Cooked Vegetables Research Articles

Gone Global: Familiar and Exotic Cucurbits Have Asian Origins

Cucurbits comprise the highly diverse family known as Cucurbitaceae that includes cultivated, feral, and wild species (Robinson and Decker-Walters, 1997). Many of the cultivated species such as squash (Cucurbita ssp.), watermelon [Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai], cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.), and melon (Cucumis melo L.) are familiar to U.S. and world markets. Others such as bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) are less familiar in the United States. Cucurbits are cultivated more broadly than any other vegetable species after tomato, Solanum lycopersicum L. ( ). Cucurbits exhibit great genetic diversity expressed phenotypically in vegetative, e.g., plant architecture and growth habit, floral, e.g., sex expression, and fruit characters that include size, shape, skin texture, exterior and interior colors, sweetness and flavor, and postharvest shelf life. They are especially known for their fruit, which may be consumed fresh, cooked or baked, dried, or processed (Robinson and Decker-Walters, 1997). Immature or mature fruit are, depending on the species, consumed as fresh or cooked vegetables. Melon and watermelon are especially well known for their sweet, flavorful, and colorful fruit that are usually eaten fresh but may be processed in confections or jams (Fig. 1). Cucurbit seeds are edible fresh (Anon., 2012c) or dried (Fig. 1). They are a source of high-quality vegetable oil (Fig. 1) and the expressed meal is high in edible protein (Jacks et al., 1972). Roots (Gathman and Bemis, 1990) and leaves (Jensen, 2012) of some species may also be used for industrial or culinary purposes. Asia and cucurbits are intertwined. Origins of the many members of the Cucurbitaceae have been of great interest for 100+ years, some regarded as Old World (Asia and Africa), whereas others are regarded as New World (the Americas) species (for a somewhat dated overview, see Esquinas-Alcazar and Gulick, 1983). Recent analyses indicate, however, an Asian origin of the family Cucurbitaceae and numerous oversea dispersal events (Schaefer et al., 2009). India and Southeast Asia, including China, comprise the primary and secondary centers of diversity, respectively, of cucumber. India and central and southwest Asia comprise the primary center of diversity for melon with China as a secondary center of diversity (Esquinas-Alcazar and Gulick, 1983). India and Africa are primary centers of watermelon and related species (Esquinas-Alcazar and Gulick, 1983). Melon and cucumber likely moved westward overland through central Asian trade routes, collectively referred to as the Silk Road (Wild, 1992) through central Asia and the Middle East to Europe and Africa and from there onto the New World. In contrast, the center of diversity for watermelon is in Africa (Esquinas-Alcazar and Gulick, 1983); it is thought that cultivated watermelon moved from there to Asia. The center of diversity of bitter gourd is the Old World tropics with its highest diversity in India, China, and Southeast Asia (EsquinasAlcazar and Gulick, 1983). Bitter gourd likely arrived in the United States with Chinese immigrants in the 18th century. Seedless (tetraploid) watermelon, the product of an early 20th century discovery in Japan, entered the U.S. marketplace at the end of that century, where it quickly gained popularity when bred into a small fruit size background and adapted to U.S. growing conditions. Grafting of watermelon onto disease-resistant rootstocks was developed during the 1920s in Japan and Korea (Davis et al., 2008). This technology holds great promise for melon and watermelon production in the United States as the use of methyl bromide and other soil fumigants become more restricted (Davis et al., 2008). New resources, i.e., crop germplasm, and technology, e.g., tetraploidy and grafting, contribute to sustainable crop productivity (Day, 1997). We provide an overview of the positive impact of Asian cucurbit germplasm and technology on U.S. melon, cucumber, and watermelon production and the potential for bitter gourd, a relatively new commercial crop in the United States with many useful attributes.

