From the perspective of crop pollination services provision, this effect is important since the pollination service can decrease not only due to lack of neighboring natural areas but also nearby flowering crop area. The vast nutritional benefits of a diet containing a wide variety of plants have long been known. However, benefits distinct from simple nutrition, such as phytochemicals have recently become clear. Diets rich in a plethora of phytochemicals can promote a healthy and diverse gut microbiota, reduce intestinal and systemic inflammation, and decrease the risk of colorectal cancer and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Some of these benefits can be observed around the world. Many parts of India have historically low colon cancer incidence rates. The Indian subcontinent has been continuously settled for millennia. Ancient cities in the Indus valley have been dated to the third and fourth millennia BC and some sites are even older. Archaeological evidence of grain cultivation, including several varieties of barley and wheat, has been found in excavations dated to the sixth millennium BC. Wheat is still a staple crop in northern India, and many other grains, including barley, were commonly cultivated and eaten until the 1950s, when wheat and white rice became dominant. Although the country has many diverse cultures, some customs remain common and conventional throughout the nation. One such tradition is the form of main meals where a large round platter, the thali, holds rice or bread and several smaller bowls, or katori, which hold a separate condiment or curry to be eaten with the rice or bread at the diner’s preference. Typical dishes include, but are not limited to, dal , yogurt ,vertical indoor hydroponic system and assorted spices and vegetables. The development of agriculture early in its history has allowed India to develop rich traditions around food.

These traditions have been deeply influenced by Ayurveda, the ancient Indian system of medicine. In Ayurvedic practice, food is a source of nourishment and medicine, used to both prevent and treat illness. Maintaining a proper balance of Ayurvedic elements through diet is considered an effective way to live a healthy lifestyle. According to the Ayurvedic principles, each meal should contain a balance of the six major flavors. This calls for the many small portions of a thali meal which also easily incorporate variety. A variety of flavors in a meal often indicates the presence of many classes of bio-active compounds . Although these substances may not be macronutrients, vitamins, or minerals, they still impact human health. Polyphenols are perhaps the largest class of bio-active compounds, containing sub-classes such as flavonoids, isoflavones, stilbenes, lignans, and tannins. As a flavonoid subgroup, anthocyanins are included in this class. Anthocyanins are of interest in the food industry as nontoxic and water-soluble pigments, as most are colored red, purple, or blue, and many display antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. A class of phytochemicals called polyphenols is also found in virtually all plant foods, though their quantity may be reduced by preparation methods. Rich sources of anthocyanins include deeply colored fruits and vegetables, such as blueberries, eggplants, and certain carrot and potato cultivars. Given that many phytochemicals exert anti-inflammatory activity via promoting gut bacterial diversity, there is a growing interest in a food-based approach to countering the growing epidemic of inflammation-promoted chronic diseases such as colon cancer.We have learned that no discussion of diet is complete without consideration of the intestinal microbiota. Trillions of bacteria, distributed throughout the gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus, facilitate digestion and intestinal homeostasis. Structural factors greatly impact the overall makeup of each community.

For example, low pH prohibits many pathogenic bacteria from colonizing the stomach and the upper small intestine. The depths of the large intestine, on the other hand, is an ideal habitat for many anaerobes. The gut microbiota is a dynamic community, composed of living organisms that can alter in response to diet, disease, and other environmental pressures. Changes in the intestinal microbiota were first correlated with illness in 1681 when Anton van Leeuwenhoek recorded that the microbial composition of his diarrhea differed from normal fecal samples. Since then, the intestinal microbiome has been closely studied to show how it can be implicated in a variety of conditions ranging from obesity to colon cancer. A great deal of investigation into microbiota has been accomplished in the last decade. Many of these observed changes result in an overall loss of bacterial diversity in the microbiota, indicating that species diversity is associated with health. However, the opposite may be true for cause-consequence relations, but not enough research has been brought to light. High-throughput technologies have driven advances in identifying the trillions of microbes and the metabolic functions that live in the colon. This led to a critical insight that gut plays as dynamic of a role in metabolism as the liver. The proximity of these microbes to the intestinal mucosa and gut lymphoid tissue explains the critical role they play in health and disease. Indeed, dysbiosis plays a significant role in the development of inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, and colon cancer. Emerging evidence suggests that diet can directly influence the content and composition of gut microbiota. Thus, understanding the complex interactions between diet, gut microbiota, and the host are crucial in prevention and treatment of chronic diseases that plague our society. Studies in murine models have shown rapid changes in the gut bacteria of mice being switched quickly from a standard diet to a high-calorie diet back to a standard diet.

