Want to stave off bowel cancer? Make sure that your daily diet is packed with fruit and vegetables, recommends a new study. This is because researchers in South Korea say that a potent super-nutrient found in a range of everyday healthy foods can block the way cancer cells communicate and instruct cells to grow and spread.

They have found that the flavonoid, called luteolin, found in foods such as celery, green pepper, thyme, chamomile tea, carrots, olive oil, peppermint, rosemary, navel oranges and oregano, can halt cancer spread, the 'Daily Express' said.

The findings show that luteolin inhibits the activity of cell signal pathways which lead to the growth of colon cancer cells. And, according to the researchers, this could pave the way for development of new treatments to tackle bowel cancer.

Luteolin has been shown in laboratory tests to have anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and anti-cancer properties. Previous studies looking at the causes of cancer had failed to pick up the positive effect luteolin can give. But, now researchers have discovered that the flavonoid is able to stop the colon cancer cells secreting a so-called pathway receptor.

Professor Jung Han Yoon Park, who led the study, said: "Blocking these pathways stops cancer cells from dividing and leads to cell death. Our study, showing that luteolin interferes with cell signalling in colon cancer cells, is a step forward in understanding how this flavonoid works."Experts have welcomed the findings published in the 'BMC Gastroenterology' journal.

Dr Joanna Owens, science information manager at Cancer Research UK, said: "This study is a really early exploratory step towards finding chemicals that could be used to develop cancer-preventing drugs. Fruits and vegetables contain many compounds that could help protect against cancer." PTI MOT

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A vital nutrient found in fruits and vegetables could help protect against colon cancer, which is the second most frequent cause of cancer-related deaths in the western world. Luteolin is a flavonoid commonly found in fruit and vegetables. This compound has been shown in laboratory conditions to have anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and anti-cancer properties but results from epidemiological studies have been less certain.

New research showed that luteolin is able to inhibit the activity of cell signaling pathways (IGF and PI3K) important for the growth of cancer in colon cancer cells. Colon cancer cells have elevated levels of IGF-II compared to normal colon tissues. It is thought that this is part of the mechanism driving uncontrolled cell division and cancer growth.

Researchers from Korea showed that luteolin was able to block the secretion of IGF-II by colon cancer cells and within two hours decreased the amount of receptor (IGF-IR) precursor protein. Luteolin also reduced the amount of active receptor (measured by IGF-I dependent phosphorylation).

Luteolin inhibited the growth stimulatory effect of IGF-I and the team led by Prof Jung Han Yoon Park found that luteolin affected cell signaling pathways which are activated by IGF-I in cancer. “Luteolin reduced IGF-I-dependent activation of the cell signaling pathways PI3K, Akt, and ERK1/2 and CDC25c. Blocking these pathways stops cancer cells from dividing and leads to cell death,” Prof Jung Han Yoon Park said. “Our study, showing that luteolin interferes with cell signaling in colon cancer cells, is a step forward in understanding how this flavonoid works.

“A fuller understanding of the in vivo results is essential to determine how it might be developed into an effective chemopreventive agent,” Prof Park added. The study has been published in BioMed Central’s open access journal BMC Gastroenterology.

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South Woods Elementary School kindergarten students of Allyson (Ally) Baker have developed a love affair with fruit.

They’re also learning to eat healthy, exercise and be comfortable with who they are — values which paid off in a big way earlier this month when Del Monte Fresh Produce announced that Baker and her students were winners in the cash and fresh fruit international online contest, the “2nd Annual Teacher Monday: Cash for Classroom.”

The top prize included $750 in cash and $250 worth of fresh Del Monte fruit for her classroom. In addition, Baker reports Del Monte told her that a Third World Country school in either Asia or Africa receives a $1,000 cash prize.

The award is not only big for the school, but a personal triumph for Baker, who describes herself as “a proud survivor of anorexia nervosa.”South Woods won as the result of both Baker’s essay on how she would incorporate healthy eating messages into classroom lesson plans and through online votes from fans.

