1 617 118 BIOACTIVE FOOD COMPOUNDS, EPIGENETICS AND CHRONIC DISEASE PREVENTION: FOCUS ON EARLY-LIFE INTERVENTIONS WITH POLYPHENOLS. CONSUMPTION OF BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS SUCH AS POLYPHENOLS, ISOTHIOCYANATES, SULFUR-CONTAINING COMPOUNDS AND TERPENOIDS, FOUND IN FRUITS AND VEGETABLES, IS ASSOCIATED WITH PREVENTION OF CHRONIC DISEASE. THESE BIOACTIVE FOOD COMPOUNDS ELICIT THEIR PROTECTIVE EFFECTS THROUGH COMPLEX MECHANISMS AT THE CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR, INCLUDING EPIGENETIC LEVELS. ACCORDING TO THE DEVELOPMENTAL ORIGINS OF HEALTH AND DISEASE (DOHAD) PARADIGM, IN UTERO EXPOSURE TO STRESSORS SUCH AS MALNUTRITION THROUGH MATERNAL DIET WOULD IMPAIR FETAL DEVELOPMENT AND EPIGENETICALLY PROGRAM INCREASED RISK OF METABOLIC DISEASES AND SOME CANCERS IN ADULT LIFE. IN ADDITION, A ROLE FOR FATHERS DIET DURING PRECONCEPTION ON THEIR OFFSPRING HEALTH AND CHRONIC DISEASE SUSCEPTIBILITY HAS ALSO EMERGED. THIS HIGHLIGHTS EARLY LIFE AS A PROMISING WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY FOR STARTING DIETARY INTERVENTIONS FOCUSING ON PREVENTING CHRONIC DISEASES. HOWEVER, KNOWLEDGE ON THE POTENTIAL BENEFICIAL IMPACT OF EARLY LIFE EXPOSURE TO BIOACTIVE FOOD COMPOUNDS IS LIMITED. AMONG THE STUDIES THAT HAVE INVESTIGATED BIOACTIVE FOOD COMPOUNDS IN THE CONTEXT OF DOHAD, MOST HAVE FOCUSED ON THE IMPACT OF DIETARY POLYPHENOLS. THUS, IN THIS REVIEW WE DISCUSS EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE SUPPORTING A ROLE FOR THE DIETARY POLYPHENOLS RESVERATROL, GENISTEIN, EPIGALLOCATECHIN-3-GALLATE AND ANTHOCYANINS IN CHRONIC DISEASE PREVENTION CONSIDERING A PERSPECTIVE FROM EARLY-LIFE INTERVENTIONS THROUGH MATERNAL AND PATERNAL DIETS AND FOCUSING ON EPIGENETICS AS A POTENTIAL UNDERLYING MECHANISM. 2019 2 1398 45 DIET, GUT MICROBIOME AND EPIGENETICS: EMERGING LINKS WITH INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASES AND PROSPECTS FOR MANAGEMENT AND PREVENTION. INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASES (IBD) REPRESENT A GROWING PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERN DUE TO INCREASING INCIDENCE WORLDWIDE. THE CURRENT NOTION ON THE PATHOGENESIS OF IBD IS THAT GENETICALLY SUSCEPTIBLE INDIVIDUALS DEVELOP INTOLERANCE TO DYSREGULATED GUT MICROFLORA (DYSBIOSIS) AND CHRONIC INFLAMMATION DEVELOPS AS A RESULT OF ENVIRONMENTAL TRIGGERS. AMONG THE ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH IBD, DIET PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN MODULATING THE GUT MICROBIOME, INFLUENCING EPIGENETIC CHANGES, AND, THEREFORE, COULD BE APPLIED AS A THERAPEUTIC TOOL TO IMPROVE THE DISEASE COURSE. NEVERTHELESS, THE CURRENT DIETARY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DISEASE PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT ARE SCARCE AND HAVE WEAK EVIDENCE. THIS REVIEW SUMMARISES THE CURRENT KNOWLEDGE ON THE COMPLEX INTERACTIONS BETWEEN DIET, MICROBIOME AND EPIGENETICS IN IBD. WHEREAS AN OVERABUNDANCE OF CALORIES AND SOME MACRONUTRIENTS INCREASE GUT INFLAMMATION, SEVERAL MICRONUTRIENTS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO MODULATE IT. IMMUNONUTRITION HAS EMERGED AS A NEW CONCEPT PUTTING FORWARD THE IMPORTANCE OF VITAMINS SUCH AS VITAMINS A, C, E, AND D, FOLIC ACID, BETA CAROTENE AND TRACE ELEMENTS SUCH AS ZINC, SELENIUM, MANGANESE AND IRON. HOWEVER, WHEN ASSESSED IN CLINICAL TRIALS, SPECIFIC MICRONUTRIENTS EXERTED A LIMITED BENEFIT. BEYOND NUTRIENTS, AN ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DIETARY PATTERN AS A COMPLEX INTERVENTION APPROACH HAS BECOME POPULAR IN RECENT YEARS. HENCE, EXCLUSIVE ENTERAL NUTRITION IN PAEDIATRIC CROHN'S DISEASE IS THE ONLY NUTRITIONAL INTERVENTION CURRENTLY RECOMMENDED AS A FIRST-LINE THERAPY. OTHER NUTRITIONAL INTERVENTIONS OR SPECIFIC DIETS INCLUDING THE SPECIFIC CARBOHYDRATE DIET (SCD), THE LOW FERMENTABLE OLIGOSACCHARIDES, DISACCHARIDES, MONOSACCHARIDES, AND POLYOL (FODMAP) DIET AND, MOST RECENTLY, THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET HAVE SHOWN STRONG ANTI-INFLAMMATORY PROPERTIES AND SHOW PROMISE FOR IMPROVING DISEASE SYMPTOMS. MORE WORK IS REQUIRED TO EVALUATE THE ROLE OF INDIVIDUAL FOOD COMPOUNDS AND COMPLEX NUTRITIONAL INTERVENTIONS WITH THE POTENTIAL TO DECREASE INFLAMMATION AS A MEANS OF PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT OF IBD. 2017 3 4711 33 NON-ALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER DISEASE IN OBESE CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS: A ROLE FOR NUTRITION? NON-ALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER