ABSTRACT
Economic development and the evolution of food industry not only help to meet the human needs for food, but also cause worldwide health problems. Due to the imbalance of economic development and the difference of dietary habits, the population in China is faced with the problem of excessive food intake, obesity and the possible deficiency of some nutrients. In the past few decades, the food industry has profoundly affected people's intake patterns of nutrients such as energy, fat, salt and added sugar, as well as changed the nutritional structure of food and the risk of exposure to harmful substances. Food contamination caused by pathogenic microorganisms, pesticides and heavy metals are serious concerns. The dietary guidelines for Chinese residents provide basic principles for guiding the dietary behaviors of the public, but their implementation is hampered by people's lack of understanding of food and nutrition, traditional dietary habits, media misinformation and other factors. How to provide healthy and safe food for the people is an important issue at present. This paper discusses some basic concepts of healthy diet, how to promote healthy eating habits through education, how to preserve and process food to maintain nutrition, how to control food safety hazards, and other dietary related approaches that can promote health.
ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the effects of curcumin on UVB-induced elevation of cellular ROS level and cell death and to explore the involvement of transcription factor Nrf2.Methods Mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) were pretreated with or without curcumin then irradiated with UVB.The cell viability,cellular ROS level and protein levels of Nrf2 and HO1 were determined by MTT assay,DCFH fluorescence and Western blotting,respectively.These measurements were also performed in Nrf2 (-/-) MEFs.Results UVB irradiation elevated cellular ROS level and decreased cell viability of MEFs(t =16.65,15.89,P ＜ 0.05),while the curcumin pretreatment significantly attenuated the deleterious effects of UVB(t =11.88,3.77,P ＜ 0.05).UVB irradiation moderately increased the protein levels of Nrf2 and HO1 and activated JNK and ERK.The curcumin pretreatment led to more remarked elevation of Nrf2 and HO1 proteins,while inhibited UVB-activated JNK and ERK,but it had little effect on p38MAPK.In contrast,Nrf2 (-/-) MEFs showed significantly decrease in Nrf2 and HO1 expressions and were more susceptible to UVB-induced damages.Interestingly,the protective effects of curcumin were also greatly compromised in Nrf2 (-/-) MEFs (t =16.73,-8.23,P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions Curcumin can attenuate UVB-induced oxidative damages in MEFs by activating Nrf2 signaling.