“I really feel that God’s put this on my heart, and I really wanted to enter this contest,” she said during a phone interview just after Del Monte’s announcement. She did admit to being nervous, because as a Title I school she didn’t know how the school would get enough votes. “But it really took off.”

Baker’s message was simple and to the point. “I am very passionate about Del Monte’s Teacher Monday program,” she wrote in her essay to Del Monte and “I am a firm believer in teaching students at a young age to love themselves, enjoy healthy food, love exercise and to love sweets in moderation.”

Referring in her essay to dealing with anorexia nervosa, she wrote that “the battle with this illness almost took my life, and I am so thankful to now be living healthy, whole and happy. As a result of struggling with this illness from a young age, I am very passionate about teaching kids to fall in love with WHO they are and to fall in love with healthy food.”

Success!

Her plan is working.

“I had never seen a whole pineapple,” student Hannah Roberts says. “Ms. Baker let me hold it, and it was heavy and pokey. And then Ms. Baker cut it up. We ate it in small square pieces!”

“I love fruit so much that I keep asking Ms. Baker to put some in the prize box,” was the response from Ja’Ki Singleton, and Alex Warring has decided: “Eating fruit is really fun. It helps my brain think better.”

The students discovered the joys of fruit in many ways, says their teacher. Beginning each day with time to wake up brain and body the students then go about learning. A mid-morning healthy snack allows them to recharge, and they so look forward to healthy snacks that “the students are often yelling ‘Is it snack time yet?’” Baker wrote in her essay to Del Monte.

Classroom instruction has included learning all about apples. “We have become apple experts,” Baker wrote. “I can blindfold any student in the class and put an apple in their hand, and they can figure out the color just by touch! We can also tell by the smell and the taste.”

Pumpkins were another topic during the fall, along with other healthy foods which were used to make Thanksgiving treats. The whole experience has been “really fun,” Baker said in her phone interview. “Every Friday for snack we do Fruity Friday,” with pineapple, grapes, nectarines. “It’s been really fun. Every Friday they beg ‘can I please have another?’”

Via her program Baker has accomplished just what the Del Monte program is all about.

It’s a program, Del Monte spokesperson Joanne Forster noted in a press release announcing the selection of South Woods “to help get school children across North America to make healthier eating choices. The program rewards kindergarten through 12th grade school teachers with cash to purchase school supplies and fresh fruit for classroom snacks. Over six weeks this fall, 60 teachers across the U.S. and Canada won.”

The fruit will continue to arrive at South Wood until May. Baker’s students have some wonderful ideas on ways to spend their $750 cash prize, adds Baker.

“They’re a whole list of funny things they want to buy,” Baker says, and some serious purchases. “We talked about a really big class world map,” The map would be especially helpful when the students learn what Third World Country is receiving the $1,000.

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This year's mild winter could lead to smaller crops of fruits in the autumn, potentially pushing up prices, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) warned today. The RHS said most hardy fruit plants need a period of cold weather during winter to encourage flowering and evidence from previous years suggests that without a "chilling period" crops are reduced. Blackcurrants, cherries and some types of apple have a particularly strong requirement for a cold period.

The society also warned that without a prolonged winter period plants will start growing earlier and could flower early, putting them at a greater risk from late frosts in April and early May. If they flower early, there may also be fewer pollinating insects to set the flowers, reducing the crop.

A mild winter could lead to rising prices of fruits next summer as the horticulture industry sees lower yields, the RHS suggested. Last year saw bumper crops of fruits such as apples, as a cold winter was followed by a spring with no late frosts and a warm summer which helped fruits develop.

Experts at the RHS said the current cold snap may help, but a colder and longer period of chilly weather stretching to a number of weeks would be better to prevent plants growing and flowering too early.

