Nutrition and Cancer

Nutrition and Cancer

Shazia Ali, Asiya Batool, Asma Tariq, Aashiq Hussain Bhat, Abid Qureshi, Basharat Bashir Teli, Iqbal Qasim, Sumit Kumar, Abhilash Gangadharan, Raj Kumar, Barre Vijay Prasad
Copyright: © 2021 |Pages: 17
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6530-8.ch021
OnDemand:
(Individual Chapters)
Available
$37.50
Current Special Offers
No Current Special Offers
TOTAL SAVINGS: $37.50

Abstract

Cancer is the second biggest killer worldwide. It has been estimated that specific lifestyle and dietary measures can prevent 30–40% of all cancers. Consumption of nutrient sparse foods, such as refined flour products and concentrated sugars, consumption of red meat, low fibre intake, and disproportion of omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids, contributes to cancer risks. Microbiological and chemical food contaminants as well as conventional and industrial food processing methods may further increase the carcinogenicity of diets while protective agents in a cancer prevention diet include folic acid, selenium, vitamin D, vitamin B-12, chlorophyll, and antioxidants such as the carotenoids, kryptoxanthin, lycopene, and lutein. Diet can also influence the gut microbes that may have positive or adverse effects on cancer risk. The authors summarize cancer prevention by functional foods and discuss the role of different dietary factors such as promoter or inhibitor in pathogenesis of different subtypes of cancer worldwide.
Chapter Preview
Top

Introduction

The relationship between nutrition and cancer was initially recognized in 1940 by an experimental study, where progressive confinement of nutritional factors evidently reduced the prevalence of cancer in mice (Tannenbaum, 1940). Other advancements came after two decades depicting the relation between geographical impact and cancer incidence. This was suggestive of the difference in dietary habits and lifestyle (Doll, 1966; Doll, 1970). This was followed by protuberant number of case-control studies that led to the identification of cancer risk factors in diet. Macro and micronutrient components in food along with food patterns play etiological roles in incidence of cancer (Fig. 1). The effects of these components can be altered by lifestyle factors like exercise and physical activity. Besides increasing the body weight, physical inactivity is thought to contribute to cancer risk by negatively effecting the endocrine and immune system. Diets with low in vegetables, fruits and whole grains, are linked with a number of cancers. In this chapter, we discuss the significant role of dietary factors in promotion or inhibition of pathogenesis of different subtypes of cancer worldwide.

Figure 1.

Effect of diet on different cellular processes

978-1-7998-6530-8.ch021.f01

Over Consumption of Energy

Our diet is an essential fuel to sprint our body function smoothly and adequately, not only health but mental health as well. A common saying from Mark Twain states that the only way to keep healthy is to eat what we don’t want, drink what we don’t like, and do what we’d rather not.” This quote consciously warns our mind of balanced diet.

Calories and Obesity

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines obesity as an ‘abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair health’, and states that ‘the fundamental cause of obesity and overweight is an energy imbalance between calories consumed and calories (WHO,2014; Schoeller, 2008). This modern evidence suggests that a major driver of increased caloric intake across diverse populations has been a decrease in the quality of diet: changes in the types and quality of foods consumed, which together influence long-term energy balance (Mozaffarian, Hao, & Rimm, 2011; Bertoia, Mukamal, & Cahill, 2015). Some of the key factors that characterize diet quality include carbohydrate quality; intakes of whole foods such as nuts, beans, fruits, and vegetables; specific fats and oils; and overall dietary patterns. For example, in Mexico, so-called traditional dietary patterns, characterized by the consumption of corn tortillas and maize-based preparations, beans, vegetables, fruits, and vegetable-based fats, have been associated with lower risk of obesity and diabetes (Rodrıguez-Ramırez, Mundo-Rosas2011; Romero-Polvo, Denova-Gutie´rrez, & Rivera-Paredez, 2012).

Notably, overall food quality and dietary patterns also have a major impact on metabolic risk independent of obesity. In other words, a person can remain obese and substantially decrease its metabolic risk with a healthy diet, while a lean person can develop substantial metabolic dysfunction with a poor diet. In addition to the obesity status and total calories, different dietary factors influence visceral adiposity and liver fat production (hepatic de novo lipogenesis). In particular, rapidly digestible carbohydrates activate de novo lipogenesis and influence adiposity, as do trans fats. Other controlled trials further suggest, at least to one month, that the quality of the diet may actually influence metabolic expenditure (Ebbeling, Swain, & Feldman, 2012). While longer-term trials are needed to confirm this last finding, these new results represent a potential paradigm shift – quality of the diet influences not only energy intake, but also energy output.

Complete Chapter List

Search this Book:
Reset