Nutrition and the Risk of Cancer Progression (An Overview)

Abstract

The cancer risk from eating fresh and / or cooked foods is reported by many authors and researchers due to many potential hazards contaminated consumed food.  Such hazards are classified into 4 main classes; natural, physical, biological and chemical hazards.  The first 3 classes, mainly resulted an acute effects; vomiting, anorexia, nausea and diarrhea, while the chemical hazards were mainly leads to chronic disorders and cancer.  It's worthy to mention that food is exposed to so many chemical hazards (more than 10.000) during food chain, such as the residues of fertilizers, pesticides, hormones, drugs, mycotoxins, PCB's, dioxins ... etc.  So far, chemical hazards are classified as suspected carcinogens.  Once, the food is contaminated with one or more of these hazards, it could be easily digested and transmitted into human tissues and cells, especially liver cells.  Most of chemical hazards act as cancer initiators and / or cancer promoters.  Undoubtedly, diet could offer cancer promoters and cancer initiators as well as cancer protective agents, simultaneously to human body.  Nutritional habits, food hygiene and safety, environment, immune and genetic factors are the limiting factors affecting the consequences of cancer.  It well known that cancer needs long time to develop and progressed, starting from the transmission of the carcinogen into the cell to begin the process of changing the DNA and enhance the development of abnormal cells.  The metabolic changes in cancer patients exhibit increased protein turnover and reduced muscle protein synthesis.  Wasting associated with cancer, dietary factors either initiators, promoters or protective will be discussed in the current presentation.