Nutritional and Lifestyle Interventions in Environmental Carcinogenesis: Mechanisms and Public Health Implications

Abstract

This article is an evaluation of the effect of modifiable behaviors on preventing the influence of carcinogenic exposure to the environment. The background incorporates evidence linking diet quality, adiposity, physical activity, sleep/circadian rhythms and tobacco/alcohol use with exposure processing, systemic inflammation, hormonal signaling and immune surveillance. The objective is to (i) define mechanistic pathways through which dietary-based counseling interventions (Mediterranean-style diet, fiber-rich intake, weight loss, aerobic/resistance training, sleep regularity, and alcohol/tobacco reduction) can modify metabolic/endocrine and immune axes of susceptibility to air pollutants, PAHs, metals, and endocrine disruptors; and (ii) convert these mechanisms into population-based practice. Anticipated discoveries will be a synthesis of causal pathways (insulin/IGF axis, NRF2/ARE, NF-kappaB, DNA-repair capacity, epigenetic plasticity), the identification of high risk subgroups that may benefit disproportionately (occupationally exposed workers, urban residents, individuals with detoxification polymorphisms), interventive bundles applicable to the specific population, and measurable biomarkers (inflammation panels, metabolomics, epigenetic clock), and interventions can be implemented in the defined population. The paper envisages population impact, cost-effectiveness and equity modelling, and proposes policy levers that can be exploited to integrate clinical population prevention and environmental justice: food environment reform; active-transport infrastructure; sleep-health promotion; and exposure-aware guidelines.