Dietary Components and Immune Function focuses on immune modulation, immune mediated disease resistance, immune changes due to AIDS, immune modulated cancer therapy, and autoimmune diseases as modified by dietary supplement, bioactive foods and supplements. The potential value of such approaches in maintaining wellness and preventing disease are addressed by examining their effects in vitro and in vivo on innate and adaptive immune responses. Emerging fields of science and important discoveries relating to early stages of new nutriceuticals in cancer prevention, prior to clinical trials are also covered. This volume represents a single source of material related to nutriceuticals and their constituents as they relate to cancer therapy and prevention. As such the book will be essential reading for nutritionists, pharmacologists, health care professionals, research scientists, cancer workers, pathologists, molecular or cellular biochemists, physicians, general practitioners as well as those interested in diet and nutrition in disease resistance via immune regulation.

Nutrition is an important environmental factor for the maturation of the human immune system and essential for maintaining immunological homeostasis. Based on this, a variety of food applications with medical claims are being generated by food manufacturers worldwide in order to expand the market potential of products creating interesting linkages with other market segments, such as cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. However, in addition to the health benefits, active principles of such components often remain unexplored. This book focusses on the specific interactions between food ingredients and the immune system along the entire immune defense response. Starting from the immune barrier, through the innate and adaptive immune response, to active limitation and termination, all major mechanisms of the immune response are addressed and different biochemical, cellular and genetic interactions of components of our diet are discussed. The book presents a wealth of disease patterns for which nutritional factors are relevant and thereby provides indications for potential intervention strategies. In addition, associated food-technological aspects are discussed. Being the first of its kind, this book provides an overview of the variety of functional food components and their influence on immunological responses. Written in an accessible style, it addresses researchers, health professionals and students with different scientific backgrounds.

Nutritional immunology is a rapidly developing field. An expanding body of evidence demonstrates the impact of foods and nutritional components on gut and systemic immunity of consumers. During recent years, the implications of nutrition and nutritional intervention on prevention of disease have become accepted and has become an important tool in management of several diseases. Nutritional immunology might become even more important in the prevention of disease when the interplay between nutritional processes and immune system is better understood. Particularly, specific cellular and molecular immune responses provoked by nutrition and the role of the gut barrier and microbiota in the interplay needs more study. This content of eBook was designed to provide a timely collection on mechanistic, translational and clinical research on the interplay between foods, nutritional components and immunity in physiological and pathophysiological conditions.

Natural products and functional/medical foods are now widely acknowledged as having an effect on the microbiome of the intestine, which in turn influences the outcome of certain disease. This book reviews the impact and effects of natural products and functional/medical foods (nutritional programming) on disease management, specifically focusing on diseases related to 1) Inflammation and Immunity, 2) Cancer, COPD and Cachexia, 3) Allergy and 4) Brain Neuro/Immune. Hippocrates said "let medicine be thy food and food be thy medicine". While most of us are familiar with Hippocrates famous words, we admit that in recent times, the disciplines of pharma and nutrition have evolved separately. Today, with the ever growing burden of diseases in modern society, we see a convergence of the two in relation to specific disease prevention and treatment. This re-discovered common ground between the complementary values of pharma and nutrition can be conceptualized in the term pharma-nutrition. Various chapters in the book review the aspects of molecular characteristics of food ingredients towards clinical effectiveness and relevance.

In 1900, for every 1,000 babies born in the United States, 100 would die before their first birthday, often due to infectious diseases. Today, vaccines exist for many viral and bacterial diseases. The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act, passed in 1986, was intended to bolster vaccine research and development through the federal coordination of vaccine initiatives and to provide relief to vaccine manufacturers facing financial burdens. The legislation also intended to address concerns about the safety of vaccines by instituting a compensation program, setting up a passive surveillance system for vaccine adverse events, and by providing information to consumers. A key component of the legislation required the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to collaborate with the Institute of Medicine to assess concerns about the safety of vaccines and potential adverse events, especially in children. Adverse Effects of Vaccines reviews the epidemiological, clinical, and biological evidence regarding adverse health events associated with specific vaccines covered by the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), including the varicella zoster vaccine, influenza vaccines, the hepatitis B vaccine, and the human papillomavirus vaccine, among others. For each possible adverse event, the report reviews peer-reviewed primary studies, summarizes their findings, and evaluates the epidemiological, clinical, and biological evidence. It finds that while no vaccine is 100 percent safe, very few adverse events are shown to be caused by vaccines. In addition, the evidence shows that vaccines do not cause several conditions. For example, the MMR vaccine is not associated with autism or childhood diabetes. Also, the DTaP vaccine is not associated with diabetes and the influenza vaccine given as a shot does not exacerbate asthma. Adverse Effects of Vaccines will be of special interest to the National Vaccine Program Office, the VICP, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, vaccine safety researchers and manufacturers, parents, caregivers, and health professionals in the private and public sectors.