Raw Facts About a Healthy Diet
by Nic Fleming

Eating raw broccoli, cabbage or cauliflower three times a month can cut the risk of bladder cancer by about 40 percent, scientists report. Previous studies have suggested that vegetables with sulphur-laden compounds called isothiocyanates reduce the risks of various cancers. However, it has been unclear what effect cooking has on this reaction.

Now researchers from Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York State, who studied the diets of 1,100 volunteers, found cooking removed most but not all, of the vegetables' health benefits.

Dr Li Tang, the lead author who presented the findings at the American Association for Cancer Research conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, said heating reduced most of the sulphur compounds. Dr Tang said Brussels sprouts and Kale were also beneficial if eaten raw.
Science Correspondent, The Daily Telegraph, 7th December 2007