How Brassicas Can Help IBS

Inflammatory Bowel Disease is becoming more common with an increasing number of people visiting their doctor for help with the various symptoms that can produce.

There are a number of self-help measures that can help alleviate some of the distressing effects of IBS, particularly learning to manage stress. Keeping an eye on the diet is also important in order to avoid things that can cause a flare up but now it seems that every day vegetables like cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli could play an important role in alleviating signs of ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel condition.

This new research is the work of a South Dakota State University scientist, associate professor Moul Dey of their Department of Health and Nutritional Sciences, and she has shown that an extract made from a food plant in the Brassica family was effective and the research will continue to test for its potential use against colon cancer. This disease is highly preventable, yet colon cancer has one of the highest death rates among all cancers due to typical late diagnosis.

There is an established link between ulcerative colitis and colon cancer and people who have this condition are at significantly higher risk to have colon cancer. Dey and her team will carry out research over the next two and a half years and she is certainly interested in plant medicine as so far she has screened nearly 3,000 plant extracts for potential anti-inflammatory activity so far.

A plant-derived compound called Phenethylisothiocyanate is what has been shown to have potential anti-inflammatory activities and is found in the Brassica family which includes cabbage, cauliflower, watercress and broccoli. Even more reason for your five a day to include at least a couple of these valuable ‘green’s’.

Vital Veg – The dynamic duo

Cabbage is not everyone’s favourite food – shades of school dinners and that terrible lingering smell as it boiled away all morning – and celery, too, can be an acquired taste you either love or loathe, but these two vegetables can immeasurably improve your health. Here are some of the really good reasons to include cabbage in your diet on a regular basis:

On a diet? An average portion is around 15 calories, so it can help you lose weight, while feeling full. It is also full of vitamin C which many believe helps your cells to burn fat.

It contains phytonutrients that help protect you from the free radicals (cancer causing agents) that can damage your cell walls.

Helps to clean and detox your liver of impurities by stimulating the production of the antioxidant glutathione.

The lactic acid in it can help disinfect your colon to inhibit growth of bacteria.

Promotes healthy, glowing skin because of the amounts of vitamin E it contains.

Keeps your eyes healthy with a good dose of vitamin A. All that applies to the white and green cabbage varieties, however if you add in some red cabbage you will be getting a bonus in the form of anthocyanin, an antioxidant which is responsible for its red colour. However it’s not there just to make it look good alongside your Lancashire hotpot, the traditional accompaniment to this winter dish. It has several vital roles to play in supporting your mental health as it helps protect your brain cells, and this is the reason many scientists now believe it could have a role in the fight against Alzheimer’s. Again, like it’s green cousins, it can also help if you are dieting as anthocyanins also have potential as ‘fat-fighters’, according to a Japanese study carried out in February 2008. They reported that the antioxidants in red cabbage could help tackle metabolic syndrome (MetS), which can cause obesity, hypertension, and insulin problems.

Enough about cabbage – what about celery? In my childhood it appeared in water in a cut glass jug to accompany Sunday tea and I avoided it like the plague. Now, I enjoy it on a daily basis – more later. So what is celery good for? Well more good news for dieters, as it can help suppress your appetite and that can help you slim. If you are an anxious type then celery can be useful as it has a calming effect on the central nervous system. Celery contains ‘pthalides’, compounds which can help relax your artery muscles, and have an effect on lowering your blood pressure – always a good idea if you are anxious, and those same compounds also reduce your levels of stress hormone, which help keep your blood vessels relaxed and open. It’s the leaves, rather than the stalks that contain the biggest concentration of the pthalides, so chop finely and add to salads, don’t just eat the crisp stem.

BUT I DON’T LIKE THEM!

I promised an easy way to eat these two vital veg, and I will let you into a secret. I really don’t like eating vegetables at all. There are a favoured few, but mainly I count potatoes as my only ‘much-loved’ vegetable. But, I know how important it is to get those nutrients, so I juice my vegetables instead. The quickest way to get the benefits of cabbage is to drink 25-50 ml of fresh, raw cabbage juice each day. This is based on research done in the early 1950s by Dr Garnett Cheney who found that peptic ulcer patients who drank 4 glasses of raw cabbage juice daily quickened the healing process and relieved the pain. A quarter of an average cabbage will give you that amount, throw in some celery with the leaves and you have an amazing cocktail. If you want it a little sweeter pop in a carrot. You can juice pretty much anything and everything, and there are some great juice recipe books on the market – please try to use organic veg where possible and drink the juice the second you have made it – don’t let it stand or it will start to oxidise on contact with the air and it doesn’t look very pretty either. I start the day usually by juicing an apple, a carrot, couple sticks of celery, half a grapefruit and a piece of ginger. If you haven’t time for breakfast, then that will really set you up.