A novel way to keep veggies healthier, longer

It’s long been known that vegetables such as cabbage contain cancer-fighting compounds.

But on their long journey from farm to supermarket to plate, the amount of beneficial compounds in veggies dissipates.

New research, however, has found a way to maintain levels of glucosinolates and other compounds that fight cancer much longer: rotate veggies between 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness in warehouses, the supermarket and even in homes.

The reason has to do with the fact that plants use circadian rhythms to decide when to release chemicals that protect them from bugs and drought. These are the same chemicals that are good for humans.

By placing veggies under the same light conditions as those they would have experienced in farmers' field, researchers found they could coax vegetables to keep releasing these chemicals.

Read more here.