DISEASE (NAFLD) HAS BECOME THE MOST COMMON CAUSE OF CHRONIC LIVER DISEASE IN CHILDREN, PARALLELING THE INCREASING PREVALENCE OF OBESITY WORLDWIDE. THE PATHOGENESIS OF PAEDIATRIC NAFLD IS NOT FULLY UNDERSTOOD, BUT IT IS KNOWN THAT OBESITY, NUTRITION, LIFESTYLE VARIABLES, GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC FACTORS MAY BE CAUSALLY INVOLVED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS COMMON METABOLIC LIVER DISEASE. IN PARTICULAR, OBESITY AND NUTRITION ARE AMONG THE STRONGEST RISK FACTORS FOR PAEDIATRIC NAFLD, WHICH MAY EXERT THEIR ADVERSE HEPATIC EFFECTS ALREADY BEFORE BIRTH. EXCESS ENERGY INTAKE INDUCES HYPERTROPHY AND HYPERPLASIA OF ADIPOSE TISSUE WITH SUBSEQUENT DEVELOPMENT OF SYSTEMIC INSULIN RESISTANCE, WHICH IS ANOTHER IMPORTANT RISK FACTOR FOR NAFLD. DIET COMPOSITION AND IN PARTICULAR SIMPLE CARBOHYDRATE INTAKE (ESPECIALLY HIGH FRUCTOSE INTAKE) MAY PROMOTE THE DEVELOPMENT OF NAFLD, WHEREAS NON-DIGESTIBLE CARBOHYDRATES (DIETARY FIBER), BY AFFECTING GUT MICROBIOTA, MAY FAVOUR THE INTEGRITY OF GUT WALL AND REDUCE INFLAMMATION, OPPOSING THIS PROCESS. SATURATED FAT INTAKE MAY ALSO PROMOTE NAFLD DEVELOPMENT, WHEREAS UNSATURATED FAT INTAKE HAS SOME BENEFICIAL EFFECTS. PROTEIN INTAKE DOES NOT SEEM TO AFFECT THE DEVELOPMENT OF NAFLD, BUT FURTHER INVESTIGATION IS NEEDED. IN CONCLUSION, LIFESTYLE MODIFICATIONS TO INDUCE WEIGHT LOSS, THROUGH DIET AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, REMAIN THE MAINSTAY OF TREATMENT FOR PAEDIATRIC NAFLD. THE USE OF DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS, SUCH AS OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS AND PROBIOTICS, NEEDS FURTHER STUDY BEFORE RECOMMENDATION. 2022 4 4786 40 NUTRITION AND HEALTH DURING MID-LIFE: SEARCHING FOR SOLUTIONS AND MEETING CHALLENGES FOR THE AGING POPULATION. INTERACTIONS BETWEEN GENETIC (GENOME) AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS (EPIGENOME) OPERATE DURING A PERSON'S ENTIRE LIFESPAN. THE AGING PROCESS IS ASSOCIATED WITH SEVERAL CELLULAR AND ORGANIC FUNCTIONAL ALTERATIONS THAT, AT THE END, CAUSE MULTI-ORGANIC CELL FAILURE. EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS OF AGING ARE MODIFIABLE BY APPROPRIATE PREVENTIVE ACTIONS MEDIATED BY SIRTUINS, CALORIC INPUT, DIET COMPONENTS, ADIPOSE TISSUE-RELATED INFLAMMATORY REACTIONS, AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. THE MEDITERRANEAN LIFESTYLE HAS BEEN FOR MANY MILLENNIA A DAILY HABIT FOR PEOPLE IN WESTERN CIVILIZATIONS LIVING AROUND THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA WHO WORKED INTENSIVELY AND SURVIVED WITH VERY FEW SEASONAL FOODS. A HIGH ADHERENCE TO THE TRADITIONAL MEDITERRANEAN DIET IS ASSOCIATED WITH LOW MORTALITY (HIGHER LONGEVITY) AND REDUCED RISK OF DEVELOPING CHRONIC DISEASES, INCLUDING CANCER, THE METABOLIC SYNDROME, DEPRESSION AND CARDIOVASCULAR AND NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES. REPORTS INDICATE THAT SOME DIETARY COMPONENTS, SUCH AS OLIVE OIL, ANTIOXIDANTS, OMEGA-3 AND -6 POLYUNSATURATED ACIDS, POLYPHENOLS AND FLAVONOIDS, MEDIATE BENEFICIAL ANTI-AGING EFFECTS (ANTI-CHRONIC DISEASES AND INCREASED LONGEVITY). EQUALLY, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY DISPLAYS A POSITIVE EFFECT, PRODUCING CALORIC CONSUMPTION AND REGULATION OF ADIPOSE AND PANCREATIC FUNCTION. THE PREDICTIVE STRENGTH OF SOME FOOD PATTERNS MAY BE A WAY OF DEVELOPING RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FOOD AND HEALTH POLICIES. THIS PAPER WILL DISCUSS SEVERAL WAYS OF IMPROVING HEALTH DURING MID-LIFE, FOCUSING ON CERTAIN GROUPS OF FUNCTIONAL FOODS AND HEALTHY HABITS WHICH MAY REDUCE OR PREVENT AGE-RELATED CHRONIC DISEASES. 2013 5 1395 35 DIET AND MICROBIOME IN THE BEGINNING OF THE SEQUENCE OF GUT INFLAMMATION. INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE (IBD) IS A CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY CONDITION OF THE GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT DUE, AT LEAST PARTIALLY, TO AN ABERRANT AND EXCESSIVE MUCOSAL IMMUNE RESPONSE TO GUT BACTERIA IN GENETICALLY-PREDISPOSED INDIVIDUALS UNDER CERTAIN ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS. THE INCIDENCE OF IBD IS RISING IN WESTERN AND NEWLY INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES, PARALLELING THE INCREASE OF WESTERNIZED DIETARY PATTERNS, THROUGH NEW ANTIGENS, EPITHELIAL FUNCTION AND PERMEABILITY, EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS (E.G., DNA METHYLATION), AND ALTERATION OF THE GUT MICROBIOME. ALTERATION IN THE COMPOSITION AND FUNCTIONALITY OF THE GUT MICROBIOME (INCLUDING BACTERIA, VIRUSES