Potentiality of the community Willingness for using desalination plants for the groundwater wells in Jericho Area Palestine

Water shortage is one of the main issues in Jericho area in Palestine, hampering further development of agriculture. A higher amount of water suitable for irrigation would render a significant growth of the agricultural market and the associated branches possible and thus be of great economical advantage. Not only is the current water shortage problematic for farmers, but it is to be expected that it will increase in near future. More water is needed, but less is available due to less rainfall. Still, additional brackish water would be available, but its usage would endanger soil quality in the long run. Desalination is a possible solution. The study presented in this contribution is consists therefore of a field survey of 25 questionnaires was carried out for the analyses for the community acceptance towards using desalination units for saline and brackish water for agricultural irrigation. The average cost of one cubic meter of the desalinized water that is accepted by the participants of the survey for agricultural use is 0.25 Euro, which is equal or less than the current pumping costs for non-desalinated water. The majority of surveyed well owners estimate that their crop productivity will be increased by 40 to 60 percent after using the units. This will increase also the annual water consumption to its one third to one half more than its usual water consumption rate (700 1200 cubic meter for each dunum per year, 1 dunum = 1000 m2). Variability in crop sorts will be added in addition to raw and cooked grown vegetables as well as of grown Palm trees. A majority of the farmers (95%) thinks that the long-term use of saline water will destroy the fertility of the soil as well as the crop agricultural cycle in the area.

Planning of the school menu; results of a diet counseling system for the adequacy to the nutritional recommendations

The dietary offer is not always concordant with the nutritional recommendations in the school menus. To review the effectiveness of a diet counseling system for collective catering companies that operate in public education centers of Andalusia. Cross-sectional, observational, descriptive study. We reviewed and counseled the changes needed in the monthly school menus of the companies operating in 1197 centers throughout the scholar calendar. In case of not meeting the required conditions and before being implemented, the improvement recommendations were sent to the companies. 78.2% of 209 menus from 21companies did not meet the established criteria and needed adaptations before being implemented. Throughout the scholar calendar, the number of menus needing changes progressively decreased, being 42.9% by the end. The most frequent cause for modification were: insufficient information on the written menu about the foods included in each dish (50,7%), lack of rotation between raw and cooked vegetables (35.4%), insufficient information on the cooking techniques (26.3%), insufficient weekly variety of rice, pasta and potatoes (17.7%), deviation in the energy and nutrients content (16.7%), less than one serving of vegetable per day (15.4%), lack of rotation in the type of fish (14.4%). Finally, 90.9% of the menus revised were approved. Following of the nutritional recommendations of the school menus is high with the implementation of a counseling system aimed at the dietitians of the companies of collective catering.

Fate of folates during vegetable juice processing — Deglutamylation and interconversion

A high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method with electrospray ionization (HPLC-ESI–MS/MS) was applied for quantitatively determining folate species and polyglutamyl 5-methyltetrahydrofolates (5MTHF) of various chain lengths in vegetable juices. 5MTHF polyglutamyls were the focus of this study since 5MTHF was the most abundant form in all vegetables investigated. Mono-glutamyl 5MTHF has been found to be highly bioavailable and native vegetable gamma glutamyl hydrolase (GGH) might effect this conversion. During juicing 5MTHF polyglutamyls in some vegetables were highly deglutamylated with turnip (monoglutamyl 5MTHF increased from 5.9% to 70.9%) and carrot (monoglutamyl 5MTHF increased from 2.9% to 53.4%), partially converted with broccoli (triglutamyl 5MTHF increased from 2.3% to 81.6%) and turnip greens (triglutamyl 5MTHF increased from 3.4% to 77.7%), or mostly unchanged (beet, beet greens, romaine lettuce, carrot greens). Deglutamylation of folates in turnip greens and broccoli juices terminated with 75–80% of 5MTHF species as tri-glutamyl (both Brassica species) while all other vegetables displaying GGH activity progressed to monoglutamyl 5MTHF. Total folate was mostly recovered (there are no statistical difference of total folate in juiced vegetables and unprocessed vegetables) in all vegetable juices except carrot green juice (ca. 1/3 loss). 5MTHF was the dominant folate species for all vegetables except romaine lettuce, carrot greens and turnip greens which also contained significant levels of 10-formyl species and THF. Interconversion of folates was observed during juicing usually enhancing THF levels with coincident decreases in 5MTHF and 10CHO-related species. The total folate in the whole vegetables ranged from 41 to 219μg/100 FW while ranged from 28 to 180μg/100 FW in the corresponding juice. In this study of juices from many different vegetables, beet greens and romaine lettuce yielded juices qualifying as excellent sources of folate, mostly in their monoglutamyl form, which may be more bioavailable than their polyglutamyl forms often predominating in raw and cooked vegetables.