In humans, surveys show that diets high in fiber correlate with higher microbial diversity and reduced populations of Enterobacteriaceae, including Escherichia and Shigella species. Marked differences are also seen during consumption of animal- vs. plant-based diets. While nutrients in the diet will affect intestinal microbes, other substances present in food may also have an effect. For example, most anthocyanins are not absorbed into the bloodstream in the small intestine, and so they stay in the gastrointestinal tract until they reach the colon. There, they can affect the colonic microbiota in multiple ways. Firstly, anthocyanins have antioxidant activity that can reduce inflammation-induced oxidative stress on the gut bacteria. Secondly, anthocyanins are a potential carbon source, which bacteria can metabolize, resulting in increased growth of certain microbes. Lastly, bacterial metabolism of anthocyanins produces a variety of metabolite byproducts, some of which have antimicrobial effects on enteric pathogen species including Escherichia coli.Chronic intestinal inflammation is a hallmark of certain bowel disorders, such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, which are two major forms of inflammatory bowel diseases , and IBD is also considered a risk factor for colorectal cancer. In the latter, inflammation is generally low-grade but persists over a long period of time. Diet composition can promote or suppress chronic inflammation. Low-fiber high-calorie diets, which are typical in Western countries, may directly promote inflammation, or as already discussed, indirectly promote this through dysbiosis. Indeed, some dietary patterns associated with chronic inflammation are also linked to the reduction of total microbial diversity and imbalances in intestinal microbial groups. Furthermore, some bacteria, including E. coli, can flourish during low-grade inflammation, where thinning of the intestinal mucus layer occurs and allows for more direct interaction between the host’s cells and the intestinal bacteria. This condition can cause a feedback loop in which contact between bacteria and epithelial cells leads to dysregulation of mucosal immune response. This contact can lead to a bacterial biofilm, formed when bacteria attach themselves to the surfaces of the aqueous environment in the gut and begin to secrete substances that allow them to affix onto the epithelium. The interaction between bacteria and epithelial cells elevates inflammation,vertical farming tower for sale leading to increased thinning of the mucus and direct host-bacteria interaction. The thali approach, however, combats this cycle in two different ways: by suppressing bacterial growth with anti-microbial phytochemicals , and by reducing the opportunity for inflammation to occur. One molecular pathway involved in such a cycle involves interleukin 6 . This cytokine is normally expressed during acute inflammatory responses, and among other effects, upregulates the transcription factor STAT3. In the nucleus, STAT3 promotes cell proliferation and differentiation as well as upregulating anti-apoptosis genes. When IL6 is chronically elevated, it can lead to an apoptosis-resistant, constantly expanding T-cell population in the intestinal mucosa.

These cells can further contribute to chronic inflammation. Just as a certain diet may promote chronic inflammation, a change in diet can help to restore health. Various bio-active compounds, including anthocyanins, have demonstrated antioxidant activity, reducing local amounts of reactive oxygen species. Low levels of reactive oxygen species can lower the expression of some inflammatory genes, including IL6, and relieve the stresses on both the intestinal microbiota and epithelial cells caused by chronic inflammation. In a study of pigs, we found that supplementing a high-calorie diet with purple potatoes that contains anthocyanins led to a six-fold reduction in levels of interleukin-6 compared to high-fat diet control. Colorectal cancer killed nearly 774,000 people worldwide in 2015, and nearly an estimated 50,630 deaths in 2018 in America making it the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States in women and second in men. Virtually all cases of CRC are considered to result from an interplay of exogenous and endogenous factors with respect to the variable contribution from each factor. Some non-modifiable risk factors include old age and family history of CRC. Other risk factors, however, are associated with lifestyle or behaviors and thus can be changed. These modifiable risk factors include smoking, obesity, low physical activity, deficiency of dietary fiber, deficiency of vitamin D, deficiency of folate, high intake of red and processed meat, and alcohol consumption. Some of these risk factors, however, are closely related. For example, inadequate fiber intake and excessive fat intake are dietary risk factors which tend to lead to a lack of exercise which ultimately may contribute to obesity, particularly in combination. In the US, 40 percent of adults are obese, and so the risk factors discussed are common mainly due to the modern Western lifestyle. Therefore, it is no surprise that nearly half of the CRC cases arise in the developed nations. The Western diet in its current form contains more risk factors than the calorie and fat content. Foods that contain heterocyclic amines , polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons , and emulsifiers can also contribute to carcinogenesis. HCA and PAH are produced in meats when they are fried or grilled over an open flame. These substances have been proved to damage the DNA of colonocytes and potentially promote risk of colon cancer. Emulsifiers are used in foods like ice cream to ensure an even distribution of fat molecules. Recent evidence suggests, however, that emulsifiers promote intestinal inflammation, creating an environment that favors colon carcinogenesis in mice. Some of these risk factors, however, are closely related. For example, inadequate fiber intake and excessive fat intake are dietary risk factors. These tend to lead to a lack of exercise, which ultimately contributes to obesity. In the US, 40 percent of adults are obese, and so the risk factors discussed are common mainly due to the modern Western lifestyle. Therefore, it is no surprise that nearly half of CRC cases arise in developed nations. However, colon cancer has a long development period . This gives ample time for lifestyle changes to take place, including diet-based intervention. Chronic inflammation, a condition that is promoted by dietary risk factors also contributes to the development of cancer, even in humans. Patients with inflammatory bowel disease have a significantly increased risk of developing CRC, while long-term aspirin treatment is associated with a significantly decreased risk of CRC. For example, the IL6/STAT pathway discussed earlier is also implicated in cancer formation. Over expression of IL6 leads to excess STAT3 transcription, causing unwanted cell proliferation not only in T cells but also in the intestinal epithelium. Another inflammatory cytokine of note is TNF α. While the intestinal bacteria can promote inflammation, they may also affect the likelihood of CRC more directly. Once the intestinal mucus layer is thinned, and direct bacterial-epithelial cell interactions occur, certain bacterial strains promote tumor development. E. coli strains bearing the pks island are of particular interest. This genetic locus codes for the secondary metabolite colibactin, along with the enzymes necessary for its production.