Jim Arbury, RHS fruit and trials specialist at the society's gardens at Wisley, Surrey, said: "We have already seen buds on the trees beginning to swell. "I noticed yesterday that two of our autumn-fruiting raspberries were flowering. This shouldn't be a problem as the canes will be cut to ground level in February.

"More worrying is that our blackberry cultivar 'Silvan' is also flowering and is therefore likely to have a reduced crop."And he said: "If gardeners have only one or two fruit brushes that have started filling their buds, these can be covered with some horticultural fleece or an old curtain if it looks like there is going to be frost overnight.

"But changing weather conditions is the challenge of gardening that gardeners have to accept. "No matter how much we tend our plants and control pests and diseases, we are still so dependent on the weather for abundant crops.

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Sunrise, Florida-based toy manufacturer Jazwares, which holds licenses for kids TV IP like Ben 10 and Beyblade, has turned to the apps space, picking up the master toy license for Fruit Ninja, the bestselling app from Australian developer Halfbrick Studios.

The deal will see Jazwares produce fruit figures, plush featuring ‘splat’ sound effects and slicing features, as well as bandanas and electronics with Fruit Ninja-themed headphones and speakers. The products will hit retail stores this spring.

Since debuting in April 2010 on the iPod Touch and iPhone platforms, Fruit Ninja has amassed more than 100 million downloads to date and was recently named one of the top 50 apps of 2011 by TIME. It’s currently available on five platforms including Xbox Kinect and Facebook.

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In Chinese culture, the red dragon fruit is seen as a lucky charm and is believed to be able to ward off evil spirits, while the white variety is less significant. The dragon fruit's flesh   is  mildly sweet with edible  nutty seeds similar to the Kiwi fruit and its skin has a rough texture.

A spokesman from a red dragonfruit farm said the fruit was always in demand as it provided a lot of health benefits. "The demand is higher  this Chinese New Year as it is significant to the Dragon Year," she said.
 
Besides containing high levels of anti-oxidants and Vitamin C, the fruit is known to prevent the formation of cancerous cells in the body.  Batu Pahat-based Tian Guo Fruit Suppliers marketing manager Eea Ing Chye said with Chinese New Year approaching,   sales have doubled, as the demand  was high.  "Some of the bigger buyers are   hotels and Chinese restaurants."Many hotels have included the fruit  in   promotions by preparing special dishes.

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An increase in the price of fruit and vegetables in December was the most significant element in a 0.2 per cent rise in the Food Price Index last month, says Statistics New Zealand in a report released today. Fruit and vegetable prices were up 2.5 per cent, while meat, poultry, and fish prices rose 1.2 per cent. Non-alcoholic beverages fell 2.5 per cent in December. Vegetable prices were up, with potatoes and apples up 14 per cent and pumpkin prices soared 75 per cent due to a supply shortage.

Strawberries recorded seasonally lower prices - down 21 per cent for the month. However, they were up 25 per cent on a year earlier. The rise in meat, poultry, and fish prices reflected less discounting for fresh chicken pieces - up 3.9 per cent- and sausages up 6.2 per cent.

The fall in non-alcoholic beverage prices resulted from lower prices for soft drinks, where prices fell 2.3 per cent, and fruit juice which was down 5.9 per cent. "Soft drink prices usually fall in December, with more discounting leading up to the Christmas break," said Statistics NZ prices manager Chris Pike.

For the year to December 2011, food prices were up 2.9 per cent, compared with 1.9 per cent for the year to November 2011. Four of the five food subgroups had price increases in the year to December 2011: grocery food -up 3.5 per cent-meat, poultry, and fish up 3.7 per cent, restaurant meals and ready- to- eat food up 2.4 per cent, and non-alcoholic beverages up 4.4 per cent.

The fruit and vegetables subgroup was down 0.9 per cent. Today's food price index comes as economists believe New Zealand inflation may have stayed relatively benign as a strong kiwi dollar provided a check on imported prices, while food prices weakened, giving the central bank little urgency to raise interest rates.

