Tanimura & Antle
Today, as the largest family-owned-and-operated lettuce growers in America, Tanimura & Antle farms more than 60,000 acres of rich, fertile farmland. In addition to lettuce, they offer a full line of premium fresh produce products, including Broccoflower™ brand green cauliflower, which is exclusively available from Tanimura & Antle. Their products can be found throughout North America, Europe, and Asia.
The growing demand for Asian produce and Asian flavors has put greens at the center of menu development for many chefs. Greens play a larger role in Asian cuisine compared to Western cooking. Greens in Western cuisine are typically thought of as a foundation for salads or as a side to a meat dish. In many Asian cuisines, greens and other vegetable are the focal point for healthful, flavor meals. American chefs appreciate the fact that greens can be a medium for carrying and balancing flavor, and that the bitter flavors from greens or cruciferous vegetables can be tamed and complimented by other ingredients.
Southeast Asian meals often feature an abundance of greens. Platters of fresh herbs and greens accompany flavorful soups or grilled meats. Stir- fried tofu marinated with lemon grass, garlic, and shallots is often served alongside baby bok choy or crisp snow peas, watercress, and cabbage. Crunchy, warm fried spring rolls are served with large amount of lettuces and herbs so the rolls can be wrapped with the cool, crunchy, flavor-rich greens.
Asian countries, such as Japan and China, have some of the healthiest people in the world. There are fewer cases of heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers, and other weight-related illnesses that plague the U.S. and other Western countries. It was announced recently that Japanese women have the longest lifespan in the world, much which can be attributed to their diet. The Japanese consume about five times more cruciferous vegetables compared to American women. The most common cruciferous vegetables are those from the cabbage family. Green members of the cabbage family, such as bok choy, offer a rich source of vitamins A and C, folic acid, calcium, beta-carotene, and indoles, a family of phytonutrients associated with reduced risk of cancer. Indoles and the other anti-cancer compounds from cruciferous vegetables work by slowing down the enzymes that activate carcinogenic substances. They also speed up enzymes that detoxify carcinogens, increase the self-destruction of cancer cells, and stop or slow down the growth of cells developing into cancer. Some studies show that these protective compounds may also change estrogen metabolism, potentially decreasing the risk of hormone-related cancers like breast and ovarian cancer.
In a study of more than 1,000 men conducted at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, WA, men eating 28 servings of vegetables a week had a 35 percent lower risk of prostate cancer, but those consuming just three or more servings of cruciferous vegetables each week had a 44 percent lower prostate cancer risk. A study of Chinese women in Singapore, a city in which air pollution levels are often high thereby putting stress on the detoxification capacity of residents' lungs, found that in non-smokers, eating cruciferous vegetables lowered risk of lung cancer by 30 percent. In smokers, regular cruciferous vegetable consumption reduced lung cancer risk an amazing 69 percent. It is no wonder that scientific research finds that cruciferous vegetables appear to lower cancer risk more effectively than any other fruit or vegetable.
References
Zhao H, Lin J, Grossman HB, Hernandez LM, Dinney CP, Wu X. Dietary isothiocyanates, GSTM1, GSTT1, NAT2 polymorphisms and bladder cancer risk. Int J Cancer. 2007 May 15;120(10):2208-13. PMID:17290402
Johnson IT. Glucosinolates: bioavailability and importance to health. Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 2002 Jan;72(1):26-31. PMID:11887749.
Beecher C. Cancer preventive properties of varieties of Brassica oleracea: a review. Am J Clin Nutr 1994;59(Suppl):1166S-70S 1994.
Cohen JH, Kristal AR, et al. Fruit and vegetable intakes and prostate cancer risk. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2000 Jan 5;92(1):61-8. PMID:10620635.
Johnson IT. Vegetables yield anticancer chemical. Institute of Food Research, News Release, May 10, 2004. http://www.ifr.ac.uk .