There are only a few areas in human nutrition and metabolism where biomarkers are routinely used to predict health and functional outcome. For instance, of the four major nutritional deficiencies, only iron deficiency can be precisely diagnosed by employing biomarkers. They therefore play a limited role in research and decision making, and intervention strategies are still mostly targeted at the population level. What is needed at this stage are biomarkers that are predictive of later functional health and that stay stable from infancy to childhood and adult health. Moreover, individual variability must be considered, taking into account the complexity of foods, lifestyle, and metabolic processes that contribute to health or disease. These factors present significant challenges when it comes to personalizing dietary advice for healthy or diseased individuals. This book focuses on the values and limitations of traditional nutritional biomarkers and on opportunities for new biomarkers. Contributions are divided into three parts: Methodologies with regard to global epidemiology; applications/end users, and future horizons. The main goal is to review recent developments and predict how exciting new technologies could be used to drive advances in nutrition-related health care.

There is ample evidence that early-life nutrition plays a powerful role in programming a person's development, metabolism and health for the future. Optimizing early nutrition may reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, allergies, diabetes and obesity, and positively influence immune function as well as cognitive and behavioral outcomes later in life. The first part of this book covers the impact of nutrition on the immune system, the role of gut microbiota in the immune status, as well as the prevention and management of food allergies in children. The second part is dedicated to obesity prevention: experts in epigenetics and metabolic programming share scientific evidence on the use of biomarkers for predicting the risk of early obesity. They also discuss potential strategies for interrupting intergenerational cycles of obesity during pregnancy, early infancy and childhood. The last part covers complementary feeding and its importance in short- and long-term health, and how it can affect behavioral and psychological aspects, as well as food preferences in later life.

Precision Medicine for Investigators, Practitioners and Providers addresses the needs of investigators by covering the topic as an umbrella concept, from new drug trials to wearable diagnostic devices, and from pediatrics to psychiatry in a manner that is up-to-date and authoritative. Sections include broad coverage of concerning disease groups and ancillary information about techniques, resources and consequences. Moreover, each chapter follows a structured blueprint, so that multiple, essential items are not overlooked. Instead of simply concentrating on a limited number of extensive and pedantic coverages, scholarly diagrams are also included. Provides a three-pronged approach to precision medicine that is focused on investigators, practitioners and healthcare providers Covers disease groups and ancillary information about techniques, resources and consequences Follows a structured blueprint, ensuring essential chapters items are not overlooked

Since 1938 and 1941, nutrient intake recommendations have been issued to the public in Canada and the United States, respectively. Currently defined as the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs), these values are a set of standards established by consensus committees under the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and used for planning and assessing diets of apparently healthy individuals and groups. In 2015, a multidisciplinary working group sponsored by the Canadian and U.S. government DRI steering committees convened to identify key scientific challenges encountered in the use of chronic disease endpoints to establish DRI values. Their report, Options for Basing Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) on Chronic Disease: Report from a Joint US-/Canadian-Sponsored Working Group, outlined and proposed ways to address conceptual and methodological challenges related to the work of future DRI Committees. This report assesses the options presented in the previous report and determines guiding principles for including chronic disease endpoints for food substances that will be used by future National Academies committees in establishing DRIs.

In recent years, knowledge of epigenetic mechanisms underlying disease onset and progression has proven crucial for the development of novel early diagnosis and prognosis biomarkers for patient stratification and precision medicine. Epigenetics in Precision Medicine, a new volume in the Translational Epigenetics series, provides a thorough discussion and overview of current developments in clinical epigenetics with special emphasis on epigenetic biomarkers that can be used for clinical diagnosis, prognosis, patient stratification, and treatment monitoring. Disease types discussed include cancer, metabolic disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, bone disease, and immune-related disorders. The book examines the challenges of advancing epigenetics research and translating findings to the clinic and drug discovery in each of these areas, as well as current solutions; chapter authors discuss how to leverage epigenomic technologies, applications, and tools, such as next-generation sequencing, to discover new epigenetic biomarkers in disease and drug studies. Epigenetics in Precision Medicine focuses on complex epigenetic mechanisms in several pathologies, and explores how epigenetics can power the advance of precision medicine, not only by improving in vitro diagnostic and prognostic tools, but by providing new therapeutic approaches to treat human disease. - Provides a thorough grounding in epigenetics-driven precision medicine, with emphasis on developing and implementing early diagnosis and prognosis biomarkers, and supporting patient stratification - Empowers researchers and clinicians to incorporate epigenetics in new disease research, drug discovery, and clinical practice - Features chapter contributions from international leaders in the field

This book provides an overview on current trends and developments in precision nutrition and personalized health preservation, focussing on a field which is undergoing rapid change. Today, personalized strategies contrast generally accepted guidelines for specified groups and improved health and disease markers are shifting health care toward preventive strategies. At the same time, advances in food additives, nutraceuticals, functional, and medical foods are breaking down the traditional domains of health-related disciplines. This book aims to provide an overview on these processes, discusses arising problems, and provides an outlook on the future of personalized health care and the role of precision nutrition. It covers preliminary thoughts on what has been achieved and focusses on developments in the area of metabolic diseases, aging, and neurology. The book is intended as a primer in the field of precision nutrition and is aimed at researchers, clinicians, and students in health-related disciplines, who would like to get insights into current trends and developments in this area

Biomarkers in Environmental and Human Health Biomonitoring: An Integrated Perspective provides a holistic view of the biomonitoring of environmental degradation, accumulated toxicity, and associated human health concerns. The book incorporates theoretical and practical aspects of the biomonitoring of environmental pollution and the health surveillance of ecological communities using samples from living organisms which are analyzed for contaminants and toxin levels. In the first half, the book provides a general overview if the different types of biomarkers, their significance as bioindicators for contaminants and detection of toxicity, as well as how they can be utilized in the restoration of degraded ecosystems. The second half of the book discusses molecular biomarkers and how they are used as diagnostic and prognostic tools for pollution monitoring. It also reviews analytical tools used to validate the biomarkers in the detection and monitoring of pollution and disease. Finally, the book delves into how novel approaches like genetic ecotoxicology; Big Data, and artificial intelligence calculates the potential consequences of environmental pollution on the ecosystems and on human health. - Covers the fundamentals, types, significance, and limitations of biomarkers - Examines various types of plants, animals, and secondary metabolites in identifying and monitoring toxicity in different ecosystems and potential impacts on health - Reviews biomarker-based and bioinformatic tools in the detection and monitoring of environmental pollution and associated human health