June 11, 2003
NUTRITION NEWS FOCUS
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Today's Topic: Your Veggies Expire

Fresh vegetables should not be kept for extended periods in the
refrigerator if you want to obtain maximum health benefits according
to a new research study.  Broccoli contains several chemicals that
prevent cancer in lab animals.  Consumption of high levels of
cruciferous vegetables, the cabbage family to which broccoli belongs,
by people has been associated with lower cancer rates.

Five groups of health-promoting phytochemicals were assayed at harvest
and daily for 7 days at temperatures of 1 C (34 F) followed by three
more at 15 C (59 F).  These conditions were chosen to simulate cold
storage and retail sales periods.  Although vitamin C did not decrease
much, all other chemical groups declined by 50 to 80 percent.  The
study was published in the May 7, 2003 edition of the Journal of
Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Most of the decline in
each chemical group occurred during the first week.  However, there
have been many studies on this topic and not all studies agree with
the present one.  Some have found decline in some, but not all, of the
compounds tested here.  Despite the new findings, it still makes sense
to add more vegetables, including broccoli, to your diet because
eating some of the health promoting phytochemicals is better than
none.