Despite recent counter claims from the US, scientists from the Cardiff University, researching cervical cancer, claim that substances produced in vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli and sprouts can help fight the disease.
Scientists at the Wales College of Medicine said they are hoping the research will possibly pinpoint which vegetable has the most powerful effect against the causes of cervical cancer.
When eaten, all the vegetables are credited with producing Diindolylmethane (DIM) in the body. This product has an effect by modifying the breakdown products of oestrogen in the body and by inducing abnormal cells to self destruct.
However, the drawback with the concept is that to obtain enough DIM to benefit the body, a person has to consume at least two raw heads of cabbage a day.
At the moment, Welsh trials are using a capsule containing DIM, already available as a herbal remedy over in the US.
The manufacturers of this capsule in the US also claim that it may help with pre-menstrual syndrome, but side effects include aggravation of migraines and an increase in intestinal gas.
A spokesman for the college said: “Very few people actually eat the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day any more.
“And I think that’s particularly the case in parts of the UK because of a number of socio-economic factors.
“If you look at the Mediterranean and Asia, they have fewer cases of certain cancers than in Wales, and this is linked to diet - though we do not know how exactly.”
The study is looking into the link between cervical cancer and the human papilloma virus.
The spokesman said that because green vegetables may help to prevent HPV, the team is now looking to explore the relation between eating greens, HPV and cancer, and if the DIM supplement can help reduce HPV infection rates.
The trial is sponsored by Cancer Research UK and is being run in conjunction with Cervical Screening Wales.
HAVE YOUR SPROUT CAKE AND EAT IT
The British Sprout Growers Association has unveiled a new recipe for Sprouty Cake, especially for this week’s BBC Good Food Show in Birmingham.
The cake has been designed to increase consumption of the much maligned brassica and is likely to be a hit with children as it features Brussels sprouts and carrots in equal quantities as well as nuts, cinnamon and a frosted yoghurt topping.
The sweet treat has already been tried out on primary schoolchildren local to BSGA chef Felice Tocchini’s restaurant in Alcester, where it was given the green light by kids going back for seconds.
The recipe is at www.sprouts.uk.com and visitors to this week’s show will be able to sample it for free on stand K30.
EU RULES PILES PRESSURE ON UK GROWERS
The UK government has accepted EU rules regarding crop harvest, allowing the agriculture minister, Margaret Beckett, to decide when farmers can harvest a range of crops depending on the weather.
A new payment system for farmers allows them to apply for funds to grow potatoes, sprouts, cauliflower, celery and parsnips, but to qualify for the funds farmers must meet the EU rules.
The most controversial rule relates to the amount of winter rainfall. Farmers wanting the subsidy will be banned from harvesting the crop if the ground is saturated. And the EU definition of saturated ground depends on the location of the puddle in the field - if it is not 20 metres from a field gate then the puddle is not standing water, otherwise it is. Farmers with puddles outside the 20m area will have to wait for the minister’s declaration that exceptional weather conditions apply under the regulation, allowing them to harvest crops.
The National Farmers’ Union has raised questions concerning the rules and fear farmers may have to plough back crops, but Defra said that Met office advice would be used before exceptional weather conditions are declared, and the scheme’s implementation is still in discussion.
Chairman of the Brassica Growers’ Association, Alistair Ewan, though not familiar with the new EU rules, said the scheme would be difficult to administer. ‘It has been an extremely difficult year for us, the most difficult in my career, with dramatic weather conditions and extreme price pressure. The cost of production is not being recouped and growers are trying to deliver produce to the supermarkets in terrible weather. The ongoing high street price wars and supply pressures is making it extremely tough,” he said.
“It is essential that growers continuously reinvest in production to keep the industry moving forward but with the poor returns at the moment which are not even covering costs, it is difficult to spend funds on technical advances, such as new chemicals as others become deregulated - we can’t keep up with these ongoing prices.”
Ewan has been working in the sector all his life and remains enthusiastic. He said: “The sector needs to be kept moving forward and produce prices need to increase to cover costs and achieve positive returns. There are massive pressures on growers - increased wages, oil prices have been soaring effecting fertilisers, chemicals and fuel use. How to recover these costs with the price pressures? I don’t know.”
Cauliflower production is the worst affected in terms of recovering high production costs, while Brussels sprout volumes are suffering with the ever-decreasing demand. “Also, the UK frozen market is disappearing across to the continent because of lower wages. We will find an increasing range of EU processed products in the UK as our growers have less opportunity to supply the frozen sector with the market taken up by continental producers,” said Ewan.
BGA will be holding its annual general meeting in January 2005 and will be inviting the industry to attend to see what can be done for the future of brassicas. “On average, growers have performed well under such difficult circumstance but how long they can survive is the question. Even the best will be looking at the figures at the end of this season.”
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