Chapter 10
Natural Foods as Biosystems to Face
Noncommunicable Chronic Diseases:
An Overview
Rocio Campos-Vega, Sandra Mendoza-Díaz,
Rosalía Reynoso-Camacho, Minerva Ramos-Gómez,
Marcela Gaytán-Martínez, B. Dave Oomah
and Guadalupe Loarca-Piña
Abstract The maintenance of health and prevention of chronic diseases is
influenced by naturally occurring phytochemicals in foods. Plants display an
immense diversity of specialized metabolites, many of which have been important
to humans. In the last few years, the use of plants to produce chemical compounds
with health-promoting properties has been extensively studied. In addition to
supplying the substrates for producing energy, many dietary chemicals are bioactive, directly or indirectly altering the regulation of biosystem processes and the
expression of genetic information. The study of gene–nutrient interactions in the
management of chronic diseases, such as coronary heart disease, hypertension,
cancer, diabetes, and obesity and the role of nutrients in gene expression started
two decades ago. Success in these areas requires investigators working on large
population studies designed to adequately investigate gene–diet interactions.
Knowledge of genetic susceptibility to disease will help identify those at higher
risk for disease, as well as their response to diet. The prospect of targeting specific
dietary treatment to those predicted to gain the most therapeutic benefit clearly has
important clinical and economic consequences, particularly in high prevalence
diseases, establishing how gene expression can be modified using combined dietary strategies.
R. Campos-Vega Á S. Mendoza-Díaz Á R. Reynoso-Camacho Á M. Ramos-Gómez Á
M. Gaytán-Martínez Á G. Loarca-Piña (&)
Programa de Posgrado en Alimentos del Centro de la República (PROPAC),
Research and Graduate Studies in Food Science School of Chemistry,
Querétaro State University, 76010 Santiago de Querétaro, Querétaro, México
e-mail: loarca@uaq.mx
B. Dave Oomah
Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre (Emeritus), Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada,
Summerland, BC V0H 1Z0, Canada
R. Guevara-Gonzalez and I. Torres-Pacheco (eds.), Biosystems Engineering:
Biofactories for Food Production in the Century XXI, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-03880-3_10,
Ó Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014
289
Natural Foods as Biosystems to Face
Noncommunicable Chronic Diseases:
An Overview
Rocio Campos-Vega, Sandra Mendoza-Díaz,
Rosalía Reynoso-Camacho, Minerva Ramos-Gómez,
Marcela Gaytán-Martínez, B. Dave Oomah
and Guadalupe Loarca-Piña
Abstract The maintenance of health and prevention of chronic diseases is
influenced by naturally occurring phytochemicals in foods. Plants display an
immense diversity of specialized metabolites, many of which have been important
to humans. In the last few years, the use of plants to produce chemical compounds
with health-promoting properties has been extensively studied. In addition to
supplying the substrates for producing energy, many dietary chemicals are bioactive, directly or indirectly altering the regulation of biosystem processes and the
expression of genetic information. The study of gene–nutrient interactions in the
management of chronic diseases, such as coronary heart disease, hypertension,
cancer, diabetes, and obesity and the role of nutrients in gene expression started
two decades ago. Success in these areas requires investigators working on large
population studies designed to adequately investigate gene–diet interactions.
Knowledge of genetic susceptibility to disease will help identify those at higher
risk for disease, as well as their response to diet. The prospect of targeting specific
dietary treatment to those predicted to gain the most therapeutic benefit clearly has
important clinical and economic consequences, particularly in high prevalence
diseases, establishing how gene expression can be modified using combined dietary strategies.
R. Campos-Vega Á S. Mendoza-Díaz Á R. Reynoso-Camacho Á M. Ramos-Gómez Á
M. Gaytán-Martínez Á G. Loarca-Piña (&)
Programa de Posgrado en Alimentos del Centro de la República (PROPAC),
Research and Graduate Studies in Food Science School of Chemistry,
Querétaro State University, 76010 Santiago de Querétaro, Querétaro, México
e-mail: loarca@uaq.mx
B. Dave Oomah
Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre (Emeritus), Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada,
Summerland, BC V0H 1Z0, Canada
R. Guevara-Gonzalez and I. Torres-Pacheco (eds.), Biosystems Engineering:
Biofactories for Food Production in the Century XXI, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-03880-3_10,
Ó Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014
289