Certain Vegetables More Potent Raw Than Cooked - Just Three Servings Of These Veggies

[icnmgrjill]

(Editors Note - While not related directly to IC, this is a fascinating study worth reprinting! Luckily, these veggies are IC friendly so why the heck not incorporate them into our diets too… as long, of course, as you can tolerate the gas they produce.)

Mom was right again! Her advice to 'eat your vegetables' is getting more scientific backing - this time with a twist. Researchers now say that eating certain vegetables raw can have more health benefits than if you eat them cooked.

Katie Herdlein has always been a healthy eater, but when she was diagnosed with breast cancer she really made her menu a priority. Katie ate even more fruits and vegetables and believes it was her diet that helped her not only get through chemotherapy, but get a Master's Degree in college at the same time.

"You cannot believe how much better you feel. You just can't believe it. You'll have a lot more energy and you just feel good about yourself in every way," says Herdlein.

These foods have done more for Katie than just give her energy. Scientists at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York have found that cruciferous vegetables, things like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage, may protect Katie from another form of cancer too.

"People who consume at least 3 or more servings of cruciferous vegetables a month had about a 40% reduction in risk of bladder cancer," says Susan McCann, PhD at Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

Researchers say the amount of protection you get is remarkable, considering how little you have to eat. Just three servings a month can help keep your bladder healthy, but there's a catch. Scientists say when these same vegetables are cooked, something in their chemical make up makes them less effective when it comes to bladder cancer.

"When they are eaten raw, they induce a kind of enzyme that may detoxify carcinogens," says James Marshall, PhD at Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

The cruciferous vegetables that are easiest to eat raw are broccoli and cauliflower, but you can also try raw brussels sprouts or mustard and turnip greens. Scientists say you should still eat a variety of fruits and vegetables, and you may want to eat some of them raw from time to time.

Produced for the Roswell Park Cancer Institute by MediaSourceTV.

[justice4j]

Jill,
My very close friend's daughter was just diagnosed with Lymphoma. She's Kaiser and getting the run around so she wisely sought a 2nd opinion at City of Hope. She may be facing chemo soon and I knew you wouldn't mind, so I cut an pasted it for her.

Thank you! I know this will be helpful for all of us!

You rock keeping us up to date.

[justice4j]

. Tuesday, 24 June 2008
BERKELEY, CA (UroToday.com) -

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a natural proteoglycan that is hypothesized to replenish a defective glycosaminoglycan layer in interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome (IC/PBS) (1) patients upon intravesical application. Initially, Morales (2) treated 25 patients and reported a 56% (week four) and 71% (week seven) response rate. Beyond week 24 effectiveness decreased but there was no significant toxicity.

More recently, Nordling (3) reported a 3-year follow-up in a 3-month prospective, nonrandomized study evaluating the effect of intravesical hyaluronic acid on interstitial cystitis symptoms.
We based on the assumption that a more viscous compound than existent HA formulation, such as the one used, would be more effective in helping to restore a defective glycosaminoglycan layer.

Besides, a solution consisting in a combination of HA and chondroitin sulphate, which had already been used as a single agent in IC/PBS patients (4), could produce additional benefits in patients than the use of its single components. Hyaluronic acid, also called sodium hyaluronate, was obtained in vials containing 40 ml of a clear, sterile, nonpyrogenic preparation of a high molecular weight fraction of sodium hyaluronate 1.6 % p/v associated with chondroitin sulfate 2.0 % p/v.

Twenty-seven women 20 to 65 years old (mean 46.68, SD 13.63), with symptoms characteristic of Interstitial Cystitis/Painful Bladder Syndrome according to the criteria established by the National Institute of Health Consensus Conference (5) entered the trial, being recruited in two Centers.

After bladder catheterization with a sterile Nelaton catheter 10 or 12 Ch, the bladder was emptied, and the patients received endovesical administration of hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulfate in normal saline, 40 ml, weekly for 12 weeks and then be-weekly for 6 months, if there was initial response; a single dose of oral antibiotic was administered before catheterization.

The solution was maintained for 1 hour before voiding. The primary endpoint of our trial was to evaluate the efficacy of a therapeutic regimen consisting in weekly intravesical instillations of sodium hyaluronate 1.6 p/v with chondroitin sulfate 2.0 % 1.6 p/v, for a period of 12 weeks, in female patients with a diagnosis of IC/PBS. To this aim, assessment of urgency and pain by means of VAS (10 cm), reduction of number of voiding by means of voiding diary, and O’Leary-Sant IC Symptom and Problem Index (6), and PUF questionnaire (7) were used.

