to raise the bar in the level of service and support health professionals receive from the industry. As part of this, we are committed to delivering world-class education to help address the knowledge and confidence gap.

In 2022, we worked with Professor Philip Calder to create a three-part webinar series to provide foundational nutrition education to pharmacists. All three webinars are available to watch on-demand on Haleon HealthPartner.

Philip Calder is the Professor of Nutritional Immunology within Medicine at the University of Southampton. Professor Calder is the President of the Federation of European Nutrition Societies and acts as an Associate Editor of Journal of Nutrition, Clinical Science, Nutrition Research and Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism. He has over 800 scientific publications and is recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher.