Fruit and veg appear helpful in reducing stomach cancer risk

If you have tuned into the news or opened a newspaper this week, you may have noticed an item reported about the link between salt and stomach cancer. While we might all be aware of the link between smoking and lung cancer, and sun exposure and skin cancer, the contribution of diet to cancer risk is often less well appreciated by the public.

The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) - a charity dedicated to research and education into the link between lifestyle and cancer risk - has estimated that in the UK alone if we stuck to the recommended limit of 6g of salt daily, 1000 cases of stomach cancer a year could be prevented. Reducing the amount of salt that we use in cooking or at the table is a good start - being more creative with herbs, spices and other seasonings such as black pepper, garlic and lemon juice can help with this. However, as three-quarters of the salt that we eat comes from processed foods - and we don't just mean ready meals, but common staples such as bread, cereals, soups and sauces - it is a good idea to cut down on the salt from these sources. While cooking from scratch remains the best way to do this, it isn't always practical, so try to use food labels to help you select those products with a lower salt content - check per 100g of product and watch out for labels which list salt as "sodium", as this is 2.5 times lower than the actual amount of salt.

The WCRF also highlighted the importance of fruit and veg in the diet to reduce the risk of stomach cancer. A study in 2011 estimated that in the previous year around a third of cases of stomach cancer in the UK, in both men and women, were linked to eating fewer than five portions of fruit and veg daily. This is yet another good reason to make sure you hit the target of 5 A Day. However, as we have just mentioned the link between salt and stomach cancer, if you use canned veg try to choose that in water rather than brine and do not rely too heavily on readymade soups, pasta sauces, curries or ready meals for your veg - all can be made relatively easily, allowing you to control how much salt is added.


Photo by Pam Brophy via Wikimedia Commons

In the spotlight - Runner beans

As July draws to a close, there's just time to squeeze another seasonal veg in - the runner bean. They are so easy to grow and perhaps just as well, as they aren't such a common sight in the supermarket, tending to take a back seat to the likes of fine beans, mange tout and sugar snap peas. When they do make an appearance, usually they will be very long, unfortunate, as they can be quite tough when they reach this stage. Runner beans require minimal preparation, just top, tail and remove the string down either side - hence the alternative name "string bean" - before slicing. Like other green beans and peas they are a good source of Vitamin C and folate, two vitamins which are lost when boiled, so cook lightly.

Folate is a vitamin that we've barely touched on so perhaps now is its chance. Folate is the naturally occurring form of folic acid, which expectant mothers will be so familiar with. While the need to take folic acid prior to conception and during the first three months of pregnancy to prevent neural tube defects such as spina bifida is well known, this isn't where this vitamin's role ends. Another important function of folate is to form healthy red blood cells and deficiency can result in a form of anaemia where you do not make sufficient red blood cells, which are abnormally large and do not last as long as they should. As well as typical symptoms of anaemia such as tiredness and breathlessness, folate deficiency anaemia can also cause taste changes and indigestion - though any of these symptoms could be caused by a range of conditions, so it is important to obtain a firm diagnosis. Although poor dietary intake of folate can cause a deficiency, so too can high alcohol intakes, certain medications and bowel disorders such as crohn's disease and coeliac disease. A deficiency of folate will usually be treated with supplements, but you can make changes to your diet to maximise intake - green veg, pulses, citrus fruit, berries, liver and cereals fortified with folic acid are good sources. It has been suggested that bread, as a staple food in the UK, should be fortified with folic acid, but as yet this has not been taken forward. The concern is that extra folic acid could correct the anaemia that occurs as a result of Vitamin B12 deficiency, but would not help the associated impact on the nervous system seen with Vitamin B12 deficiency, which could result in long-term nerve damage if this deficiency was masked.

So what can you do with runner beans other than serve them on the side of a dish?

• Chopped runner beans and peppers with peas and sweetcorn can make a colourful addition to rice.
• Add to a stir-fry.
• Make a bean stew or curry with kidney beans, sliced green beans, tinned tomatoes, diced onion and whatever herbs and spices you fancy. Serve with rice, couscous, bulgar wheat or as a filling to a jacket potato.
• Add to a salad - similar to the way that cooked fine beans are added to a tuna Nicoise salad.
• Slice runner beans, peppers and courgettes then add to a pasta sauce.
• While summer might not be traditionally soup weather, it hasn't been the warmest recently, so making a soup with sliced runner beans, carrots, onion and potatoes might not be such a bad idea.

If you are looking for further inspiration for how you can incorporate runner beans into your meals, visit the following websites:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/runner_bean
http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipefinder/?search-type=recipes&freetext=runner+bean
http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/search?q=runner+beans


Photo by Werner100359 (Own work) via Wikimedia Commons

In the Spotlight - Cherries

As cherries come into season this month, now seems as good a time as any to explore the humble cherry's potential role in pain relief. If you do a double-take on reading that statement, I don't blame you, as the prospect that a fruit might be able to rival the likes of aspirin and ibuprofen seems quite unlikely and something that I only recently read about myself. However, it's an interesting thought, as common painkillers have had bad press over the years - it has been known for some time that aspirin can cause inflammation and bleeding of the stomach and that ibuprofen is linked to an increased risk of experiencing a heart attack - so other alternatives would be welcome.

So what is so special about cherries? It is the so-called tart cherries which are of interest. Like other  berries they are packed with anthocyanins, which are responsible for their dark colour. However, tart cherries contain a variety of anthocyanins that don't occur in the other fruits and it is these which are thought to be their beneficial component. The mode of action of these anthocyanins is suggested to be through their antioxidant activity, which is thought to reduce the stress generated by inflammation. Initial positive results were seen with animal studies - one at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore demonstrated that sour cherries reduced inflammation as effectively as that obtained by use of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug - the same group of drugs that aspirin and ibuprofen belong to. However, promising results have also been seen in trials involving patients. In a study of patients with arthritis at the Baylor Research Institute, over half of them found a reduction in pain and improved functional ability after taking tablets containing cherry extract for an 8 week period. A role for cherries in reducing muscle pain and damage after strenuous exercise has also been identified - long-distance runners who drank cherry juice twice daily for 7 days prior to an event experienced significantly less pain.

However, before you get excited and rush out to stock up on cherries or scour the internet to buy cherry extract, more research is required into this area. Little is currently known about how many cherries you would need to eat daily - though various internet sites suggest 20 cherries can provide pain relief, but do not provide a link to any studies. Plus like a lot of treatments, it will be of more benefit to some than others. While the jury might still be out, that doesn't mean that you can't enjoy cherries till they make their mind up - even if cherries don't get the thumbs up for pain relief, you'll be having a tasty and nutritious snack.

Searching for cherry recipes tends to throw up a lot for desserts and sweet treats. However, for a lighter option, add to a fruit salad, set in a jelly or scatter on your cereal.

Picture by Nova

In the spotlight - Celery

"Eat your greens" is a phrase ingrained in the English language. Whether you've said it yourself or been on the receiving end of it, we're all familiar with the concept that green veg such as cabbage and broccoli are good for us. They're a source of iron and calcium, particularly important for anyone who avoids animal products. They also contain Vitamin K, important for maintaining bone strength, but also essential for blood clotting. Celery, a veg that is currently in season, is also a source of Vitamin K - while not as rich as many other veg, it is the vitamin, which it provides the greatest contribution to. So why are we dwelling on Vitamin K? It might be difficult to overdose on Vitamin K from your diet, but there is one group of people who have to exert some caution with regards to foods rich in Vitamin K - anyone who takes warfarin.

Warfarin is the most common medication used to prevent the blood from clotting. It is taken by anyone who has had a blood clot or is at risk of having one, such as someone who had a deep vein thrombosis previously or has an irregular heart rhythm. Warfarin works by slowing down how quickly the body produces Vitamin K, so blood clots less quickly. Foods rich in Vitamin K, notably spinach, kale, brussel sprouts, spring greens and cabbage, interfere with how warfarin works, increasing the risk of a blood clot forming. This does not mean that you need to avoid them if you are taking warfarin, but instead have them in small amounts daily. The point about portion size is obvious and the advice to eat them daily ensures your INR - the measure of how well your warfarin is working - is kept stable. If you find it hard to moderate your portions of your greens or don't want to eat them so regularly, you are best sticking to veg with a relatively low Vitamin K content - aubergines, carrots, cauliflower, courgettes, cucumber, green beans, mushrooms, peppers, pumpkin, sweetcorn and tomatoes are all good bets. Anyone wishing to increase their fruit and veg intake while on warfarin, which is no bad thing if you are at risk of cardiovascular problems, would be best to concentrate on eating more fruit, which is low in Vitamin K.

But getting back to celery, how can you use it more often? Celery sticks to dip into salsa, soft cheese or sour cream might be common, but here are some other ideas for how it can be used:

•  Add to a salad. An ingredient in Waldorf salad - joined by apples, lettuce and walnuts, but grapes and dried fruit can also feature - celery can be chopped up with any combination of salad veg that you fancy.
• You can use celery in coleslaw, either as an extra or perhaps to replace the cabbage. Use a yoghurt dressing rather than mayonnaise to save fat and calories.
• Chopped into stews and casseroles, cooking softens and dents the strong flavour somewhat, so a good option for anyone not keen on it raw.
• Another cooked use for celery is in soup, but don't just stick with cream of celery. Curried soups with celery or when it is combined with fruit, such as apple, work well.

For further ideas and recipes using celery, try the following websites:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/celery
http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipes/searchresults.aspx?text=celery
http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/celery

In the spotlight - Blueberries

Now that we are into July, the seasonal fruit and veg basket is starting to fill up nicely, though it isn't quite bursting at the seams yet - that's for August and September. A seasonal addition in July is the blueberry. When I was growing up, I never remember there being blueberries in the shops, but then we were never told to eat superfoods back then either; the two seem to go together now. But what exactly is a superfood and should we be concentrating our efforts into eating blueberries and the like?

While there is no official definition of a superfood, these foods have been identified as potentially particularly beneficial for health in terms of their nutrient profile. In the case of blueberries it is their antioxidant content - thought to be important to protect against heart disease and cancer - some of which, known as anthocyanins, are responsible for their blue colour. They certainly sound that they could do you a lot of good by eating them, but they aren't a "magic bullet". The thing to remember is that if your diet isn't balanced already and you aren't getting the right range of nutrients for health, eating some berries or another supposed superfood, even if daily, is unlikely to provide the benefits you might be hoping to achieve. The key is to eat a balanced varied diet to maximise your intake of nutrients rather than focusing on a few superfoods, which can be expensive into the bargain.

That said, there's no reason why you shouldn't enjoy blueberries as part of your fruit intake. They are popular added to cereal, muesli and porridge or to smoothies, yoghurt or even a red jelly. Don't feel that they have to be fresh, those frozen are just as nutritious. You can also get dried blueberries, but beware, as they can have a lot of added sugar. Blueberries also make an appearance in baking, but bear in mind you would have to eat an awful lot of muffins to count as a portion of fruit. However, everything in moderation, so you can enjoy some blueberry infused baking as a treat - if that appeals, you might like to look at the following website for recipe ideas http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/search.do?keywords=Blueberry&searchType=recipes&pager.offset=20.