Ethnobotanical analysis for traditional knowledge of wild edible plants in North Jeolla Province (Korea)

This study aims to investigate how wild edible plants are used according to orally transmitted traditional knowledge in North Jeolla Province, Korea. Data was collected utilizing semi-structured questionnaires through the participatory rural appraisal method. This study utilized 91 informants who produced 244 viable usages from the collection of 108 species, within 96 genera in 52 families. Regarding the distribution of recorded families, Asteraceae (22 species) occupied 29.6 % of the total use-reports. Within usage, vegetables (55 species) occupied 50.9 % of the whole. Overall, 22 kinds of plant-parts were selected as edible materials requiring 48 various preparatory methods. The category of preparatory methods with the highest degree of consensus from the informants were food dye, fried dry vegetables, pan fried cakes, seared spikelets, seasoned cooked vegetables (Type V), and steamed rice cakes. For fidelity levels (FL) of plants regarding preparatory methods, 27 plant species recorded a FL of 100 %. The results of this study will be enhanced due to the value of traditional knowledge of the local community concerning wild edible plants and will provide various usages for the plants as nutritional sources for the residents of local communities.

Dietary patterns of Pakistani adults and their associations with sociodemographic, anthropometric and life-style factors.

Dietary pattern analysis is an epidemiological method designed to consider the complexity of food preferences and diet patterns of populations. Few studies from South Asia have used this methodology to describe population food intake. Our objective was to identify dietary patterns and understand their associations with sociodemographic, anthropometric and life-style factors among low-income Pakistani urban adults. Dietary information was collected by a thirty-three-item FFQ and dietary patterns were derived by principal component analyses in 5491 subjects enrolled in the Control of Blood Pressure and Risk Attenuation (COBRA) study. Three dietary patterns were identified: a fat and sweet pattern characterised by fried snacks/foods, desserts, organ meats, bakery products, Pakistani bread and food purchased from outside the home; a fruit and vegetable pattern including fruits, juices, raw and cooked vegetables, lean meat and low-fat milk; and a seafood and yogurt pattern identified by prawns, fish, potatoes and yogurt. The fat and sweet pattern scores were low among older subjects, those with high BMI and waist circumference but high among females and physically active participants. The fruit and vegetable pattern was associated with younger age, high BMI, education and non-tobacco use. The seafood and yogurt pattern was associated with high BMI, increased physical activity and non-tobacco use. In conclusion, distinct dietary patterns exist for the Pakistani population that may be related to some of the population characteristics and thus may have importance in suggesting dietary and life-style interventions in the prevention of chronic diseases.

Influence of Addition of Apple Insoluble Solids, Different Wine Yeast Strains and Pectinolytic Enzymes on the Flavour Profile of Apple Wine

Different levels of insoluble solids (ISS) from apple juice were added to the apple juice must along with wine yeast strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and pectinolytic enzymes to study their effect on sensory quality of wine. The flavour profile of the apple wine of different treatments by quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA) showed that the wine without ISS was rated better in most of the flavour characteristics studied than those with ISS. Addition of insoluble solids imparted flavour quality characteristics of the wine which are not considered desirable. Out of various wine yeast strains, W and USD 595 performed better than UCD 505 and UCD 522. The wines without ISS were perceived having highest apple aroma, least cooked vegetables aroma, lower sweetness, lesser bitterness and lower higher alcoholic flavour. Both the addition of wine yeast strains and enzymes improved the flavour profile of the wine and from this point of view, wine made from presettled juice possessed improved flavour characteristics of the wine. Application of PCA weekly separated the wines fermented with or without insoluble solids. The flavour profile did show some interactions between insoluble solids, yeast strains and the enzymes which modified the flavour attributes of the resultant wine.

