Can Food Really Be Medicine? Patricia B Brevard, PhD, RD, FADA Department of Health Sciences James Madison University Nutrition and Disease Prevention: Can Specific Nutrients Help to Prevent Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases? Preview of Presentation: • • • • • • Nutrient content of foods Prevalence and causes of dz Other chem found in fd Vit/min/antiox and how they prevent dz AHA prevention diet, CA prevention diet Fds most likely to be used as preventive mechanisms: Top Ten Food Lists • CA, CVD < risk with good nutr Essential Nutrients Found in Foods (Required for Good Health) Macronutrients (energy nutrients) Water Proteins Carbohydrates Fats Minerals Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn, Se, Na, K, V, Bo, I, S, Cl, P, Cr, Cu, F, Mo, Zn Vitamins B vitamins (thiamine niacin, riboflavin, folic acid, Vitamin B 12, Vitamin B6, pantothenic acid, biotin) Vitamin C Vitamins A, D, E, K The Ten Leading Causes of Death in the United States Heart disease Cancers Strokes Chronic lung diseases Accidents Diabetes mellitus Pneumonia and influenza Alzheimer’s disease Kidney diseases Blood infections Key: Diet related Alcohol related Other causes Deaths per 100,000 population Free Radicals Cause Many Diseases, Antioxidants Quench Free Radicals (cont’d) The Actions of Free Radicals and Antioxidants (cont’d) Phytochemicals and Antioxidants • • • • • • • Important chemicals found in foods Not currently known if they are required Play an important role in prevention of dz May be up to 10,000 in a single food Over 600 currently identified Like nutrients, also found in foods Many different methods of identifying, many foods not yet tested for their content • Numbers currently reported not yet complete Immune system: • Cells and chemicals synthesized in the blood, tissues (antibodies, white blood cells, etc.) • Designed to destroy anything detected as “not self”, any foreign substance that can harm the body • Lines of defense: skin, tears, GI tract, blood, tissues, cells, and chemicals • A healthy immune system helps resist disease What is MI? • Initial damage to blood vessel walls, chemical or physical stress may contribute to damage • Begins as fatty streak, then develops into fibrous plaque, fat, cholesterol deposited • Platelets in blood aggregate, clot forms, plaque occludes arteries • Blood flow to part of body is restricted • Extent of damage determined by location of plaque • Oxidized LDL and elevated serum LDL are key factors • Elevated HC and CRP also increase risk • All are related to nutrients and phytochemicals • What you eat at each feeding may be critical in causing or preventing platelet aggregation and MI occurrence CA Prevention Guidelines • • • • • • Variety: consume varied diet based primarily on plant foods with a wide variety of vegetables and fruits, pulses (legumes) Maintaining Weight: keep BMI in range of 18.5 – 25, avoid underweight or overweight; limit weight gain during adulthood to less than kg (11 #) Maintain Physical Activity via an active lifestyle throughout life, take and hour’s brisk walk or other exercise daily, exercise vigorously for a total of at least hr/wk Year-round consume 7%+ of total energy from fruits and vegetables, eat 15 - 30 oz or + servings daily of a variety of fruits and veggies Other plants: eat variety of starchy plants, minimally processed, 45-60% of kcals from starches, [...]... don’t change recommendations based on one study BE CAREFUL!! Case study: Beta-carotene Hundreds of studies show diets high in beta-carotene ….decrease risk of cancer But how did we really know it was the beta-carotene? We Didn’t!!! Common Carotenoids • • • • • • • beta-carotene* alpha-carotene cryptoxanthin* lycopene lutein zeaxanthin neoxanthin • • • • • • canthaxanthin violaxanthin phytoluene phytoene... low-fat milk products, fish, legumes (beans), skinless poultry, lean meats • Choose fats and oils with 2 grams or less saturated fat/T, ie liquid and tub margarines, canola oil, olive oil • Balance the number of calories you eat with the number you use daily (To find that number, multiply the number of pounds you weigh now by 15 calories This represents the average number of calories used in one day if... Preservation: freeze or chill foods not consumed right away, use refrigeration or other appropriate methods to preserve perishable food as purchased and at home 12 Monitor enforcement of safety limits of food additives, pesticides, and their residues; when carefully monitored, residues of additives are not present in food and drink at levels known to be harmful; unregulated or improper use can be a health hazard,... Maintain a physical activity level to keep you fit and match the number of calories you eat: salk or do other activities at least 30 minutes most days; to lose weight, do enough activity to use up more calories than you eat daily Limit intake of foods high in calories/low in nutrition, ie soft drinks, candy, foods with a lot of sugar Limit foods high in saturated fat, trans fat and/or cholesterol, such... provide 15% to 30% of total energy, limit fatty foods, esp those of animal origin, use modest amounts of appropriate veggie oils 9 Salt from all sources should amount to < 6 g/d or 25 oz for adults, limit salted foods, limit use of cooking oil and table salt, season foods with herbs and spices 10 Store perishable foods to minimize fungal contamination, do not eat food with liability to contamination with... growing in lung, etc Tumor Formation Carcinogen Figure 18-6 Page 637 Initiation Promotion Benign Normal cells Tumor formation Noncancerous (benign) tumor Malignant Normal cells Normal cells Initiators begin the Promoters enhance process of changing the development of the DNA in some of abnormal cells the cells Cancerous (malignant) tumor releases cells into the bloodstream (metastasis) ©2003 Wadsworth,... Prevention Phytochemicals in many foods may help prevent diseases In-text Figure Page 467 Functional foods provide us with many health benefits An Array of Phytochemicals in a Variety of Fruits and Vegetables Broccoli and broccoli sprouts contain an abundance of the cancer-fighting phytochemical sulforaphane The phytochemical resveratrol found in grapes (and nuts) protects against cancer by inhibiting cell... 1-1/2 oz 80-proof spirits, or 1 oz 100-proof spirits Cancer Guidelines July 1997 World Cancer Research Fund American Institute for Cancer Research Other observer groups: Internat’l Agency for Res on CA FAO of UN WHO, NCI, NIH CA Prevention Guidelines • • • • • • 1 Variety: consume varied diet based primarily on plant foods with a wide variety of vegetables and fruits, pulses (legumes) 2 Maintaining Weight:... nutrients/chemicals may cause cancer, they protect if adequate, but increase risk if too low or too high • EtOH less than 1 drink/d or < 15 g/d • Many specific foods appear to have protective chemicals, but may work in combination with other foods/chemicals • Phytochemicals and nutrients may interact to protect if adequate, or harm if too high or too low • Varied diet with lots of different foods will insure that... division of Thomson Learning, Inc Thomson Learning ™ is a trademark used herein under license For the best heart attack and cancer fighter, visit your local produce center and look for different colors! In-text Figure Page 619 Vegetables rich in fiber, phytochemicals, and the antioxidant nutrients (beta-carotene, vitamin C, and vitamin E) help to protect against chronic diseases Nutrition recommendations ... based on one study BE CAREFUL!! Case study: Beta-carotene Hundreds of studies show diets high in beta-carotene ….decrease risk of cancer But how did we really know it was the beta-carotene? We... ie liquid and tub margarines, canola oil, olive oil • Balance the number of calories you eat with the number you use daily (To find that number, multiply the number of pounds you weigh now by... pure alcohol, ie 12 oz beer, oz wine, 1-1/2 oz 80-proof spirits, or oz 100-proof spirits Cancer Guidelines July 1997 World Cancer Research Fund American Institute for Cancer Research Other observer