Cancer and Mediterranean Diet: A Review.

Maria Chiara Mentella, Franco Scaldaferri, Caterina Ricci, Antonio Gasbarrini, Giacinto Abele Donato Miggiano

Journal: Nutrients 2020;11(9):2059

PMID: 31480794

Abstract

The Mediterranean diet is considered one of the most worldwide healthy dietary patterns thanks to a combination of foods rich mainly in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients. Many studies have demonstrated a strong and inverse relationship between a high level of Mediterranean diet adherence and some chronic diseases (such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, etc.) and cancer. Given its protective effects in reducing oxidative and inflammatory processes of cells and avoiding DNA damages, cell proliferation, and their survival, angiogenesis, inflammations and metastasis, the Mediterranean diet is considered a powerful and manageable method to fight cancer incidence. The aim of this narrative review was to determine the magnitude of interaction between the Mediterranean diet and more widespread types of cancer so as to give a first and useful overview on this relationship identifying, with a nutritional approach, those nutrients of Mediterranean diet able to reduce cancer incidence.

Address: UOC di Nutrizione Clinica, Area Medicina Interna, Gastroenterologia e Oncologia Medica, Dipartimento di Scienze Gastroenterologiche, Endocrino-Metaboliche e Nefro-Urologiche, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy. [email protected].; UOC di Medicina Interna e Gastroenterologia, Area Medicina Interna, Gastroenterologia e Oncologia Medica, Dipartimento di Scienze Gastroenterologiche, Endocrino-Metaboliche e Nefro-Urologiche, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy.; UOC di Ginecologia Oncologica, Area Salute della Donna, Dipartimento di Scienze della Salute della Donna, del Bambino e di Sanità Pubblica, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy.; UOC di Nutrizione Clinica, Area Medicina Interna, Gastroenterologia e Oncologia Medica, Dipartimento di Scienze Gastroenterologiche, Endocrino-Metaboliche e Nefro-Urologiche, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy.

DOI: 10.3390/nu11092059

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MeSH Terms: Diet, Mediterranean, Humans, Neoplasms