The relation between dietary habits and urinary levels of 3-phenoxybenzoic acid, a pyrethroid metabolite

Concerns about pesticide exposure through food consumption have increased during the past several years. Pyrethroids are applied as insecticides throughout the world. Human metabolism of pyrethroids results in urinary metabolites that are suitable for biological monitoring. The objective of our study was to investigate the relation between food consumption and urinary levels of 3-phenoxybenzoic acid (3-PBA), a general metabolite of pyrethroids, in a non-occupational exposed adult population from the IDI-IRCCS, Rome, Italy. Information on socio-demographic characteristics, smoking, diet and self-reported household pesticide exposure was collected. Urinary 3-PBA level of each subject was measured and adjusted by urinary creatinine. We found that people consuming both raw and cooked vegetables five times weekly or more had higher mean levels of 3-PBA in urine (1.03μg/g creatinine versus 0.52μg/g creatinine; p=0.009 and 0.99μg/g creatinine versus 0.58μg/g creatinine; p=0.01, respectively) than subjects consuming less than five times weekly. In a multivariate model, after adjusting for age, sex, BMI, smoking and household insecticide exposure, high intake of raw vegetables (OR: 5.31; 95%CI: 1.32–21.3) and high intake of cooked vegetables, in particular cruciferous (OR: 4.67; 95%CI: 1.07–20.5) and leafy vegetables (OR: 6.88; 95%CI: 1.50–31.7), were associated with high urine 3-PBA levels (⩾0.70μg/g creatinine). The results of this study suggest that part of the variation in pyrethrois intake is explained by vegetable intake.

Eating Competence of Hispanic Parents Is Associated with Attitudes and Behaviors That May Mediate Fruit and Vegetable-Related Behaviors of 4th Grade Youth1–3

Parent self-efficacy, outcome expectancies, and behaviors toward cooking and fruits and vegetables mediate children's eating. Eating competence, an intra-individual approach to food-related attitudes and behaviors, is associated with healthful outcomes but has not been studied as a moderator of parent food-related behaviors that mediate healthful eating in 4th grade children. Parents (n = 339; 78% Hispanic, 89% female) of 4th graders who participated in an impact study of the Cooking with Kids curriculum in Santa Fe, NM schools eligible for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education completed the following surveys: Satter eating competence inventory for low-income (ecSI/LI) (16 items, Likert scale, possible score 0–48); modeling behaviors related to food preparation and fruits/vegetables (11 items, Likert scale, possible score 0–33); self-efficacy/outcome expectancies (SE/OE) (12 items, Likert scale, possible score 12–60); and availability of fruits/vegetables (20 items, possible score 0–20). Higher scores indicate more desired behaviors. The mean ecSI/LI score was 33.6 ± 8.5; 59% were eating competent, i.e., ecSI/LI ≥32. Eating-competent parents demonstrated more modeling (16.3 ± 5.0 vs. 14.0 ± 4.3; P < 0.001), greater SE/OE (53.7 ± 10.1 vs. 51.2 ± 8.5; P = 0.03), and greater in-home fruit/vegetable availability (12.7 ± 3.0 vs. 11.9 ± 3.2; P = 0.02). Two clusters of modeling behavior were defined: achievers and strivers. Modeling achievers (34.9 ± 6.9) were more eating competent (P < 0.001) than strivers (30.3 ± 8.9). Eating competence moderated parent food-related behaviors. Measuring eating competence may contribute to understanding parent behavior as a mediator in school-based nutrition interventions.

Ageing, Arterial Blood Pressure, Body Mass Index, and Diet

For three decades we followed up for longevity indicators, including diet, arterial blood pressure, and body mass index 379 mobile, long-living persons from Croatia, now aged 70 to 92 years, of whom 167 men aged (78.6 ± 4.0) years and 212 women aged (77.9 ± 4.1) years. One hundred and ninety-five were from the continental and 184 from the coastal Croatia. The participants were examined in 1972, 1982, and again in 2006/7. Changes in body mass index (BMI), arterial blood pressure (ABP), and in answers to our Food Frequency Questionnaire about dietary habits were analysed using log-linear models. Over the last 24 years of aging (age 55 to 78 years) the subjects showed a statistically significant decrease in body mass and height and a significant increase in the systolic blood pressure. Diastolic blood pressure and BMI showed no significant changes over this period. Consumption of preserved and fresh meat, bread, and starch (potato, pastry and rice) dropped significantly with age, while the consumption of fish, fresh and cooked vegetables, fruit, and dairy products significantly increased. These dietary changes were not associated with changes in the systolic and diastolic ABP. About 80 % were overweight (BMI >25 kg m(-2)) throughout the follow-up, even though their body mass dropped significantly after the age of 55. However, their survival suggests that BMI may not be the best indicator of longevity or healthy aging.