Outcomes were evaluated at baseline and 3 and 6 months after initiation of therapy.

Results were evaluated by comparing pre and post-treatment values of the following tests: 3-days voiding diary, O’Leary-Sant Symptom score, PUF questionnaire; VAS for urgency and pain.
The baseline values were compared to 12-week assessment and 6 months assessment. The statistical analysis was performed using the T-test for independent variables. We considered statistically significant p< 0.05.

Results
A total of 23 female patients completed the study. More than 91% of patients reported having symptoms for more than 1 year.
Mean follow-up was 5 months, range 3 to 8 months. No patient had intolerance and/or side effects related to treatment.
There were 69% who presented with moderate/severe pain and 69% with moderate/severe urgency, defined as a score of 5 or greater on the 0 to 10 VAS scale. Most patients were on concomitant oral therapies to relieve their bothersome symptoms.

The data from the analysis of the questionnaires at baseline and after 12 weeks treatment are reported in Table 1 and 2. Both Interstitial Cystitis Symptom and Problem Index and Pelvic Pain and Urgency/Frequency Symptom Scale (PUF) showed a mean significant improvement after 12 weeks of treatment.

The average number of voidings and mean voiding volumes revealed significant improvement after the 12 weeks’ treatment period, with a significant reduction and increase, respectively (Fig. 1-2); mean voiding volume increased significantly, from 143 ml to 191, which apparently was not reflected in a corresponding reduction of number of daily voids (from 15,5 to 14).

The analysis of the VAS showed the improvement reported in Table 2.
Two patients had to stop weekly intravesical treatment due to urinary tract infections observed after catheterization, and two additional patients had to stop maintenance be-weekly home self-administration of the product after completing 12 weeks intravesical treatment, due to bacterial urinary tract infections.

Conclusion
In our preliminary experience, the administration of intravesical hyaluronic acid plus chondroitin sulphate appears to be a safe and efficacious method of treatment in IC/PBS. In responsive patients, the effect appeared to persist during maintenance treatment and follow-up visits, consisting in an improvement of both urgency-frequency related symptoms and bladder/pelvic pain. No significant side effects were recorded, and concomitant oral therapies could be continued.

In order to confirm these initial encouraging results, further controlled, randomized studies are necessary with a greater number of patients and a longer follow-up.
References
1. Hanno P.(2002): Interstitial Cystitis and Related Disorders. In: Walsh P, ed. Campbell's Urology. 8th ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier; pp. 631.
2. Morales A et al. (1996) Intravesical hyaluronic acid in the treatment of refractory interstitial cystitis. J Urol 156: 45-48.
3. Nordling J, et al. (2001) Cystistat for the treatment of interstitial cystitis: a 3-year follow-up study. Urology 57 (6 Suppl 1): 123.
4. Palylyk-Colwell E. (2006) Chondroitin sulphate for interstitial cystitis. Issues Emerg health technol 86: 1-4.
5. Gillenwater JY and Wein AJ. (1988) Summary of the National Institute of Arthritis, Digestive and Kidney Diseases Workshop on Interstitial Cystitis, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, August 28-29, 1987. J Urol 140: 203.
6. Bernie JE, et al. (2001) The intravesical potassium sensitivity test and urodynamics: implications in a large cohort of patients with lower urinary tract symptoms. J Urol. Jul 166(1): 158-161.
7. O’Leary MP et al. (1997) The Interstitial Cystitis Symptom Index and Problem Index. Urology 49 (suppl 5A): 58-63.



Table 1 – O’Leary-Sant Interstitial Cystitis Symptom and Problem Index
Pre-Treatment Post-Treatment P
Symptom 8-20
(mean 13,9 SD 3,7) 6-20
(mean 11,12 SD 3,8) 0.004*
Bother 7-16
(mean 11.5 SD 2,2) 4-16
(mean 10,13 SD 3, 14) 0.01*
Total 17-36
(mean 25.82 SD 4,81) 10-29
(mean 21.34 SD 6,70) 0.0001*




Table 2 – Pelvic Pain and Urgency/Frequency Symptom Scale
Pre-Treatment Post-Treatment P
Symptom 8-19
(mean 13.70 SD 3,35) 3-25
(mean 11.61 SD 4,60) 0.001*
Bother 2-21
(media 8,57 SD 3,55) 2-12
(mean 6,04 SD 2,85) 0.003*
Total 10-31
(mean 22,30 SD 5,20) 6-31
(mean 17,40 SD 6,20) 0.00004

[Bea]

thanks for the information Jill.. My aunt who has cancer is always looking for information like this.. I still can't believe how little the amount is that you need.. and I personally love raw broccoli and cauliflower