ABSTRACT
Several epidemiological and preclinical studies have shown the role of healthy foods and nutrients in maintaining the overall health and functioning of our body. Healthy foods are known for providing key biomolecules that participate in various physiological processes and reduce the risk of many chronic diseases. There was no specific definition for nutraceuticals, before 1989, when Dr. Stephen Felice 116for the first time defined nutraceuticals as foods or food products apart from basic nutrition that might have a role in preventing and treating diseases. The term nutraceuticals is used sometimes interchangeably with food supplements, functional foods, vitamins, micronutrients, herbal products, and so on. Nutraceuticals are medicinal foods that play a vital role in boosting immunity and helping in the prevention and cure of some diseases. Many epidemiological, in vivo, and in vitro studies have investigated the efficacy and safety of nutraceuticals. The understanding of the potential mechanisms of action of active substances found in nutraceuticals is the challenge to be considered as a preventive and therapeutic tool in treating and managing certain chronic diseases. Recently, there has been a global interest in investigating the true role of nutraceuticals and their efficacy in the prevention and progression of breast cancer, along with their synergistic role with chemotherapy and radiation. Despite scientific evidence that cancer patients can benefit from any specific nutraceutical, there is still physician’s resistance on its application and inexplicable controversies on its overall efficacy and associated risks. It is not clear, what type of nutrients and vitamin supplements would work best in the prediagnostic stage and after the diagnosis of breast cancer. In this chapter, the role of food and nutrients in the prevention and management of breast cancer will be discussed with the hope of allaying physician’s reluctance.
