Nutrition, aging and cancer: lessons from dietary intervention studies

Abstract

There is convincing epidemiological and clinical evidence that, independent of aging, lifestyle and, notably, nutrition are associated with development or progression of major human cancers, including breast, prostate, colorectal tumors, and an increasingly large collection of diet-related cancers. Mechanisms underlying this association are mostly related to the distinct epigenetic effects of different dietary patterns. In this context, Mediterranean diet has been reported to significantly reduce mortality rates for various chronic illnesses, including cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. Although many observational studies have supported this evidence, dietary intervention studies using a Mediterranean dietary pattern or its selected food components are still limited and affected by a rather large variability in characteristics of study subjects, type and length of intervention, selected end-points and statistical analysis. Here we review data of two of our intervention studies, the MeDiet study and the DiMeSa project, aimed at assessing the effects of traditional Mediterranean diet and/or its component(s) on a large panel of both plasma and urine biomarkers. Both published and unpublished results are presented and discussed.

The Emerging Role of Sestrin2 in Cell Metabolism, and Cardiovascular and Age-Related Diseases

“…Aging is an eternal theme in human life and many people seek a return to their youth, or at least a way of slowing the aging process. Aging is a complicated process, and many pathological changes are involved, including dysfunctional cell metabolism, the attenuation of host defenses, and memory loss [1][2][3] Consequently, aging can lead to various diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, and myopathy [4,5]. Although much progress has been made in anti-aging research, this mysterious process is not fully understood, and new therapeutic targets are urgently needed.…”

Bioprospecting for Bioactive Peptide Production by Lactic Acid Bacteria Isolated from Fermented Dairy Food

“…The promotion of healthy and sustainable diets is one of major actions prioritized in European research agenda for supporting public health and citizens' wellbeing. Several evidences proved that some foods or food ingredients, including living microbial cells contained therein, can enhance short-term wellbeing and reduce initiation and/or progression of non-diseases and the associated chronic conditions (e.g., musculoskeletal disorders, cardiovascular diseases and stroke, hypertension, obesity, type II diabetes mellitus (T2D), cancers, or mental health conditions) [1,2]. In view of the importance of nutrition in health promotion, academia and the food industry face the new challenge to tailor novel strategies and products that better contribute to human welfare as well as reducing the risk of insurgence of specific pathologies [3].…”

The Mediterranean Diet Slows Down the Progression of Aging and Helps to Prevent the Onset of Frailty: A Narrative Review

“…Healthy aging and component of healthy aging, according to Alternative Healthy Eating Index-2010: Healthy aging: OR = 1.34 (95% CI: 1.09-1.66, p < 0.001) for higher vs. lower quintile; No chronic disease: OR = 1.01 (95% CI: 0.97-1.05, p = 0.26) for higher vs. lower quintile; No cognitive impairment: OR = 0.99 (95% CI: 0.97-1.01, p = 0.09) for higher vs. lower quintile; No impairment of physical function: OR = 1.23 (95% CI: 1.11-1.36, p < 0.001) for higher vs. lower quintile; No limitation of mental health: OR = 1.13 (95% CI: 1.05-1.22, p < 0.001) for higher vs. lower quintile; Healthy aging and component of healthy aging, according to MD: Healthy aging: OR = 1.46 (95% CI: 1.17-1.83, p = 0.0022) for higher vs. lower quintile; No chronic disease: OR = 1.04 (95% CI: 1.00-1.09, p = 0.13) for higher vs. lower quintile; No cognitive impairment: OR = 0.97 (95% CI: 0.95-1.00, p = 0.02) for higher vs. lower quintile; No impairment of physical function: OR = 1.14 (95% CI: 1.03-1.26, p = 0.005) for higher vs. Hazard ratios for all-cause mortality: HR = 0.73 (95% CI: 0.68-0.77, p < 0.01) for physical activity vs. no physical activity; HR = 0.85 (95% CI: 0.77-0.92, p < 0.01) for daily fruit intake; HR = 0.74 (95% CI: 0.66-0.83, p < 0.01) for daily vegetable intake; HR = 1.05 (95% CI: 0.97-1.14, p > 0.05) for daily meat intake; HR = 1.06 (95% CI: 1.00-1.13, p < 0.05) for occasionally fish intake; HR = 1.04 (95% CI: 0.97-1.12, p > 0.05) for daily sugar intake; HR = 1.10 (95% CI: 1.03-1.18, p < 0.01) for daily salt-preserved vegetable intake Nutrients 2020, 12, 35 20 of 34 It has been confirmed by substantial evidence that MD reduces mortality from many chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases and even cancer [117]. All this is due to the synergistic action of the different nutritional elements of the MD.…”

“…From a strictly biological point of view, there is a lot of evidence that show how nutrition works by modulating numerous interconnected cellular processes, implicated both in carcinogenesis and in inflammatory responses, or in the production of free radicals, or in the expression of inflammatory cytokines and the eicosanoid pathway [122], for example through the down-regulation of gene expression of the NF-κB transcription factor. The MD can also have a positive impact on the so-called "inflammaging" through the epigenetic mechanism (which includes chromatin remodeling, DNA methylation and miRNAs) or through the preservation of intestinal microbiota homeostasis [117].…”