Vegetable Parade Cooked vs Raw

Onions, peppers, carrots, tomatoes, beets and more – when does cooking or frying destroy the healthy components of our favorite vegetables and when does it improve the nutritive value?  Here’s a quick guide that will help you get the most nutrition from your veggies. 

Is it better to cook vegetables or eat them raw to gain the maximum amount of nutrients?  There is no one answer fits all because some dietary components are released in cooking and some are lost when heated.  Use the following recommendations:

Broccoli

Eating the onion raw brings forth more allicin, a Fitonotriant that helps to achieve a feeling of satiety.  However, if you choose to cook the onion  you’ll get more of a flavonoid called Kvartzitin, which has anti-inflammatory properties.

Also, red onions contain more flavonoids than white onions.

Recommendation: Fry the onion lightly or baked it for five minutes.  More than that and it will start to lose vital nutrients.

Broccoli

Broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, cauliflower, kale, and brussels sprouts are a good example of vegetables that should be eaten both ways: raw and cooked.

Heating broccoli destroys the enzyme Miroseinz (myrosinase), which helps clean the liver of carcinogens and protects against cancer and ulcers.  On the other hand, cooking cruciferous vegetables creates a component called indole, a Fitonotriant that fights cancer cells before they become malignant.

Recommendation: Eat it fresh and cooked.

Beets

Beets lose more than 30% of their folic acid when cooked.

Recommendation: Eat it fresh.

Red peppers

When frying or roasting at high temperatures  the vitamin C in peppers is destroyed.  Because this is a water soluble vitamin cooking eliminates the vitamin C.

Recommendation: Eat them fresh.

Spinach

Eating spinach can help us absorb more iron, calcium, and magnesium.  Raw spinach is the most healthy of course, but lightly steaming it helps with the absorption of calcium important for our bones.

Recommendation: Eat it lightly steamed, not boiled in water. Boiling will cause spinach to lose the essential components.

Tomatoes

When eating cooked tomatoes the body absorbs more lycopene, an antioxidant that fights cancer and other chronic diseases.

Recommendation: Eat them cooked with a little olive oil.

Carrots

Fresh carrot polyphenols provide our bodies with components that contain antioxidant properties associated with reducing the risk of cancer and heart disease.  Cooking carrots in water destroys the polyphenols and vitamin C in them which is easily destroyed by heat.

However, it was argued that cooked carrots provide more beta-carotene, which aids the body in making antioxidant vitamin A.

Recommendation: Eat them raw.

Garlic

Cooking reduces the strength of the garlic because the heat reduces the amount of allicin.  Therefore, it is recommended to add garlic to dishes just before the end of cooking – not at first.

Contains ingredients that relax our blood vessels and protect against heart attack. Cooking garlic reduces the amount of these vital components.

Recommendation: Eat it raw.

by marquette_magazine