Stone Jonathan, Mason Rebecca, Mitrofanis John, Johnstone Daniel M
University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.
School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Dose Response. 2024 Aug 4;22(3):15593258241271692. doi: 10.1177/15593258241271692. eCollection 2024 Jul-Sep.
Although it is well established that a vegetable-rich (Mediterranean) diet is associated with health benefits in later life, the mechanisms and biological origins of this benefit are not well established. This review seeks to identify the components a healthful diet that reduce the individual's suffering from non-communicable disease and extend longevity. We note the difference between the claims made for an essential diet (that prevents deficiency syndromes) and those argued for a diet that also prevents or delays non-communicable diseases and ask: what chemicals in our food induce this added resilience, which is effective against cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes and even cancer? Working in the framework of acquired resilience (tissue resilience induced by a range of stresses), we arguethat the toxins evolved by plants as part of allelopathy (the competition between plant species) are key in making the 'healthful difference'. We further suggest the recognition of a category of micronutrients additional to the established 'micro' categories of vitamins and trace elements and suggest also that the new category be called 'trace toxins'. Implications of these suggestions are discussed.
尽管富含蔬菜的（地中海式）饮食与晚年健康益处之间的关联已得到充分证实，但其益处的机制和生物学根源尚未明确。本综述旨在确定健康饮食中能减少个体患非传染性疾病痛苦并延长寿命的成分。我们注意到对必需饮食（预防缺乏综合征）的说法与对能预防或延缓非传染性疾病的饮食的说法之间的差异，并提出疑问：我们食物中的哪些化学物质能诱导这种额外的恢复力，这种恢复力对心血管疾病、神经退行性疾病、糖尿病甚至癌症都有效？在获得性恢复力（由一系列应激诱导的组织恢复力）的框架下，我们认为植物作为化感作用（植物物种间的竞争）一部分所进化出的毒素是产生“健康差异”的关键。我们还建议在已确立的维生素和微量元素等“微量”类别之外，再确认一类微量营养素，并建议将这一新类别称为“微量毒素”。讨论了这些建议的影响。
