the source of much of the data supplying the impetus for
nutritional oncology, and describes the strengths and inher-
ently “soft” nature of epidemiologic data, the pitfalls of
overly enthusiastic generalization of findings, and the ap-
propriate context within which to view the results of epide-
miologic studies. Successive chapters then investigate the
observational data linking (1) intakes of fruits, vegetables,
and (2) whole grains to chemoprevention and obesity, to-
bacco use, alcohol consumption, and environmental toxin
exposure to increased cancer incidence.
The next section of the book, “Biological Approaches to
Investigating Nutrition and Cancer,” introduces the reader
to the roles of endocrinology, paracrinology, redox bio-
chemistry, detoxification enzymology, and immunology in
cancer biology through discussions that rely heavily on
research data. The background science and discussion of
applicable experimental models of this section prepare the
reader for the subsequent deeply detailed molecular genetic
considerations of the next section, “Gene-Nutrient Interac-
tion and Cancer Prevention.”
This new edition also includes coverage of the nutritional
genomics and nutritional genetics of cancer cell growth, the
metabolic networks in cancer cell growth, the effect of
dietary calories and obesity on breast and prostate cancers,
and practical solutions for nourishing the malnourished can-
cer patient and for overcoming anorexia.
Overall, the authors and editors have presented a strong
argument that nutritional interventions can be effective
means of directly or adjunctively preventing and treating
human cancer. Building on the foundations laid in this book,
this broad concept now can be investigated within basic and
clinical research contexts for specific types of cancer. Read-
ers of this book should find themselves stimulated to in-
crease their efforts to apply the principles of modern 21st
century nutritional oncology to research, education, and
patient care.
Michael J. Glade, Ph.D., F.A.C.N., C.N.S.
Skokie, Illinois, USA
doi:10.1016/j.nut.2007.01.016
Nutritional Genomics: Discovering the Path to Person-
alized Nutrition
Edited by Jim Kaput and Raymond L. Rodriguez. John
Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, New Jersey, 2006. ISBN:
0-471-68319-1.
It has been suggested that if geneticists are in a “post-
genomic era,” then Western nutritionists have entered a
“post-obesity era.” In other words, the context of modern nu-
trition is not the requirements for survival or even for health per se.
The focus of modern nutrition is the postponement of avoidable
premature death and illness in the context of excessive (and often
massively excessive) positive caloric imbalance and in the face of
a continuous onslaught of environmental contaminants, poisons,
and toxicants. Presaged by the previous century’s “nutritional
engineering,” in which nutritionists and biochemists attempted to
redirect wayward or inefficient metabolism, the collaboration of
the early 21st century combines the talents and perspectives of
nutritionists and geneticists in the field of nutritional genomics
(“nutrigenomics”). Although still in its infancy, this blending of
disciplines aims to codify specific “nutritional” manipulations as
directed by each individual’s genomic makeup.
As stated by Dr. Rodriguez in the Preface, “Genomic
analysis reveals that humans are 99.9% identical at the DNA
level. This implies that the remaining 0.1% of the human genome
(or about three million single nucleotide polymorphisms [SNPs])
is responsible for all the morphological, physiological, biochem-
ical and molecular differences between any two individuals . . .
common genetic variation in the form of SNPs in enzyme-
encoding genes (or their promoters) can affect reaction rates in
metabolic pathways that in turn can create individual differences
in the way we absorb, metabolize, store, and utilize nutrients.”
According to Dr. Rodriguez, interdisciplinary nutrigenomics is
based on five precepts: 1) poor nutrition can favor disease in
general and specific diseases; 2) dietary ingredients interact with
the genome to affect gene structure or expression; 3) the influence
of dietary ingredients on the balance between health and disease is
determined by an individual’s genetic constitution; 4) variation in
some genes produces variable responses to dietary ingredients that
may manifest as influences on disease onset, incidence, progres-
sion, or severity; and 5) the information supplied by nutrigenomics
can be applied immediately to prevent, mitigate, or cure disease in
general and specific diseases.
According to Dr. Kaput, the marriage of genomic anal-
ysis to nutritional science provides the opportunity to identify
specific nutrient-sensitive molecular mechanisms within a specific
individual that can contribute to health promotion and mainte-
nance in his or her particular stage of life. If successful, the
nutrigenomic approach promises to revolutionize human health
maintenance and disease prevention. Some progress already has
been made in matching specific genetic variations with specific
disease-modifying dietary individualizations. This book, an out-
growth of the Bruce Ames International Symposium on Nutri-
tional Genomics held at the University of California at Davis on
October 22–24, 2004, focuses on current early efforts to chart the
“ideal” nutritional regimen for each individual. Topics covered
include the effects of nutrients on gene expression, the roles of
individual variations in metabolic efficiency in health mainte-
nance, applications of nutrigenomics through the consumption of
green tea polyphenols and soy peptides in cancer prevention,
maternal nutrition and fetal gene expression, variance in genetic
susceptibility to heterocyclic amines obtained from cooked foods,
the use of analytical bioinformatics and biocomputation in nutri-
genomics, and “the pursuit of optimal diets.”
The book concludes with a sobering discussion by a
group of bioethicists from the universities of Guelph and Toronto.
They bring “applied nutrigenomics” into the light of such real-
world concerns as proprietary rights to one’s DNA, patent issues,
litigation potential, and disparities in global access to the technol-
ogy required to perform nutrigenomic analysis and the dietary
source materials needed to implement the conclusions drawn as a
519Book reviews / Nutrition 23 (2007) 518 –520