The Consumers Price Index held at 0.4 per cent in the final three months of 2011, while the annual pace slowed to 2.6 per cent from 4.6 per cent, according to a Reuters survey, as the effect of the hike in goods and services tax in October 2010 rolls out of the numbers.

Fourth-quarter CPI figures are scheduled for release on Thursday, a week before the Reserve Bank releases its latest assessment of interest rates which is widely expected to signal no change from the record low 2.5 per cent official cash rate and no sense of urgency for any hikes. Governor Alan Bollard cited the "unusual degree of uncertainty" to the global outlook and moderate demand at home when he kept rates unchanged last month.

"Inflation indicators suggest the RBNZ has breathing space on the inflation front," said Nick Tuffley, chief economist at ASB, in a note. "We expect it to remain on hold until the end of this year."

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The company, which has more than 170 branches, posted a 7pc rise in total sales in the 16 weeks to December 30 and said average spend per customer improved during the quarter. On a like-for-like basis, total sales rose by 5.6pc, with non-tobacco sales rising 5.8pc and tobacco sales up 7.6pc. Fruit and vegetable sales rose 17pc.

Booker said its outlook for full-year profit and net cash remained in line with expectations. The company, which began operating in India in 2009, said it would continue to expand in the country, with a second and third branch scheduled to open in Mumbai early this year. The group also plans to launch a new distribution service in Didcot called "Chef Direct" to cater to its food-service customers. This is expected to begin trading in June.

Charles Wilson, chief executive, said: "Amid the challenging economic environment Booker continues to improve choice, prices and service for our customers. "Our plans to focus, drive and broaden the group are on track and we are pleased to be developing Chef Direct."

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Coming off a year in which Washington apple producers grew a particularly large crop, this season has seen lower volumes. Coupled with increased demand, market prices for apples have been strong. “Last year, crop volume was high,” says Todd Fryhover, President of the Washington State Apple Commission, “but this year, it has been down to a manageable volume.”

Fryhover notes that although last year's volume was high at 109 million boxes, there was still success in moving the crop. “I think it gives a lot of confidence,” he says. This year's volume is projected to be down to 104 million boxes, and with good consumer demand, market prices have been strong.

“We've seen increased demand due varietal diversification that's more aligned with consumer tastes,” says Fryhover. Loren Queen of Domex Superfresh Growers has also seen increased demand. “Demand has been strong,” he says. "We're moving lots of everything.”Like Fryhover, he believes demand has been driven by increasing alignment between consumer tastes and apple flavors.

“Apple flavor has been improving over the last decade,” he notes, “and there's also been growing awareness that you can spend more on fresh produce.”Such demand, coupled with a smaller crop, has resulted in good prices for growers, says Queen. “Demand, combined with a slightly short crop, has been pushing the market up in price, and that's playing out very nicely for growers.”

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Have you read Kathy Huber’s Saturday, Jan. 7, article on “Fruit Trees — Landscaping With Taste“?

If not, break here and click on the link above.  Better yet, print it out, along with this blog post, to take with you to one of the many great fruit tree sales she mentions in the Jan. 7 Garden Calendar. (Print that out too.)

Kathy mentions a number of great fruit tree choices, and I asked Ray Sher of Urban Harvest’s Jan 14 sale to send some pictures of a few varieties that:

1. he thinks should be planted more often and

2. will offer beauty as well as goodies-to-eat.

His recommendations:

This is Jaboticaba in bloom.  What a beautiful piece of sculpture this plant creates!  It’s a member of the Myrtle family, is native to Brazil and the name roughly translates “like turtle fat.” Apparently that’s what the fruit pulp resembles!  Don’t let that be a turn-off, tho.   The fruits have been likened to our own muscadine grapes.
These plants will all be available (along with many more) at the Urban Harvest sale for sure, and probably at many of the extraordinary number of fruit and vegetable programs are scheduled this month.

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