Immunonutrition ─ Interactions of Diet, Genetics, and Inflammation

Inflammation is widely recognized as an underlying mechanism in several age-related chronic diseases and can be mitigated by diet and genetics. Approaches to prevention and treatment of these diseases have targeted single pathways of inflammation using inhibitors, anti-inflammatory drugs, and aspirin. However, research on fruits, vegetables, and spices with anti-inflammatory phytonutrients indicates that theycan better reduce the risks of many common age-related diseases. This book covers various mechanisms of diet, genetics, and inflammation; the role of nutrition in several inflammation-associated diseases; as well as public health concerns and medical approaches to disease prevention and treatment.

David Heber, MD, PhD, FACP, FACN, is the director of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition at the University of California, Los Angeles. He has been on the faculty of the UCLA School of Medicine since 1978 and is currently professor of medicine and public health. Dr. Heber is board certified in internal medicine and endocrinology and metabolism by the American Board of Internal Medicine and is certified as a physician nutrition specialist. He is a former chair of the Medical Nutrition Council of the American Society of Nutrition. He has written more than 230 peer-reviewed scientific articles and 60 book chapters, as well as three professional texts. He has written four books for the public, including What Color Is Your Diet? (Harper Collins/Regan Books, 2001) and the L.A. Shape Diet (Harper Collins/Regan Books, 2004). His main research interests are obesity prevention and treatment and phytonutrients in cancer prevention and treatment.

Bharat B. Aggarwal, PhD, is a Ransom Horne, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Cancer Research, Professor of Cancer Medicine, Professor of Immunology, Professor of Biochemistry, and Professor of Experimental Therapeutics, as well as Chief, Cytokine Research Section, in the Department of Experimental Therapeutics at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston. He has been investigating the role of inflammatory pathways mediated through TNF, NF-kappaB, and STAT3 for the prevention and therapy of cancer and other chronic diseases. While searching for novel and safe anti-inflammatory agents, his group has identified more than 50 novel compounds from dietary sources and from traditional medicine, some of which are now in clinical trials. Dr. Aggarwal has published more than 600 papers in peer-reviewed international journals (including Science, Nature, Cancer Cell, Blood, and Cancer Discovery), invited reviews, book chapters, and a book entitled Healing Spices (released in January 2011 by Sterling). His lifetime h-index is 112; nine of his papers have been cited over 1,000 times and twenty-five more than 500 times (the total number of citations exceed 70,000). He is an inventor/co-inventor of over 33 patents and currently serves as a member of the editorial boards of 24 international journals.