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Division of Endocrinology and Clinical Nutrition University of California, Davis, Medical Center 4150 V Street G400, PSSB Sacramento, CA 95817 E-mail: sidika{at}mailbox.ucdavis.edu
This book presents the proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Nutrition and Fitness, held in Athens, Greece, in May 2000, before the Olympic games.
The conference was dedicated to the concept of positive health as stated by Hippocrates in 480 BC: "Positive health requires a knowledge of man’s primary constitution and of the powers of various foods, both those natural to them and those resulting from human skill. But eating is not enough for health. There must be also exercise, of which the effects must likewise be known. ... If there is any deficiency in food or exercise the body will fall sick." Hippocrates had recognized the roles of man’s primary constitution (genetics) and nutrition and exercise in achieving positive health.
To resonate with Hippocrates’ concept, this book comprises 3 sections: "Genetic Variation and Nutrition," "Genes and Physical Activity Interactions," and "The Role of Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Health and Disease."
The first section covers several aspects of the gene-nutrient interaction. After an overview of the effects of various nutrients on DNA damage and repair, transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulation of several genes by nutrients are described. These include the transcriptional regulation of lac operon in Escherichia coli and of Gal regulon in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the regulation of pyruvate kinase and fatty acid synthase by carbohydrates, sterol regulatory element binding protein 1 by cholesterol, ferritin by iron, peroxisome proliferator activated receptors by retinoic acid and fatty acids, nuclear factor B by fatty acids, and endothelial adhesion molecules by fatty acids.
This section also includes several chapters on the relation between nutrition and coronary artery disease such as 1) the effects of dietary fat and carbohydrates on LDL heterogeneity, 2) the effects of the polymorphisms in the apolipoproteins A-I, C-III, and A-IV and lipoprotein lipase genes on the postprandial triacylglycerol response, 3) the variability at the fibrinogen locus and coronary artery disease risk, and 4) the variability in the 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene and dietary folate requirements. In addition, relations between osteoporosis and vitamin D receptor polymorphisms are described. Finally, the new technologies for the investigation of gene expression and polymorphisms are reviewed.
The second section begins by describing the effects of aerobic exercise on the expression of apolipoproteins A-I and B, the LDL receptor, and the scavenger receptor. The next chapter focuses on the dependence of the bone volume response to exercise on genetic variation and the candidate genes to explain the variability. The final section focuses on the importance of omega–3 fatty acids on somatic growth and brain development; cardiovascular disease, with particular emphasis on arrhythmias; and depression.
This book serves as a timely bridge between the clinical and basic science branches of nutrition and helps us understand that macro- and micronutrients are potent regulators of gene expression and that genetic variability affects the response to nutrients. The editors have done a remarkable job in improving our understanding of gene-nutrient interactions.