AND FUNGI) SEEMS TO BE A NUCLEAR PATHOGENIC FACTOR. THE MICROBIOME ITSELF IS DYNAMIC, AND THE CHANGES IN FOOD QUALITY, DIETARY HABITS, LIVING CONDITIONS AND HYGIENE OF THESE WESTERN SOCIETIES, COULD INTERACT IN A COMPLEX MANNER AS MODULATORS OF DYSBIOSIS, THEREBY INFLUENCING THE ACTIVATION OF IMMUNE CELLS' PROMOTING INFLAMMATION. THE MICROBIOME PRODUCES DIVERSE SMALL MOLECULES VIA SEVERAL METABOLIC WAYS, WITH THE FIBER-DERIVED SHORT-CHAIN FATTY ACIDS (I.E., BUTYRATE) AS MAIN ELEMENTS AND HAVING ANTI-INFLAMMATORY EFFECTS. THESE METABOLITES AND SOME MICRONUTRIENTS OF THE DIET (I.E., VITAMINS, FOLIC ACID, BETA CAROTENE AND TRACE ELEMENTS) ARE REGULATORS OF INNATE AND ADAPTIVE INTESTINAL IMMUNE HOMEOSTASIS. AN EXCESSIVE AND UNHEALTHY CONSUMPTION OF SUGAR, ANIMAL FAT AND A LOW-VEGETABLE AND -FIBER DIET ARE RISK FACTORS FOR IBD APPEARANCE. FURTHERMORE, METABOLISM OF NUTRIENTS IN INTESTINAL EPITHELIUM AND IN GUT MICROBIOTA IS ALTERED BY INFLAMMATION, CHANGING THE DEMAND FOR NUTRIENTS NEEDED FOR HOMEOSTASIS. THIS ROLE OF FOOD AND A REDUCED GUT MICROBIAL DIVERSITY IN CAUSING IBD MIGHT ALSO HAVE A PROPHYLACTIC OR THERAPEUTIC ROLE FOR IBD. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DIETARY INTAKE, SYMPTOMS, AND BOWEL INFLAMMATION COULD LEAD TO DIETARY AND LIFESTYLE RECOMMENDATIONS, INCLUDING DIETS WITH ABUNDANT FRUITS, VEGETABLES, OLIVE OIL AND OILY FISH, WHICH HAVE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY EFFECTS AND COULD PREVENT DYSBIOSIS AND IBD. DIETARY MODULATION AND APPROPRIATE EXCLUSION DIETS MIGHT BE A NEW COMPLEMENTARY MANAGEMENT FOR TREATMENT AT DISEASE FLARES AND IN REFRACTORY PATIENTS, EVEN REDUCING COMPLICATIONS, HOSPITALIZATIONS AND SURGERY, THROUGH MODIFYING THE LUMINAL INTESTINAL ENVIRONMENT. 2021 6 4396 38 MODULATION OF CHRONIC INFLAMMATION BY QUERCETIN: THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS ON OBESITY. OBESITY HAS BECOME A MAJOR RISK FACTOR FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHRONIC DISEASES SUCH AS INSULIN RESISTANCE, TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS, AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE. MOREOVER, OBESITY INDUCES CHRONIC INFLAMMATION IN ADIPOSE TISSUE, LIVER, SKELETAL MUSCLE, AND THE VASCULAR SYSTEM. QUERCETIN IS THE MAJOR REPRESENTATIVE OF THE FLAVONOID SUBCLASS OF FLAVONOLS, WHICH IS UBIQUITOUSLY CONTAINED WITHIN NATURAL PLANTS SUCH AS GREEN TEA, AND VEGETABLES, INCLUDING ONIONS AND APPLES. RESEARCHERS HAVE FOCUSED GREATER ATTENTION TO THE BENEFICIAL PHYSIOLOGICAL ROLES OF QUERCETIN, WHICH HAS ANTI-OXIDATIVE, ANTI-INFLAMMATORY, AND ANTI-FIBROTIC EFFECTS ON INSULIN RESISTANCE AND ATHEROSCLEROSIS IN OBESITY-RELATED DISEASES. ALSO, THE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY EFFECTS OF QUERCETIN ON INTESTINAL MICROBIOTA HAVE BEEN DEMONSTRATED IN OBESITY. IN ADDITION, THERE IS INCREASING EVIDENCE THAT QUERCETIN IS ASSOCIATED WITH EPIGENETIC ACTIVITIES IN CANCER, AND IN MATERNAL UNDERNUTRITION DURING GESTATION AND LACTATION. IN THIS REVIEW, WE FOCUS ON THE CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF QUERCETIN, ITS DIETARY SOURCES IN OBESITY, AND ITS ANTI-INFLAMMATORY EFFECTS ON INSULIN RESISTANCE, ATHEROSCLEROSIS, INTESTINAL MICROBIOTA, AND MATERNAL UNDER-NUTRITION WITH EPIGENETIC ACTIVITY. 2020 7 2835 33 FOOD AS MEDICINE: TARGETING THE URAEMIC PHENOTYPE IN CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE. THE OBSERVATION THAT UNHEALTHY DIETS (THOSE THAT ARE LOW IN WHOLE GRAINS, FRUITS AND VEGETABLES, AND HIGH IN SUGAR, SALT, SATURATED FAT AND ULTRA-PROCESSED FOODS) ARE A MAJOR RISK FACTOR FOR POOR HEALTH OUTCOMES HAS BOOSTED INTEREST IN THE CONCEPT OF 'FOOD AS MEDICINE'. THIS CONCEPT IS ESPECIALLY RELEVANT TO METABOLIC DISEASES, SUCH AS CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE (CKD), IN WHICH DIETARY APPROACHES ARE ALREADY USED TO AMELIORATE METABOLIC AND NUTRITIONAL COMPLICATIONS. INCREASED AWARENESS THAT TOXIC URAEMIC METABOLITES ORIGINATE NOT ONLY FROM INTERMEDIARY METABOLISM BUT ALSO FROM GUT MICROBIAL METABOLISM, WHICH IS DIRECTLY INFLUENCED BY DIET, HAS FUELLED INTEREST IN THE POTENTIAL OF 'FOOD AS MEDICINE' APPROACHES IN CKD BEYOND THE CURRENT STRATEGIES OF PROTEIN, SODIUM AND PHOSPHATE RESTRICTION. BIOACTIVE NUTRIENTS CAN ALTER THE COMPOSITION AND METABOLISM OF THE MICROBIOTA, ACT AS MODULATORS OF TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS INVOLVED IN INFLAMMATION AND OXIDATIVE STRESS, MITIGATE MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION, ACT AS SENOLYTICS AND IMPACT THE EPIGENOME BY ALTERING ONE-CARBON METABOLISM. AS GUT DYSBIOSIS, INFLAMMATION, OXIDATIVE STRESS, MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION, PREMATURE AGEING AND EPIGENETIC CHANGES ARE COMMON FEATURES OF CKD, THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT TAILORED, HEALTHY DIETS THAT INCLUDE BIOACTIVE NUTRIENTS AS PART OF THE FOODOME COULD POTENTIALLY BE USED TO PREVENT AND TREAT CKD AND ITS COMPLICATIONS. 