Day 236- Does Cooking Your Veggies Defeat the Purpose

We hear about the health "freaks" that go on the raw food diet, so we assume that eating our veggies raw is how to receive the most nutrients, right? Contrary to what you may think, research has shown that not all vegetables are created equal when it comes to nutrients loss during cooking. It has been shown that we may even benefit from cooking certain vegetables as it may unlock certain nutrients that will be easier for our bodies to digest and assimilate.

So now the question is, "to cook or not to cook."

Cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli have been shown to be the most sensitive to cooking. If cooked for more than a few minutes, the time it takes you to walk to another room, answer your phone, and tell them you have to call them back, may have depleted may of the nutrients in these veggies. The heat from cooking may eliminate the antioxidants, and the enzyme that breaks down chemicals called glucosinolates into cancer-fighting agents. So maybe I was right to turn down that bowl of broccoli soup that my parents would try to make me eat; I knew that I wasn't missing anything nutritionally.

Carrots on the other hand have been shown to be more nutritious when cooked, since heating causes the vegetable to soften slightly, unlocking some of the nutrients. Green beans, beets, and garlic also all did well with heat - maintaining beneficial phytonutrients after most kinds of cooking.

We are also aware of our fat soluble vitamins like vitamin A. Carotenoids are the pigments in vegetables and fruits that are responsible for the red, yellow, and orange coloring. Carotenoids are also found in dark green vegetables, like spinach. Carotenoids convert to vitamin A in the body and have been found to have antioxidant activities that may help to protect our cells against damage caused by free radicals. So eating your tomatoes and spinach drizzled with olive oil, may help your body to absorb nutrients better.

A study at Iowa State University had participates eat salad greens and tomatoes with various types of dressings; fat-free, low-fat, or dressing that contained olive oil. They then took blood samples to see precise measurements of the amounts of nutrients absorbed. They found that, not to their surprise, people who had eaten fat-free or low-fat dressings did not absorb the beneficial carotenoids from the salad, and that only when they had eaten the oil-based dressing did they get the nutrients.

Lycopene, is a potent antioxidant found in tomatoes, and is responsible for tomatoes red pigment. A 2002 study published in Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, found that cooking actually boosts the amount of lycopene in tomatoes. In the study lycopene rose 35% after the tomatoes were cooked for 30 minutes at 190 degrees. The reasoning is believed to be due to the fact that heat helps to break down the plant's thick cell walls, aiding the body in the uptake of the nutrients that are bound to the cell walls. The downside to heating tomatoes was seen in vitamin C reduction. After 30 minutes of heating at 190 degrees vitamin C decreased by 29%. Vitamin C is highly unstable and can be easily degraded through heat and through water.

Bottom line overcooking your vegetables is never a good idea if you want to get the most nutrient value out of your meal. Limp and lifeless vegetables are never ideal. My suggestion is to lightly steam your veggies just enough to soften them slightly. Boiling vegetables can leach the nutrients into the water, especially water-soluble nutrients like vitamins C and B, so unless you are making a soup, most of the wanted nutrients are discarded through the water. Eat your vegetables topped with olive oil, coconut oil, or butter to help absorb the fat-soluble nutrients. And most importantly eat a variety of colors and types of vegetables on a regular basis to get a plethora of health boosting nutrients.

Pura Vida!

Alica Ryan, NTP