• Cambridge Scholars Publishing

    "[Engaging Art: Essays and Interviews from Around the Globe is a] collection of astonishing scope, Roslyn Bernstein delves into archives, exhibits, the built environment, and the lively characters who create them. She keenly engages the creativity that enriches, probes, and inspires the world."

    - Alisa Solomon, Columbia University, USA

Nutrition and Disease: Prevention and Therapy

Nutrition is an essential part of life. It affects our health and can be applied in the prevention and treatment of disease. Substantial interventions in dietary intake and lifestyle changes have been demonstrated to cause significant decrease in disease risk in in the general population and also in patients suffering from various diseases. Traditional plant-based diets and medicines have received much attention as an alternative to modern science-based drugs, while recent technology development in bioinformatics, genomics, and proteomics has provided a better understanding of plant-based drugs, improved quality assurance and allowed the acceleration of clinical trials to bridge the gap with Western medicine. Moreover, research in nutrigenomics and epigenomics has further enhanced the knowledge of the association between nutrition and disease. The book deals with the concerns of the future well-being of our planet, the health of the global human population related to the worldwide obesity epidemic, the issues related to sustainable food production, and the need for a switch to a healthier, more plant-based diet.


Dr Kenneth Lundstrom holds a PhD in Molecular Genetics and has conducted research on viral vectors for gene therapy and vaccine development, as well as drug discovery and structural genomics on G protein-coupled receptors. He has held various positions in biotechnology start-ups and in large pharmaceutical companies and has acted as the Scientific Coordinator for an international structural genomics research network. He has also served on the Scientific Advisory Boards of a number of multinational companies and has published more than 200 research articles. He is the editor of G Protein-coupled Receptors in Drug Discovery and Structural Genomics on Membrane Proteins, and the author of two books of fiction.

“In his book Nutrition and Disease, author and scientist Kenneth Lundstrom provides the reader with a wealth of information on the association between nutrition and disease, the role of nutrition in the prevention of disease, and the use of nutrients as therapeutic agents. The information is based on epidemiological data and clinical trials, accessible through the PubMed database. Summary tables within chapters allow for quick orientation and review, and the data provided are well referenced, allowing the reader to turn to the original publications for more detailed information. Furthermore, the book contains chapters on nutrigenomics, epigenetics and drug development. […] In Chapter 2, we learn about the important role that nutrition plays in the development of various diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, metabolic diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, psychiatric diseases, and infectious diseases. It is estimated that an unhealthy diet might contribute to one-third of cancers in the US and that two-thirds of cancers worldwide might be preventable by significant diet and lifestyle modifications. […] Chapter 3 deals with the effects of nutrition on disease prevention and analyses several tailor-made diets such as the Mediterranean diet, the vegetarian diet, the paleo diet, the planetary health diet, and other diet types. […] In Chapter 9, we learn that people following a strictly vegetarian diet or vegan diet do not suffer from protein deficiency, because plant-based diets contain all the essential amino acids needed for protein synthesis. The millions of people worldwide following a vegetarian diet can now be definitely reassured.”
Gérard Schockmel, MD, PhD

“Dr. Lundstrom’s latest book, Nutrition and Disease, is a comprehensive review of the literature condensed into 170 pages. It is packed full of brief synopses of hundreds of scientific studies, organized in a way that allows the reader to select a specific topic and go into it as deeply as desired. Especially useful is the format of each chapter which includes an abstract and summary, as well as a section called “layman’s view” which explains this complex subject in a very approachable manner. There are tables throughout the book that make it easy for the reader to directly locate a specific disease, diet, supplement, plant compound, or drug. Dr. Lundstrom has compiled well over a thousand scientific studies to explain the relationship between nutrition and disease. […] The author describes, in great detail, numerous examples of the ways in which diet can reduce the risk of disease onset and similarly improve the health status among those already coping with various diseases. Dr. Lundstrom covers the topic comprehensively, beginning with a fascinating discussion of social and ethnic aspects of nutrition, and risk of developing diseases such as cancer and type 2 diabetes because of dietary habits. […] Chapter nine was perhaps the most captivating chapter of all. Here, Dr. Lundstrom covers nutrition myths, facts, and controversies. For example, he explains the history and controversial research findings on vitamin C and cancer. He discusses the myth that plant-based drugs are a relatively lower risk compared to synthesized drugs and highlights the need for more rigorous research on herbal medicines. He addresses some unsettling food manufacturer and food industry strategies, by shedding light on ubiquitous hidden sugars and fats in commercial foods, as well as pointing out some alarming links between artificial sweeteners and liver disease, diabetes, cancers, and weight gain. This chapter is rounded out with additional interesting information on the environmental burden of food production, and the role of nutrition in smoking, alcohol, and substance misuse.”
Sheri D. Pruitt, PhD
Former Director of Behavioral Science Integration for Kaiser Permanente; Clinical Psychologist and Independent Behavioral Science Consultant