Raw and cooked African green leafy vegetables have greater antioxidant and cellular protective properties than spinach

Leaves of amaranth, jute mallow, pumpkin and cowpea are widely consumed in sub‐Saharan Africa as green leafy vegetables (GLVs). These vegetables are generally underutilized because of the assumption that their nutritional value is less than that of exotic GLVs such as spinach. In this study we determined the total phenolic content, flavonoid content and antioxidant activity of these African GLVs, and their ability to protect against oxidative damage in erythrocytes, plasmid DNA and cell cultures, in comparison to spinach. The effect of boiling on these parameters was also determined. Total polyphenolic and flavonoid contents and antioxidant activity were determined. The ability of GLV extracts to protect against AAPH‐induced oxidative damage in erythrocytes, plasmid DNA and cell cultures was also determined. African GLVs had phenolic content, antioxidant activity and cellular protective properties greater than spinach. Boiling reduced the antioxidant content and activity, and increased the cellular protective properties of GLVs. Significant levels of cytotoxicity were observed in all extracts of raw GLVs, with highest levels in spinach than in African GLVs. The protection of erythrocytes and plasmid DNA against oxidative damage was dependent on individual GLV extracts. The current results can be used to promote the consumption and commercialization of African GLVs. Supported by the Water Research Commission of South Africa; The Faculty for the Future Program of the Schlumberger Foundation and the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World.

Plant Based Diet Lowers Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) and Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA) in Prostate Cancer Patient: A Case Report

A 73 year old patient, male, residing in Iligan City, Philippines was diagnosed of prostate cancer (Adenocarcinoma, Gleason score 4+3=7) associated with chronic prostatitis after a needle biopsy. Laboratory results showed his tumor markers-Prostate- Specific Antigen (PSA) was 24.21 ng/ml (normal: 0.0-4.0) and Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA) of 7.21 ng/ml (normal 0.0-3.40). The patient was managed with Alternative Therapeutic Management –a Plant Based Diet (no flesh and no drugs), high fiber, raw and cooked vegetables with plenty of fresh fruits juices After a trial of 10 days, the patient’s PSA went down to 5.29 ng/ml and his CEA to 2.21 ng/ml. Plant Based Diet helps lowers PSA and CEA values in a prostate cancer patient. Keywords - antigen, antioxidants, malignant, prostate, cancer, red meat

Integration of cooking and vacuum cooling of carrots in a same vessel

Cooked vegetables are commonly used in the preparation of ready-to-eat foods. The integration of cooking and cooling of carrots and vacuum cooling in a single vessel is described in this paper. The combination of different methods of cooking and vacuum cooling was investigated. Integrated processes of cooking and vacuum cooling in a same vessel enabled obtaining cooked and cooled carrots at the final temperature of 10 ºC, which is adequate for preparing ready-to-eat foods safely. When cooking and cooling steps were performed with the samples immersed in boiling water, the effective weight loss was approximately 3.6%. When the cooking step was performed with the samples in boiling water or steamed, and the vacuum cooling was applied after draining the boiling water, water loss ranged between 15 and 20%, which caused changes in the product texture. This problem can be solved with rehydration using a small amount of sterile cold water. The instrumental textural properties of carrots samples rehydrated at both vacuum and atmospheric conditions were very similar. Therefore, the integrated process of cooking and vacuum cooling of carrots in a single vessel is a feasible alternative for processing such kind of foods.

