Natural products in the prevention of cancer: investigating clues in traditional diets for potential modern-day cures.

Abstract

This book chapter discusses the overall trends of the Westernization of the diet and dietary acculturation, and provides country-specific evidence (Okinawa, Japan; Inuit and remote Alaskan populations, USA; Grenada, Caribbean; China; Japan; and the Mediterranean) for the adoption of a Western diet. Examples are presented of some traditional diets and their disease-fighting constituents that are slowly being forgotten. The chapter then reviews the depletion of phytochemicals and the resulting risk for cancer and other chronic diseases. Finally, the chapter presents some phytochemicals that are associated with the prevention of chronic diseases such as cancer.