2021 8 1417 32 DIETARY TRENDS AND THE DECLINE IN MALE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH. OVER THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, MALE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH HAS SUFFERED A SUBSTANTIAL DECLINE, AS EVIDENCED BY DECREASES IN SPERM COUNTS AND TESTOSTERONE LEVELS AND INCREASES IN REPRODUCTIVE PATHOLOGIES. AT THE SAME TIME, THE PREVALENCE OF CHRONIC DISEASES SUCH AS OBESITY, DIABETES, AND METABOLIC SYNDROME HAS RISEN DRAMATICALLY. METABOLIC AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH ARE HIGHLY INTERCONNECTED, SUGGESTING THAT THEIR RESPECTIVE TRENDS ARE INTERTWINED AND, GIVEN THE TIMEFRAME OF SUCH TRENDS, ENVIRONMENTAL AND NOT GENETIC FACTORS ARE MOST LIKELY TO BE THE PRIMARY CAUSES. INDUSTRIALIZATION, WHICH BEGAN IN EUROPE IN THE MID-EIGHTEENTH CENTURY, HAS RESULTED IN PROFOUND CHANGES TO OUR DIET, LIFESTYLE, AND ENVIRONMENT, MANY OF WHICH ARE CAUSAL FACTORS IN THE RISE IN CHRONIC DISEASES. INDUSTRIALIZATION RESULTS IN A NUTRITION TRANSITION FROM AN AGRICULTURAL UNPROCESSED TO A MODERN PROCESSED DIET, INCORPORATING INCREASES IN SUGAR, VEGETABLE OILS, ULTRA-PROCESSED FOODS, LINOLEIC ACID, TRANS-FATS, AND TOTAL ENERGY. THIS DIETARY SHIFT HAS INCURRED NUMEROUS ADVERSE EFFECTS ON METABOLIC AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH, CHARACTERIZED BY CHRONIC INFLAMMATION, OXIDATIVE STRESS, AND INSULIN RESISTANCE. MOREOVER, THESE EFFECTS APPEAR TO MULTIPLY ACROSS SUBSEQUENT GENERATIONS VIA EPIGENETIC INHERITANCE. MEN'S FERTILITY IS MARKEDLY AFFECTED BY OBESITY AND DIABETES, WITH AN INCREASE IN TOTAL ENERGY VIA PROCESSED FOOD INTAKE ARGUABLY BEING THE KEY FACTOR DRIVING THE DIABESITY PANDEMIC. IN CONTRAST, WHOLEFOODS RICH IN MICRONUTRIENTS AND PHYTONUTRIENTS SUPPORT MALE FERTILITY AND A HEALTHY BODY WEIGHT. THEREFORE, MEN WANTING TO MAXIMIZE THEIR FERTILITY SHOULD CONSIDER MAKING POSITIVE DIETARY CHANGES, SUCH AS REPLACING PROCESSED FOODS WITH UNPROCESSED FOODS THAT SUPPORT METABOLIC AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH. 2023 9 4796 32 NUTRITIONAL INTERVENTION AS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS TREATMENT? MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (MS) IS A CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY AND DEMYELINATING DISEASE OF THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM. IN ADDITION TO THE GENETIC, EPIGENETIC AND IMMUNOLOGICAL COMPONENTS, VARIOUS OTHER FACTORS, E.G. UNHEALTHY DIETARY HABITS, PLAY A ROLE IN THE MS PATHOGENESIS. DIETARY INTERVENTION IS A HIGHLY APPEALING APPROACH, AS IT PRESENTS A SIMPLE AND RELATIVELY LOW RISK METHOD TO POTENTIALLY IMPROVE OUTCOMES IN PATIENTS WITH BRAIN DISORDERS IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE REMISSION AND IMPROVEMENT OF CLINICAL STATUS, WELL-BEING AND LIFE EXPECTANCY OF PATIENTS WITH MS. THE IMPORTANCE OF SATURATED FAT INTAKE RESTRICTION FOR THE CLINICAL STATUS IMPROVEMENT OF MS PATIENTS WAS POINTED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 1950S. RECENTLY, DECREASED RISK OF FIRST CLINICAL DIAGNOSIS OF CNS DEMYELINATION ASSOCIATED WITH HIGHER INTAKE OF OMEGA-3 POLYUNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS PARTICULARLY ORIGINATING FROM FISH WAS REPORTED. ONLY FEW CLINICAL TRIALS HAVE BEEN PERFORMED TO ADDRESS THE QUESTION OF THE ROLE OF DIETARY INTERVENTION, SUCH IS E.G. LOW SATURATED FAT DIET IN MS TREATMENT. THIS REVIEW SUMMARIZES CURRENT KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE EFFECT OF DIFFERENT DIETARY APPROACHES (DIETS LOW IN SATURATED FAT AND DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS SUCH AS FISH OIL, LIPOIC ACID, OMEGA-3 POLYUNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS, SEEDS OILS, HIGH FIBER DIET, VITAMIN D, ETC.) ON NEUROLOGICAL SIGNS, PATIENT'S WELL-BEING, PHYSICAL AND INFLAMMATORY STATUS. SO FAR THE RESULTS ARE NOT CONCLUSIVE, THEREFORE MUCH MORE RESEARCH IS NEEDED TO CONFIRM AND TO UNDERSTAND THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THESE DIETARY INTERVENTIONS IN THE LONG TERM AND WELL DEFINED STUDIES. 2018 10 1836 25 EFFECTS OF NUTRIENT AND BIOACTIVE FOOD COMPONENTS ON ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE AND EPIGENETIC. ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD) IS THE MOST COMMON FORM OF DEMENTIA IN THE ELDERLY AND IS A CHRONIC NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASE THAT IS BECOMING WIDESPREAD. FOR THIS REASON, IN RECENT YEARS FACTORS AFFECTING THE DEVELOPMENT, PROGRESSION AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION OF THE AD HAVE BEEN EMPHASIZED. NUTRIENTS AND OTHER BIOACTIVE NUTRIENTS ARE AMONG THE FACTORS THAT ARE EFFECTIVE IN AD. IN PARTICULAR, VITAMINS A, C AND E, VITAMINS B(1), B(6) AND B(12), FOLATE, MAGNESIUM, CHOLINE, INOSITOL, ANTHOCYANINS, ISOFLAVONES ETC. NUTRIENTS AND BIOACTIVE NUTRIENTS ARE KNOWN TO BE EFFECTIVE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF AD. NUTRIENTS AND NUTRIENT COMPONENTS MAY ALSO HAVE AN EPIGENETIC EFFECT ON AD. AT THE SAME TIME, NUTRIENTS AND BIOACTIVE FOOD COMPONENTS SLOW DOWN THE PROGRESSION OF THE DISEASE. FOR THIS REASON, THE EFFECT OF NUTRIENTS AND FOOD COMPONENTS ON AD WAS EXAMINED IN THIS REVIEW. 2019 11 1939 44 EPIDEMIOLOGY AND (PATHO)PHYSIOLOGY OF FOLIC ACID SUPPLEMENT USE IN OBESE WOMEN BEFORE AND DURING PREGNANCY. PRECONCEPTION FOLIC ACID SUPPLEMENT USE IS A WELL-KNOWN METHOD OF PRIMARY PREVENTION OF NEURAL TUBE DEFECTS (NTDS). OBESE WOMEN ARE AT A HIGHER RISK FOR HAVING A CHILD WITH A NTD. AS DIFFERENT INTERNATIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS ON FOLIC ACID SUPPLEMENT USE FOR OBESE WOMEN BEFORE AND DURING PREGNANCY EXIST, THIS NARRATIVE REVIEW PROVIDES AN OVERVIEW OF EPIDEMIOLOGY OF FOLATE DEFICIENCY IN OBESE (PRE)PREGNANT WOMEN, ELABORATES ON POTENTIAL MECHANISMS UNDERLYING FOLATE DEFICIENCY, AND DISCUSSES CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE USAGE OF HIGHER DOSES OF FOLIC ACID SUPPLEMENTS. WOMEN WITH OBESITY MORE OFTEN SUFFER FROM AN ABSOLUTE FOLATE DEFICIENCY, AS THEY ARE LESS COMPLIANT TO PERICONCEPTIONAL FOLIC ACID SUPPLEMENT USE RECOMMENDATIONS. IN ADDITION, THEIR DIETARY FOLATE INTAKE IS LIMITED DUE TO AN UNBALANCED DIET (RELATIVE MALNUTRITION). THE ASSOCIATION OF OBESITY AND NTDS ALSO SEEMS TO BE INDEPENDENT OF FOLATE INTAKE, WITH STUDIES SUGGESTING AN INCREASED NEED OF FOLATE (RELATIVE DEFICIENCY) DUE TO DERANGEMENTS INVOLVED IN OTHER PATHWAYS. THE RELATIVE FOLATE DEFICIENCY, AS A RESULT OF AN INCREASED METABOLIC NEED FOR FOLATE IN OBESE WOMEN, CAN BE DUE TO: (1) LOW-GRADE CHRONIC INFLAMMATION (2) INSULIN RESISTANCE, (3) INOSITOL, AND (4) DYSBIOTIC GUT MICROBIOME, WHICH PLAYS A ROLE IN FOLATE PRODUCTION AND UPTAKE. IN ALL THESE PATHWAYS, THE FOLATE-DEPENDENT ONE-CARBON METABOLISM IS INVOLVED. IN CONCLUSION, SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE OF THE INVOLVEMENT OF SEVERAL FOLATE-RELATED PATHWAYS IMPLIES TO INCREASE THE RECOMMENDED FOLIC ACID SUPPLEMENTATION IN OBESE WOMEN. HOWEVER, THE PHYSIOLOGICAL UPTAKE OF SYNTHETIC FOLIC ACID IS LIMITED AND SIDE-EFFECTS OF UNMETABOLIZED FOLIC ACID IN MOTHERS AND OFFSPRING, IN PARTICULAR VARIATIONS IN EPIGENETIC (RE)PROGRAMMING WITH LONG-TERM HEALTH EFFECTS, CANNOT BE EXCLUDED. THEREFORE, WE EMPHASIZE ON THE URGENT NEED FOR FURTHER RESEARCH AND PRECONCEPTION PERSONALIZED COUNSELING ON FOLATE STATUS, LIFESTYLE, AND MEDICAL CONDITIONS. 2021 12 5112 28 POLYUNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS: BIOCHEMICAL, NUTRITIONAL AND EPIGENETIC PROPERTIES. DIETARY POLYUNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS (PUFA) HAVE EFFECTS ON DIVERSE PHYSIOLOGICAL PROCESSES IMPACTING NORMAL HEALTH AND CHRONIC DISEASES, SUCH AS THE REGULATION OF PLASMA LIPID LEVELS, CARDIOVASCULAR AND IMMUNE FUNCTION, INSULIN ACTION AND NEURONAL DEVELOPMENT AND VISUAL FUNCTION. INGESTION OF PUFA WILL LEAD TO THEIR DISTRIBUTION TO VIRTUALLY EVERY CELL IN THE BODY WITH EFFECTS ON MEMBRANE COMPOSITION AND FUNCTION, EICOSANOID SYNTHESIS, CELLULAR SIGNALING AND REGULATION OF GENE EXPRESSION. CELL SPECIFIC LIPID METABOLISM, AS WELL AS THE EXPRESSION OF FATTY ACID-REGULATED TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS, LIKELY PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN DETERMINING HOW CELLS RESPOND TO CHANGES IN PUFA COMPOSITION. THIS REVIEW WILL FOCUS ON RECENT ADVANCES ON THE ESSENTIALITY OF THESE MOLECULES AND ON THEIR INTERPLAY IN CELL PHYSIOLOGY, LEADING TO NEW PERSPECTIVE IN DIFFERENT THERAPEUTIC FIELDS. 