Produce Exposed to Light is More Nutritious
Study finds that all-dark environments stunt antioxidant production.
By
Michelle Hamilton
Published
June 21, 2013
VegetableExtravaganza
How vegetables are stored could affect their nutritional value, new research from Rice University and the University of California, Davis shows.
Produce, as it turns out, has circadian rhythms like humans. If those day-night cycles are replicated after harvest—that is, if vegetables are exposed to some light rather than stored in dark boxes or refrigerators—they could be more nutritious.
“Vegetables and fruits don’t die the moment they are harvested,” said lead researcher and Rice University biologist Janet Braam. Ph.D. “They respond to their environment for days, and we found we could use light to coax them to make more cancer-fighting antioxidants.”
Braam and her team first entrained, or threw off, the circadian rhythms of cabbage, spinach, carrots and other produce, a process that essentially induced jet lag in the produce. They then exposed the vegetables to light and dark cycles in a controlled lab.
The restoration of day-night cycles led to the accumulation of metabolites, compounds that help the plant resist pests and, when consumed, have strong anticancer properties, according to the study.
The findings, published this week in Current Biology, suggest that vegetables and fruits housed in all-dark conditions may be less nutritious than those stored in open environments or exposed to some type of light. To us, this sounds like another reason to visit a farmers market this weekend.
Related:
High Fruit and Vegetable Consumption May Lengthen Life
via Produce Exposed to Light is More Nutritious | Runner’s World & Running Times.