You no doubt have heard that to really get the most nutrients out of veggies, you should eat them raw. Well, think again! The answer is not always. Some vegetables are even healthier when they’re cooked! So let’s break down why cooking might be the best way to get all the goodness from certain vegetables.
First, it can break down the cell walls so that your body will more easily be able to assimilate the nutrients from vegetables. Take the case of asparagus, for instance. If you cook asparagus, it releases many valuable vitamins A, B9, C, and E, all of which will be easier for your body to absorb.
Mushrooms are another veggie that get a nutritional boost from cooking. Large quantities of antioxidant ergothioneine are found in them. This helps in the breakdown of harmful free radicals in your body. Cooking releases this powerful antioxidant, making it easier for your body to absorb.
This green vegetable is a comprehensively significant food, rich in iron, magnesium, calcium, and zinc. However, raw spinach also contains considerable amounts of oxalic acid, which inhibits the absorption of the above mentioned minerals. Cooking destroys the oxalic acid in spinach and increases the bio availability of the nutrients. Moreover, when this vegetable is steamed, it preserves large quantities of folate, or B9, that may reduce the risk of specific cancers.
Of course, tomatoes Cooking really brings out their content of lycopene an extremely efficient type of antioxidant associated with the reduction of the risks of heart disease and cancer. Although you do lose some vitamin C from cooking, lycopene’s better tradeoff is hard to get in other foods.
Cooking also benefits carrots. This process increases their content of beta carotene tremendously. Your body converts this into vitamin A. It’s important for vision, immune function, the growth of healthy bones, and many other things. So here’s the tip for getting the most out of your carrots cook them whole to prevent the nutrients from seeping into the cooking water when you slice them.
Bell peppers are another veggie that becomes more nutritious when cooked. The heat breaks down their cell walls, so your body is able to easily take in more carotenoids such as beta carotene, beta cryptoxanthin, and lutein. But cooking by boiling or steaming can lead to vitamin C leaching into the water, so roasting may be a better option.
Cruciferous vegetables are rich in glucosinolates, sulfur containing compounds that your body may convert into agents that fight cancer. Cooking steaming, for that matter retains these glucosinolates. In the case of broccoli, additional chopping and letting it sit for about 40 minutes before cooking can further bring out the cancer fighting properties.
Another example is green beans. Baked, microwave, griddled or fried green beans show higher levels of antioxidants as compared to boiling and pressure cooking. Just remember not to overcook it.
Superfood kale is at best when it’s lightly steamed. Steaming activates enzymes that inhibit the absorption of iodine by the human body, an element very important for your thyroid and metabolic functions.
It’s also important to know that some vegetables are better raw. Cucumbers and celery are two examples that have more of their nutrients when consumed raw. If one is going to cook certain veggies like these, cooking might destroy certain antioxidants in the food, thus diminishing their nutritional value.
So what is the bottom line here? Cooking actually makes some vegetables healthier and more nutritious. Cooking has been said to enable your body to absorb and utilize more vitamins and minerals by destroying tough cell walls, which inhibits the activity of compounds that block the gut absorption of certain nutrients. From businesspersons to athletes and any parent who wants to get maximum value out of family meals, it is good to know that cooked veggies can be as, or even more, nutritious than their peers served fresh.
So go ahead and indulge in those roasted carrots, steamed spinach, and sautéed mushrooms for all they’re worth. Your body will be appreciative.
As Rui Hai Liu, a Cornell University food scientist, says, “We cook them so they taste better. If they taste better, we’re more likely to eat them.” And that is the whole point.