“All animals spend the majority of their waking hours either looking for or eating food. Humans spend less time than other animals looking for food but use more time cooking it. This heavy investment in time in searching for food is because we obtain all of our energy and many essential nutrients from the food we eat. It should not be surprising that both over and under nutrition can cause health problems. For most of our long evolutionary history undernutrition dominated. More recently, we have become so efficient at producing food that overnutrition is now a serious problem. […] It is therefore very timely to have a book written by Dr Kenneth Lundstrom titled Nutrition and Disease: Prevention and Therapy. This topic interests both scientist and layman. It can be difficult to know how to “pitch” a book when writing for a broad audience. The manner in which Dr Lundstrom has addressed this is to include in every chapter a section on “Layman’s View”. This describes what the chapter is about without the use of technical language. In nine chapters, the impact of nutrition on health is fully explored. In this book, you will find a description of the link between nutrition and cancer, cardiovascular disease, lung disease and even mental health. You may be surprised by the evidence that nutrients can influence health by changing gene expression. This is explored in two chapters on epigenetics. There are also sections on nutrition and drug development and a chapter on controversies. The book is thoroughly referenced, making it a great resource for any laboratory studying the link between nutrition and disease. It should be read by all nutritionists and dietitians and can be profitably read by anyone with an interest in health.”
Joseph Proietto, AM, MB, FRACP, PhD
Professor Emeritus, University of Melbourne; Head, Weight Control Clinic, Austin Health; Chair, Clinical Care Committee, World Obesity

“This is a very timely and insightful book that addresses contemporary human health issues. Dr Lundstrom has, in a very effective way, carefully outlined how nutrition is intimately linked to cell/organ function, the integrity of the immune system and to regulation of the overall homeostasis. At the same time, he defines how nutrition influences pathophysiology of many conditions including cancer, cardiovascular, neurological, and other diseases. At the time of COVID-19, one of the prominent emerging issues is health disparities because obese people are particularly affected by the virus. Obesity also brings a high incidence of diabetes type 2, and the overall metabolic syndrome underlying these conditions is directly related to the Western diet. Thus, a detailed, well documented and careful discussion of how nutrition affects this condition is one of the major themes of this book. A key part of this book is interrogating anecdotal evidence and looking at genes, as well as social and ethnic factors, when choosing or modifying dietary intake. Dr Lundstrom goes beyond classical nutrition approaches in order to dive into a unique comprehensive assessment and evaluations of transcriptomics, both at the level of genomics as well as epigenomics. Therefore, [he highlights] detailed molecular signaling and cellular events affected by nutrients, including an important evolving subject – perinatal nutrition. All of this plays a role not only in overall healthcare, but also in drug development. The pharmaceutical industry has a direct impact on nutrition and is described lucidly from the classical point of view up to contemporary personalized medicine. With a better understanding of the relationship between epidemiologic plus molecular mechanisms influenced by nutrition, we better inform medical decisions and forms of correction to many of the ailments plaguing today’s society. Dr Lundstrom also details aspects of controversy in the field of nutrition, where there are many issues pertaining to exercise, smoking, drug abuse, and alcohol usage. This includes nutritional myths, the food industry’s role in obesity, homeopathy, natural and plant-based medicines, the role of exercise and environment in diet, and more. All in all, Dr Lundstrom has masterfully illustrated the key issues and means by which nutrition is significant in the prevention and therapeutics of many diseases.”
Nicolas G. Bazan, MD, PhD
Boyd Professor; Professor of Neurology; Ernest C. and Yvette C. Villere Chair for Retinal Degenerations; Director, Neuroscience Center of Excellence, LSU Health, New Orleans

Buy This Book

ISBN: 1-5275-4653-5

ISBN13: 978-1-5275-4653-0

Release Date: 12th March 2020

Pages: 180

Price: £58.99

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