2004 13 2226 40 EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS INDUCED BY NUTRIENTS IN EARLY LIFE PHASES: GENDER DIFFERENCES IN METABOLIC ALTERATION IN ADULTHOOD. METABOLIC CHRONIC DISEASES, ALSO NAMED NONCOMMUNICABLE DISEASES (NCDS), ARE CONSIDERED MULTIFACTORIAL PATHOLOGIES, WHICH ARE DRAMATICALLY INCREASED DURING THE LAST DECADES. NONCOMMUNICABLE DISEASES SUCH AS CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES, OBESITY, DIABETES MELLITUS, CANCERS, AND CHRONIC RESPIRATORY DISEASES MARKEDLY INCREASE MORBIDITY, MORTALITY, AND SOCIOECONOMIC COSTS. MOREOVER, NCDS INDUCE SEVERAL AND COMPLEX CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS THAT LEAD TO A GRADUAL DETERIORATION OF HEALTH STATUS AND QUALITY OF LIFE OF AFFECTED INDIVIDUALS. MULTIPLE FACTORS ARE INVOLVED IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRESSION OF THESE DISEASES SUCH AS SEDENTARY BEHAVIOR, SMOKING, POLLUTION, AND UNHEALTHY DIET. INDEED, NUTRITION HAS A PIVOTAL ROLE IN MAINTAINING HEALTH, AND DIETARY IMBALANCES REPRESENT MAJOR DETERMINANTS FAVORING CHRONIC DISEASES THROUGH METABOLIC HOMEOSTASIS ALTERATIONS. IN PARTICULAR, IT APPEARS THAT SPECIFIC NUTRIENTS AND ADEQUATE NUTRITION ARE IMPORTANT IN ALL PERIODS OF LIFE, BUT THEY ARE ESSENTIAL DURING SPECIFIC TIMES IN EARLY LIFE SUCH AS PRENATAL AND POSTNATAL PHASES. INDEED, EPIDEMIOLOGIC AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES REPORT THE DELETERIOUS EFFECTS OF AN INCORRECT NUTRITION ON HEALTH STATUS SEVERAL DECADES LATER IN LIFE. DURING THE LAST DECADE, A GROWING INTEREST ON THE POSSIBLE ROLE OF EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS AS LINK BETWEEN NUTRITIONAL IMBALANCES AND NCDS DEVELOPMENT HAS BEEN OBSERVED. FINALLY, BECAUSE OF THE PIVOTAL ROLE OF THE HORMONES IN FAT, CARBOHYDRATE, AND PROTEIN METABOLISM REGULATION THROUGHOUT LIFE, IT IS EXPECTED THAT ANY HORMONAL MODIFICATION OF THESE PROCESSES CAN IMBALANCE METABOLISM AND FAT STORAGE. THEREFORE, A PARTICULAR INTEREST TO SEVERAL CHEMICALS ABLE TO ACT AS ENDOCRINE DISRUPTORS HAS BEEN RECENTLY DEVELOPED. IN THIS REVIEW, WE WILL PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW AND DISCUSS THE EPIGENETIC ROLE OF SOME SPECIFIC NUTRIENTS AND CHEMICALS IN THE MODULATION OF PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL MECHANISMS. 2019 14 4080 23 MATERNAL LIFESTYLE INTERVENTIONS: TARGETING PRECONCEPTION HEALTH. ABOUT ONE-THIRD OF WOMEN OF REPRODUCTIVE AGE ARE OBESE, PREDISPOSING BOTH MOTHER AND BABY TO UNFAVOURABLE PREGNANCY OUTCOMES AND INITIATING AN INTERGENERATIONAL CYCLE OF CHRONIC METABOLIC DISORDERS. HERE WE SUMMARISE RECENT RESEARCH ON THE INFLUENCE OF MATERNAL METABOLIC HEALTH ON OFFSPRING SUSCEPTIBILITY TO FUTURE CARDIOMETABOLIC DISEASES. CURRENT PRIMARY LIFESTYLE APPROACHES (I.E., DIET AND EXERCISE INTERVENTIONS) TO HALT THE SUCCESSION OF INHERITED AND EPIGENETIC METABOLIC ABNORMALITIES HAVE MET WITH LIMITED SUCCESS DUE TO LATE IMPLEMENTATION, POOR ADHERENCE, AND/OR GENERIC GUIDELINES. IN OUR OPINION, SUCH INTERVENTIONS MUST COMMENCE PRIOR TO CONCEPTION TO IMPROVE BOTH MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH OUTCOMES, WITH NEW APPROACHES URGENTLY NEEDED TO INCREASE ADHERENCE TO PRIMARY LIFESTYLE CHANGES AMONG REPRODUCTIVE-AGE WOMEN. 2020 15 4586 43 NAFLD AT THE INTERFACE OF THE MOTHER-INFANT DYAD. THIS REVIEW AIMS TO FOCUS THE LINKS EXISTING BETWEEN SEVERAL ASPECTS OF THE MOTHER-CHILD DYAD IN THE INTRICATE PLAYGROUND OF OBESITY AND METABOLIC SYNDROME (METS), INCLUDING ITS HEPATIC COMPONENT, THE NON- ALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER DISEASE (NAFLD). IN RECENT YEARS HUMAN AND ANIMAL MODEL STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT DIETARY INTERVENTIONS IN MOTHERS AND OFFSPRING CAN BE SUCCESSFUL IN REDUCING THE RISK OF NAFLD DEVELOPMENT. EVIDENCES ALSO CONCERN THE NEW CONCEPT OF A REAL INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF PREDISPOSITION TO METABOLIC DISORDERS. CERTAIN GENES, SUCH AS SIRT1 AND PNPLA3, AND SOME EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS, INCLUDING MICRO RNAS FUNCTION, SEEM TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR FETAL REPROGRAMMING IN THE SETTING OF MATERNAL OBESITY. THESE MODIFIERS APPEAR TO BE POTENTIAL THERAPEUTIC TARGETS TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FUTURE METABOLIC DYSFUNCTIONS. CONTROLLING ANTEPARTUM HYPERGLYCEMIA, PREVENTING GESTATIONAL DIABETES, AND AVOIDING EXCESSIVE WEIGHT GAIN DURING PREGNANCY CAN HELP REDUCE THE RELENTLESS EPIDEMIC OF CHILDHOOD OBESITY AND NAFLD. ALSO, THE COMPOSITION OF THE INTESTINAL MICROBIOTA SEEMS TO BE RELATED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF METABOLIC DISORDERS IN THE OFFSPRING. SEVERAL STUDIES SHOW THAT BREASTFED INFANTS HAVE A MICROBIAL SIGNATURE DIFFERENT FROM FORMULA-FED INFANTS. MUCH INTERESTINGLY, PROLONGED BREASTFEEDING IS BENEFICIAL NOT ONLY FOR THE NEWBORN AND HIS HEALTH IN ADULT LIFE, BUT ALSO FOR THE MOTHERS' HEALTH. MATERNAL BENEFITS INCLUDE REDUCING THE RISK OF DEVELOPING CHRONIC DISEASES, SUCH AS DIABETES MELLITUS, MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION AND NAFLD AS WELL. IN CONCLUSION, ALL ABOVE MECHANISMS APPEAR TO INTERVENE SYNERGISTICALLY AND MAY ACT AS MODIFIABLE RISK FACTORS FOR INFANT AND MOTHER NAFLD. 