- Kerry Torren
- bbcgoodfood.com
To cook or not to cook? Here is the dilemma. Nutritional therapist Kerry Torren explains on BBC GoodFood why some vegetables are better raw, and why others benefit from a little heat.
Eating raw fruits and vegetables is sometimes the healthiest option. After all, some vitamins are sensitive to heat. Cook the tomatoes for just two minutes, reducing their vitamin C content by 10%.
But even though cooking can cause the loss of some valuable nutrients, there are some vegetables that offer greater health benefits when cooked.
better cook them
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Carrots are best cooked.
In this group are carrots, asparagus and even tomatoes.
Its cooking makes it easier for our bodies to benefit from some of its protective antioxidants, such as ferulic acid in the case of asparagus and beta-carotene -which we convert into vitamin A-, from carrots.
And even though they lose some of their vitamin C, cooking tomatoes roasted or in a cooked sauce helps break down the cell walls of the plants, which doesn’t allow the antioxidant lycopene to be better absorbed.
All of these nutrients help protect our cells from damage and may protect us from certain environmental types of cancer, as well as being heart friendly.
leave them raw
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Broccoli is healthier raw.
There are other vegetables from which we obtain more benefits if we eat them raw. These include broccoli and watercress (both members of the cruciferous family).
When these vegetables are heated, an important enzyme is damaged, which means the potency of cancer-fighting compounds called glucosinolates are reduced.
Another one that we should not cook is garlic. Heat reduces the amount of allicin, a health promoter. So it’s better to add the garlic just before you finish cooking rather than at the beginning.
For those watching their weight, eating some raw fruits and vegetables can help you feel full, because they tend to be bulkier and have a higher water content.
make the most of it
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Buying local products is better than buying those that spend long periods in transport or storage.
While some nutrients are sensitive to heat, there are others, such as the fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K) that are not affected. Here are some tips to optimize your consumption of fruits and vegetables.
- Buy local products, because some vitamins are lost during transport and storage.
- Store vegetables like tomatoes at room temperature instead of in the refrigerator. This optimizes the ripening process and increases the levels of valuable lycopene.
- Prepare your fruit or vegetables just before you need them.
- Avoid the loss of water-soluble vitamins, such as B and C, by choosing cooking methods that use the least amount of water, or indeed none of it, such as roasting. When boiling or steaming, save the broth from cooking to make sauces or soups.
- Increase your absorption of fat soluble vitamins by eating vegetables with a little oil. Enjoy a spinach salad with vinaigrette dressing, or roasted tomato with a drizzle of olive oil. You can also sauté a vegetable spring.
- At certain times of the year, frozen items are worth considering. This is because fruits and vegetables are quickly frozen after harvesting, which means that they retain more nutrients than some supposedly «fresh» products.
- Finally, neither one nor the other, but both. Enjoy crunchy raw vegetables to complete your Vitamin C dose and cook other vegetables to boost protective antioxidants.
More tips and recipes on BBC GoodFood (