Using nutrition for intervention and prevention against environmental chemical toxicity and associated diseases.

December 30, 2007

Whole text free onlinehttp://www.pubmedce ntral.nih. gov/picrender. fcgi?artid= 1852675 & blobtype =pdfUsing nutrition for intervention and prevention against environmentalchemical toxicity and associated diseases.Environ Health Perspect. 2007 Apr;115(4):493- 5. Epub 2007 Jan 16.Hennig B, Ettinger AS, Jandacek RJ, Koo S, McClain C, Seifried H,Silverstone A, Watkins B, Suk WA.Molecular and Cell Nutrition Laboratory, College of Agriculture,University of Kentucky, 900 S. Limestone, Lexington, KY 40536, USA.bhennig (AT) uky (DOT) eduBACKGROUND: Nutrition and lifestyle are well-defined modulators ofchronic diseases. Poor

dietary habits (such as high intake of processedfoods rich in fat and low intake of fruits and vegetables), as well as asedentary lifestyle clearly contribute to today's compromised quality oflife in the United States. It is becoming increasingly clear thatnutrition can modulate the toxicity of environmental pollutants.OBJECTIVES: Our goal in this commentary is to discuss the recommendationthat nutrition should be considered a necessary variable in the study ofhuman disease associated with exposure to environmental pollutants.DISCUSSION: Certain diets can contribute to compromised health by beinga source of exposure to environmental toxic pollutants. Many of thesepollutants are fat soluble, and thus fatty foods often contain higherlevels of persistent organics than does vegetable matter. Nutrition candictate the lipid milieu, oxidative stress, and antioxidant statuswithin cells. The modulation of these parameters by an

individual'snutritional status may have profound affects on biological processes,and in turn influence the effects of environmental pollutants to causedisease or dysfunction. For example, potential adverse health effectsassociated with exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls may increase as aresult of ingestion of certain dietary fats, whereas ingestion of fruitsand vegetables, rich in antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients orbioactive compounds, may provide protection. CONCLUSIONS: We recommendthat future directions in environmental health research explore thisnutritional paradigm that incorporates a consideration of therelationships between nutrition and lifestyle, exposure to environmentaltoxicants, and disease. Nutritional interventions may provide the mostsensible means to develop primary prevention strategies of diseasesassociated with many environmental toxic insults.

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