2020 16 5654 33 SEX, NUTRITION, AND NAFLD: RELEVANCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION. NON-ALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER DISEASE (NAFLD) IS THE MOST COMMON FORM OF CHRONIC LIVER DISEASE AND REPRESENTS AN INCREASING PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE GIVEN THE LIMITED TREATMENT OPTIONS AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH SEVERAL OTHER METABOLIC AND INFLAMMATORY DISORDERS. THE EPIDEMIC, STILL GROWING PREVALENCE OF NAFLD WORLDWIDE CANNOT BE MERELY EXPLAINED BY CHANGES IN DIET AND LIFESTYLE THAT OCCURRED IN THE LAST FEW DECADES, NOR FROM THEIR ASSOCIATION WITH GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC RISK FACTORS. IT IS CONCEIVABLE THAT ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANTS, WHICH ACT AS ENDOCRINE AND METABOLIC DISRUPTORS, MAY CONTRIBUTE TO THE SPREADING OF THIS PATHOLOGY DUE TO THEIR ABILITY TO ENTER THE FOOD CHAIN AND BE INGESTED THROUGH CONTAMINATED FOOD AND WATER. GIVEN THE STRICT INTERPLAY BETWEEN NUTRIENTS AND THE REGULATION OF HEPATIC METABOLISM AND REPRODUCTIVE FUNCTIONS IN FEMALES, POLLUTANT-INDUCED METABOLIC DYSFUNCTIONS MAY BE OF PARTICULAR RELEVANCE FOR THE FEMALE LIVER, DAMPENING SEX DIFFERENCES IN NAFLD PREVALENCE. DIETARY INTAKE OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANTS CAN BE PARTICULARLY DETRIMENTAL DURING GESTATION, WHEN ENDOCRINE-DISRUPTING CHEMICALS MAY INTERFERE WITH THE PROGRAMMING OF LIVER METABOLISM, ACCOUNTING FOR THE DEVELOPMENTAL ORIGIN OF NAFLD IN OFFSPRING. THIS REVIEW SUMMARIZES CAUSE-EFFECT EVIDENCE BETWEEN ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANTS AND INCREASED INCIDENCE OF NAFLD AND EMPHASIZES THE NEED FOR FURTHER STUDIES IN THIS FIELD. 2023 17 2881 31 FUTURE PERSPECTIVES OF PERSONALIZED WEIGHT LOSS INTERVENTIONS BASED ON NUTRIGENETIC, EPIGENETIC, AND METAGENOMIC DATA. AS OBESITY HAS BECOME A MAJOR GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH CHALLENGE, A LARGE NUMBER OF STUDIES HAVE ANALYZED DIFFERENT STRATEGIES AIMED AT INDUCING A NEGATIVE ENERGY BALANCE AND, CONSEQUENTLY, BODY WEIGHT LOSS. HOWEVER, MOST EXISTING WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAMS ARE GENERALLY UNSUCCESSFUL, SO SEVERAL INTERVENTIONS HAVE BEEN CARRIED OUT TO IDENTIFY PHYSIOLOGIC AND BEHAVIORAL FACTORS CONCERNING THIS VARIABILITY IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT MORE PERSONALIZED TREATMENT. NOWADAYS, AN INDIVIDUALIZED APPROACH IS BEING PROPOSED THROUGH SO-CALLED PERSONALIZED NUTRITION, WHEREBY NOT ONLY THE PHENOTYPE BUT ALSO THE GENOTYPE IS USED FOR CUSTOMIZED NUTRITION TREATMENT. REGARDING BODY WEIGHT REGULATION, APPROXIMATELY 70 POLYMORPHISMS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED IN OR NEAR GENES RELATED TO ENERGY EXPENDITURE, APPETITE, ADIPOGENESIS, INSULIN RESISTANCE, AND LIPID METABOLISM. ALTHOUGH PERSONALIZED NUTRITION REFERS MAINLY TO GENETIC MAKEUP, RECENT ADVANCES IN THE INVESTIGATION OF THE EPIGENOME AND THE MICROBIOME OPEN THE DOOR TO IMPLEMENT MORE PERSONALIZED RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BODY WEIGHT MANAGEMENT. IN THIS CONTEXT, RECENT STUDIES HAVE DEMONSTRATED THE EXISTENCE OF SEVERAL EPIGENETIC MARKERS THAT MAY MODIFY GENE EXPRESSION AND COULD BE INVOLVED IN THE OUTCOME OF WEIGHT LOSS INTERVENTIONS. MOREOVER, DIFFERENT STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT DIETARY INTERVENTIONS COULD AFFECT THE COMPOSITION OF GUT MICROBIOTA AND HAVE AN IMPACT ON BODY WEIGHT. THE INTEGRATION OF NUTRIGENETIC, EPIGENETIC, AND METAGENOMIC DATA MAY LEAD TO THE DESIGN OF MORE PERSONALIZED DIETARY TREATMENTS TO PREVENT CHRONIC DISEASES AND TO OPTIMIZE THE INDIVIDUAL'S RESPONSE TO DIETARY INTERVENTIONS. 