Flow Injection Assessment of Nitrate Contents in Fresh and Cooked Fruits and Vegetables Grown in Fiji

Nitrates form part of the essential chemistry of soils and plants. Thus, plant roots are able to absorb nitrate directly from the soil. It has been discovered that human nitrate intake is mainly from vegetables. Vegetables play an important role in human nutrition since they are an outstanding source for vitamins, minerals, and biologically active compounds. In risk assessment of nitrate contents, this study reports the nitrate levels of 8 commonly consumed fruits and vegetables grown in Fiji, tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum), eggplant (Solanum melongena), capsicum (Capsicum annuum var. grossum), breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis), long bean (Vigna sesquipedalis), jackfruit (A. heterophyllus), pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo), and cucumber (Cucumis sativus). The effects of different types of cooking methods, baking, boiling, and frying, have also been studied. The validated flow injection analysis technique has been used to quantify the nitrate-N levels in the chosen products following nitrate extraction using the activated carbon technique. The mean values of nitrate levels in fresh products ranged from 25.83 to 281.02 mg NO(3) (-) kg(-1) . The study shows that boiling reduced nitrate contents by 65.37% to 25.25%. The frying in soy bean oil elevated nitrate contents from 354.79% to 86.69%, but after baking, nitrate contents remained almost constant with slight increasing trend in the case of tomato (19.97%). The nitrate levels published in the literature for the same types of fruits and vegetables studied have also been reviewed and compared. The average nitrate-N values were comparable or lower than overseas data, but did not present unpredictably high values, that is, they were below the risk level.

The influence of health involvement and satisfaction on healthy food choices among people over 60 years

AbstractWith increased longevity in Europe, diet quality in later life is increasingly important. The aim of this study was to understand views on the consumption of fruit, raw and cooked vegetables held by a sample (n = 258) of people over 60 years randomly recruited in Italy. Data were gathered by self‐completed questionnaires and the results analysed to assess the causal relationship between selected variables predicting the consumption of fruit and vegetables. Generally, respondents had good health involvement (i.e. health had personal relevance and importance was attached to health issues) and they claimed knowledge of the relationship between health and consumption of fruit and vegetables. Their expressed feelings of satisfaction (i.e. positive feelings towards and from consumption) were the most important predictor of consumption for fruit, raw and cooked vegetables. Despite high levels of interest in healthy eating, health involvement was not found to motivate healthy consumption behaviour. This may have important implications for the way that health promotion campaigns are conceptualized and designed.

Relative validation of a food frequency questionnaire for national health and nutrition monitoring.

BackgroundValidation of a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) is important as incorrect information may lead to biased associations. Therefore the relative validity of an FFQ developed for use in the German Health Examination Survey for Adults 2008-2011 (DEGS) was examined.MethodsCross-sectional comparisons of food consumption data from the FFQ and from two 24-hour recalls were made in a sample of 161 participants (aged 18 to 80 years) of an ongoing nationwide survey, the German National Nutrition Monitoring (NEMONIT). The data collection took place from November 2008 to April 2009.ResultsSpearman rank correlations between the FFQ and the 24-hour dietary recalls ranged from 0.15 for pizza to 0.80 for tea, with two third of the correlation coefficients exceeding 0.30. All correlation coefficients were statistically significant except those for pizza and cooked vegetables. The proportion of participants classified into the same or adjacent quartile of intake assessed by both methods varied between 68% for cooked vegetables and 94% for coffee. There were no statistically significant differences in food consumption estimates between both methods for 38% of the food groups. For the other food groups, the estimates of food consumption by the FFQ were not generally higher or lower than estimates from the 24-hour dietary recalls.ConclusionsThe FFQ appears to be reasonably valid in the assessment of food consumption of German adults. For some food groups, such as raw and cooked vegetables, relative risks estimates should be interpreted with caution because of the poor ranking agreement.

