Images:
WS woman stir-frying
Cu wok broccoli and cauliflower stirred
Exts Clinical Science Building
Professor up stairs
lab interiors vegetables prepped
Interview Professor
Guide Commentary:
“How do you cook your vegetables?
Past studies have shown that eating Brassica vegetables:- broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and Brussels sprouts can actually decrease the risk of cancer. Now however, a team of researchers at the University of Warwick led by Professor Paul Thornalley, have discovered that the method of cooking brassica vegetables has a significant impact on the compounds with anti - cancer properties that they contain. Chopping up vegetables and cooking them in a Laboratory before measuring and contrasting their content exhaustively, might initially appear unusual, but their findings shed new light on a powerful natural preventive force against major health risks.
SOT Paul Thornalley, Professor of Systems Biology, University of Warwick:
“I think brassica vegetable consumption, particularly if you take in these very important compounds that can decrease the risk of cancer and heart disease are critically important, probably the best evidence for decreasing the risk of some of the major important diseases that put people’s lives at risk come from brassica vegetable consumption and we should be very careful about how we cook vegetables to gain the maximum benefit as well of course persuade people to eat more brassica vegetables”
Images
broccoli boiled
cu laptop boiling graph
Guide Commentary:
By studying and measuring the quantities of compounds known as glucosinalates which metabolise into cancer preventative isothiocyanates, they discovered that, particularly when the vegetables were boiled for long periods, up to two thirds of the compounds were being lost.
Sot Professor explaining laptop “boiling” graph:
“The line here decreasing is the important glucosinolate Glucoraphanin and then here is the glucosinolate Glucoberin decreasing during cooking up to thirty minutes.”
Images:
cu broccoli boiling
broccoli water poured away
veg into microwave
more veg prepped
Laptop other results stir-fry microwave
Guide Commentary:
The British culinary tradition of boiling vegetables meant that there were significant losses of 77% in broccoli boiled for thirty minutes, with the beneficial compounds leaching out into the water, which, unless used in soup, meant the anti- cancer properties were literally being poured down the drain. Other methods of cooking were tested and different brassica vegetables were measured for the beneficial compounds and in all cases boiling did the most damage, while other methods like micro – waving, steaming or stir frying preserved the glucosinalate content to a higher degree.
SOT: Professor Thornalley:
“If you want to get the maximum benefit from you vegetable consumption your five portions a day, if you are cooking your vegetables boiling is out you need to consider stir frying steaming or micro-waving them also you can probably get similar health benefits if you consume leafy green salad crops such as rocket salad and cress which contain the same compounds.”
Images:
Lab scenes
vegetable samples
Guide Commentary:
They even tested the storage of vegetables, but normal refrigeration up to seven days meant no significant loss of the beneficial compounds, leaving boiling as the clear villain in brassica preparation. As well as measuring the anti –cancer benefits of consuming these vegetables, the team is now examining other health benefits, which are now becoming apparent.
SOT Professor Thornalley
“Our research is focussing on the mechanism of action of these compounds that lead to decreased cancer risks, we are also looking at other health benefits the ability of the same compounds to decrease risk of heart disease this will be very important particularly for high risk groups such as the elderly, and people with diabetes that have a high risk of developing heart disease so there are multiple health benefits from consuming brassica vegetables and particularly In cooking them in the right way to maximise your health benefit”
Images:
Brassica Veg samples
Rocket Salad leaves
Guide Commentary:
Or you can rely on the similar presence of glucosinates in leafy salads and particularly in Rocket, but while Jamie Oliver might believe in warm rocket salads, there would certainly be little health benefit in boiling them!
Ends