2015 18 6094 33 THE EFFECTS OF MATERNAL AND POSTNATAL DIETARY METHYL NUTRIENTS ON EPIGENETIC CHANGES THAT LEAD TO NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES IN ADULTHOOD. THE RISK FOR NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES IN ADULTHOOD CAN BE PROGRAMMED BY EARLY NUTRITION. THIS PROGRAMMING IS MEDIATED BY CHANGES IN EXPRESSION OF KEY GENES IN VARIOUS METABOLIC PATHWAYS DURING DEVELOPMENT, WHICH PERSIST INTO ADULTHOOD. THESE DEVELOPMENTAL MODIFICATIONS OF GENES ARE DUE TO EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS IN DNA METHYLATION PATTERNS. RECENT STUDIES HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT DNA METHYLATION CAN BE AFFECTED BY MATERNAL OR EARLY POSTNATAL DIETS. BECAUSE METHYL GROUPS FOR METHYLATION REACTIONS COME FROM METHIONINE CYCLE NUTRIENTS (I.E., METHIONINE, CHOLINE, BETAINE, FOLATE), DEFICIENCY OR SUPPLEMENTATION OF THESE METHYL NUTRIENTS CAN DIRECTLY CHANGE EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF GENES PERMANENTLY. ALTHOUGH MANY STUDIES HAVE DESCRIBED THE EARLY PROGRAMMING OF ADULT DISEASES BY MATERNAL AND INFANT NUTRITION, THIS REVIEW DISCUSSES STUDIES THAT HAVE ASSOCIATED EARLY DIETARY METHYL NUTRIENT MANIPULATION WITH DIRECT EFFECTS ON EPIGENETIC PATTERNS THAT COULD LEAD TO CHRONIC DISEASES IN ADULTHOOD. THE MATERNAL SUPPLY OF METHYL NUTRIENTS DURING GESTATION AND LACTATION CAN ALTER EPIGENETICS, BUT PROGRAMMING EFFECTS VARY DEPENDING ON THE TIMING OF DIETARY INTERVENTION, THE TYPE OF METHYL NUTRIENT MANIPULATED, AND THE TISSUE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PHENOTYPE. MOREOVER, THE POSTNATAL MANIPULATION OF METHYL NUTRIENTS CAN PROGRAM EPIGENETICS, BUT MORE RESEARCH IS NEEDED ON WHETHER THIS APPROACH CAN RESCUE MATERNALLY PROGRAMMED OFFSPRING. 2020 19 6873 34 [PREVENTION OF OBESITY FROM PERINATAL STAGE]. OBESITY IS ONE OF THE MAJOR HEALTH PROBLEMS AND A DETERMINING FACTOR IN THE PREVALENCE OF DISEASES SUCH AS METABOLIC SYNDROME, ASTHMA, SLEEP APNEA, INFERTILITY AND VARIOUS TYPES OF CANCER. ITS ORIGIN IS MULTIFACTORIAL, INVOLVING GENETIC, SOCIOECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS. THESE LAST ONES CONTRIBUTE MOSTLY TO EXPLAIN THE CURRENT EPIDEMIC GROWTH OF THIS DISEASE. THE SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE, INADEQUATE DIET, LACK OF SLEEP, ALTERATIONS IN INTESTINAL MICROBIOTA AND STRESS ARE FACTORS RELATED TO ITS DEVELOPMENT. SINCE BARKER PRESENTED HIS HYPOTHESIS ABOUT THE "FETAL ORIGIN OF ADULT DISEASES", THERE ARE INCREASING NUMBER OF STUDIES THAT SHOW THE INFLUENCE OF AN INADEQUATE NUTRITIONAL STATUS AND MATERNAL WEIGHT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHRONIC DISEASES, AS OBESITY IN OFFSPRING. THE NUTRITIONAL DEFICIENCIES OF THE PREGNANT MOTHER CAUSE EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS AND ABNORMAL PROGRAMMING OF THE DEVELOPMENT OFORGANS AND DEVICES, ADAPTING THE FETUS TO THIS SITUATION OF DEFICIENCY AND BEING ABLE TO ADAPT TO AN OBESOGENIC ENVIRONMENT AFTER BIRTH, INCREASING ITS PROPENSITY TO OBESITY. ALSO, POOR MATERNAL NUTRITIONAL STATUS IS RELATED TO INTRAUTERINE GROWTH RETARDATION AND LOW BIRTH WEIGHT INFANTS, WITH A HIGHER RISK OF CHILDHOOD AND ADULT CENTRAL OBESITY. CURRENTLY, DEFICIENT INTAKE OF MICRONUTRIENTS AND OVERWEIGHT OR MATERNAL OBESITY TEND TO OVERLAP, AND THIS COMBINATION MAY EXACERBATE THE INCREASE IN OBESITY IN THE OFFSPRING. IT IS IMPORTANT TO IDENTIFY PREGNANT MOTHERS AT RISK OF SUFFERING NUTRITIONAL ALTERATIONS AND ESTABLISH THEIR IMPROVEMENT AS A PRIMARY PREVENTION STRATEGY FOR OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY. 2017 20 1409 33 DIETARY INTERVENTIONS AND NUTRITIONAL FACTORS IN THE PREVENTION OF PEDIATRIC ASTHMA. ASTHMA IS THE MOST FREQUENT CHRONIC DISEASE IN CHILDREN, AND ITS PATHOGENESIS INVOLVES GENETIC, EPIGENETIC, AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS. THE RAPID RISE IN THE PREVALENCE OF ASTHMA REGISTERED OVER THE LAST FEW DECADES HAS STRESSED THE NEED TO IDENTIFY THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND MODIFIABLE FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DISEASE. IN PARTICULAR, THERE IS INCREASING INTEREST IN THE ROLE OF MODIFIABLE NUTRITIONAL FACTORS SPECIFIC TO BOTH THE PRENATAL AND POST-NATAL EARLY LIFE AS, DURING THIS TIME, THE IMMUNE SYSTEM IS PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE TO EXOGENOUS INTERFERENCES. SEVERAL DIETARY FACTORS, INCLUDING MATERNAL DIET DURING PREGNANCY, THE DURATION OF BREASTFEEDING, THE USE OF SPECIAL MILK FORMULAS, THE TIMING OF THE INTRODUCTION OF COMPLEMENTARY FOODS, AND PRENATAL AND EARLY LIFE SUPPLEMENTATION WITH VITAMINS AND PROBIOTICS/PREBIOTICS, HAVE BEEN ADDRESSED AS POTENTIAL TARGETS FOR THE PREVENTION OF ASTHMA. IN THIS REVIEW, WE OUTLINE RECENT FINDINGS ON THE POTENTIAL ROLE OF PRENATAL AND PERINATAL DIETARY AND NUTRITIONAL INTERVENTIONS FOR THE PRIMARY PREVENTION OF PEDIATRIC ASTHMA. MOREOVER, WE ADDRESSED UNMET NEEDS AND AREAS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH IN THE PREVENTION OF CHILDHOOD-ONSET ASTHMA. 2020