Major dietary patterns of young and middle aged women: results from a prospective Australian cohort study

The aim of this study was to assess the major dietary patterns of two age cohorts of women, to determine to the extent to which the dietary patterns differ between the cohorts and to assess whether they vary according to sociodemographic and behavioural characteristics and patterns of nutrient intake. Dietary intake was assessed using an 80-item food frequency questionnaire for women aged 50-55 years (n=10 150; 'middle age') in 2001 and aged 25-30 years (n=7371; 'young') in 2003, from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. Factor analysis using principal component extraction was used to identify dietary patterns, and a pattern score was calculated from the consumption of the food items identified with each dietary pattern. Associations between the dietary pattern scores and sociodemographic and behavioural characteristics and nutrient intakes were investigated using regression analysis. Six dietary patterns were identified and were labelled: cooked vegetables; fruit; Mediterranean-style; processed meat, meat and takeaway; reduced fat dairy; and high-fat and sugar foods. Regression analysis revealed that healthier dietary patterns were significantly associated with other favourable health-related behaviours, higher socioeconomic status and living in urban areas (P-values <0.05). In spite of differences in the level of consumption of individual food items, the similarity in dietary patterns across two generations of women suggests that policies and interventions to improve diet should focus on social and economic factors and general health-related behaviour rather than different age groups.

Intake of Cruciferous Vegetables Modifies Bladder Cancer Survival

Intake of cruciferous vegetables, a rich source of dietary isothiocyanates, has been inversely associated with risk of bladder cancer. Due to the potent antiproliferative effects of dietary isothiocyanates on bladder cancer in in vitro and in vivo models, cruciferous vegetable intake may also play a role in survival among patients with bladder cancer. Using information obtained from the Roswell Park Cancer Institute Tumor Registry, patient medical records, and routinely collected questionnaire data, we examined potential associations between intake of cruciferous vegetables and survival among bladder cancer patients. As cooking can substantially reduce or destroy isothiocyanates, consumption of raw versus cooked cruciferous vegetables was examined separately. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using Cox proportional hazard models. A total of 239 bladder cancer patients were included in the study. After an average of 8 years of follow-up, 179 deaths occurred, with 101 deaths attributable to bladder cancer. After adjustment for other prognostic factors, a strong and significant inverse association was observed between bladder cancer mortality and broccoli intake, in particular raw broccoli intake (> or =1 versus <1 serving per month; HR for overall death, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.39-0.83; HR for disease-specific death, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.25-0.74). There were no significant associations for total vegetables, total fruits, or other individual cruciferous vegetables. Considering the strong preclinical evidence, intake of broccoli may improve bladder cancer survival. Further prospective investigation is warranted to confirm the potential role of cruciferous vegetables in bladder cancer prognosis.

MICROWAVE AND TRADITIONAL COOKING METHODS: EFFECT OF COOKING ON ANTIOXIDANT CAPACITY AND PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS CONTENT OF SEVEN VEGETABLES

ABSTRACT The effect of microwave, boiling and pressure cooking on total antioxidant capacity and total phenolics content of seven vegetables were studied. Total phenolics in raw and cooked vegetables were determined by the Folin–Ciocalteu method, whereas the total antioxidant capacity of vegetables extracts was evaluated using the Crocin method. After boiling, four out of seven vegetables (cauliflower, peas, spinach and Swiss chard) showed a significant decrease in their total phenolic content (P < 0.05). No decrease or a smaller decrease was observed for these four vegetables (P < 0.05) after pressure cooking and/or microwaving than after boiling. The total antioxidant capacity of potato and Swiss chard was not significantly affected by cooking procedures, whereas it decreased for spinach and peas, and it increased for tomato and carrots (P < 0.05). In addition, there was a statistically significant correlation between total phenolic content and total antioxidant capacity in cooked and uncooked vegetables, but the strength of the correlation increased when separating carotenoid-poor from carotenoid-rich vegetables. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS All guidelines for a healthy nutrition include recommendation for increasing the consumption of fruit and vegetables also because of their phenolic compounds content and antioxidant capacity. However, all studies correlating antioxidants consumption and health benefits relate food consumption studies with antioxidant capacity of foods, neglecting to consider the chemical composition changes that may occur during cooking. This study provides data in order to better understand the implication on the total antioxidant capacity of foods due to different cooking approaches.

Vitamin C Content of Fresh and Cooked Vegetables from Commercial Sources

Vitamin C Content of Fresh and Cooked Vegetables from Commercial Sources