Immunonutrition: Interactions of Diet, Genetics, and Inflammation

The interaction of immune function and nutrition underlies the low-grade chronic inflammation involved in the etiology of many common obesity-associated and age-related chronic disease conditions. This close interaction is the genesis of the term immunonutrition, which represents a new interdisciplinary field of nutritional and medical research. Immunonutrition: Interactions of Diet, Genetics, and Inflammation introduces the breadth of this field, which implicates nutrition in both immune function and in the etiology, prevention, and treatment of common diseases influenced by inflammation and immune imbalance, including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, asthma, autoimmune diseases, and common forms of cancer.

The book begins by reviewing the basic mechanisms of immunity and cellular mechanisms of cytokine activation. It discusses the effects of dietary fat intake and changes in Western diet and lifestyle linked to inflammation. It also describes the interaction of genetics and environment in the modulation of immune function and inflammation, and addresses exercise and skeletal muscle as an endocrine and immune organ. The book reviews the entire spectrum of inflammation and cancer from causation to its role in tumor therapy. It examines abdominal obesity and metabolic diseases, interactions between nutrition and autoimmunity in systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammation associated with type 2 diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and asthma.

Considering potential nutrition-based treatments, the book explores approaches for reducing abdominal obesity, anti-inflammatory effects of phytochemicals, practical strategies for increasing fruit and vegetable intake, and anti-inflammatory properties of spice phytonutrients. In addition, it explores how uninformed food choices related to fats and oils create a balance of tissue-selective signals that produce harmful health outcomes and how to restore a healthy balance.