Deborah Kurzrock, R.D.
Mills-Peninsula Medical Center
Question:
I would like to get the most nutrition from my greens. Would I get more if I cook all the greens on the day that I buy them and eat them at several meals? Or keep the greens in the fridge and pull out only the ones I will cook and eat at that one meal?
Answer:
Once picked, raw vegetables begin to lose nutrients. There are several easy ways to get the most nutrients from your vegetables.
- Store vegetables in the refrigerator and only purchase the amount you can use in a few days.
- Buy your produce as fresh as possible to make sure you’re starting out with the highest possible level of vitamins.
- Try produce that is local and in season to obtain the most nutrients.
You also want to be aware of how various cooking methods affect the nutrients in vegetables.
Cooking vegetables can make the cell walls less rigid, which makes it easier to absorb certain nutrients and digest food better. For example, cooked carrots have more beta carotene, an antioxidant that can be converted to vitamin A and can improve bone, eye and reproductive health. Cooking tomatoes increases the amount of lycopene, a caroteniod that has been associated with reduced incidence of heart disease and cancer.
Boiling and cooking vegetables in high temperatures or in water can also decrease their nutrient level. Water soluble vitamins like vitamin C and B vitamins are often lost during these cooking methods. Minerals like potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc may be reduced by up to 60-70%.
Choosing cooking methods that reduce the time that vegetables are exposed to heat can reduce nutrient loss. Steaming and microwaving your produce helps reduce cooking time.
Regardless of how you prepare vegetables, they are full of fiber, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals that can help maintain good health. There are benefits and disadvantages to cooking your vegetables, so prepare them the way you like, so that you are more likely to eat more of them.
FAQs
Steaming is a popular way of cooking vegetables, and that's because it's one of the healthiest and the quickest. Instead of submerging them in water (like you do when you're boiling), the vegetables sit over the boiling water and are cooked by the heat of the steam.
What is the most nutritious way to cook vegetables? ›
Steaming is one of the best cooking methods for preserving nutrients, including water-soluble vitamins, which are sensitive to heat and water ( 4 , 5, 6, 17 ). Researchers have found that steaming broccoli, spinach, and lettuce reduces their vitamin C content by only 9–15% (5).
Which vegetable cooking method retains the greatest amount of nutrients? ›
Steam: Steamed vegetables cook quickly with less water and help preserve their nutritional values. This method preserves water-soluble vitamins such as vitamin C and B complex vitamins.
What is the best way to get nutrients from vegetables? ›
When you boil vegetables, both the water and high heat can drain some nutrients. But stir-frying or sauteeing can preserve more of those. And a quick zap in the microwave lets the veggie hold on to even more vitamins.
Which cooking method is healthiest? ›
Use low-fat cooking methods like boiling or steaming.
If you boil or steam food, you avoid the chemicals created by high temperatures and cut out extra fat, which helps you stay at a healthy weight.
How to cook vegetables so they don't lose nutrients? ›
To preserve water-soluble vitamins, steaming is a better option than boiling vegetables. When steaming, keep the pot covered to reduce cooking time and avoid overcooking. Other healthy quick cooking techniques include stir-frying, pressure cooking, and microwaving. Roasting is a quicker technique than baking.
What is the healthy method of cooking vegetables? ›
Steaming veggies can preserve nutrients, color, shape, and texture, without having to add any unnecessary fats through ingredients like oils or butter. To steam, place food into a steam basket and cover over simmering water. Since food is not directly touching the water, vegetables retain more of their nutrients.
What's the healthiest way to cook broccoli? ›
Healthiest Way to Cook Broccoli
Lightly sauteed with garlic and a splash of water. It's that simple. Cooking broccoli in this way retains most of its colour, nutritional value along with that crunch that results in a delicious side dish that even my youngest and pickiest eater enjoys.
Which is better, roasted or steamed vegetables? ›
Essentially, if your aim is to preserve nutrients, light steaming is the way to go, but the thing is, flavour and enjoyment play a major part in food, too. “If roasting vegetables means you enjoy them more, then by all means roast them,” Hope says.
Do sauteed veggies lose nutrients? ›
Blanching and steaming, though they involve water, lead to less nutrient loss than boiling. On the other hand, sautéing and stir-frying your veggies in healthy fats like olive oil or avocado oil may help you absorb key antioxidants, too. Dry methods of cooking like roasting and grilling veggies are also fine options.
Carrots are a versatile vegetable. People can eat them raw, steamed, boiled, roasted, or as an ingredient in soups and stews. Boiling vegetables can reduce or eliminate some of the vitamin content. Raw or steamed carrots provide the most nutritional value.
Which cooking method destroys nutrients? ›
In general, boiling results in the greatest loss of nutrients, but it is also the most destructive for anti-nutrients. In addition, boiling reduces the mineral content because they are lost to the water.
How to prevent nutrient loss when cooking vegetables? ›
Holding On
- Keep skins on when possible.
- Avoid continuous reheating of food.
- Use a minimal amount of cooking liquid.
- Choose steaming over boiling.
- When you do boil, retain the cooking liquid for a future use (like soups and stocks)
- Use the microwave.
- Use a pressure cooker when possible.
- Avoid using baking soda to retain color.
In conclusion, the current study clearly shows that nutrient and health-promoting compounds in broccoli are significantly affected by domestic cooking. All cooking treatments, except steaming, caused great losses of chlorophyll and vitamin C. Only boiling and stir-frying/boiling caused the loss of total carotenoids.
Is it better to eat carrots raw or cooked? ›
Carrots. Raw carrots are fine, but cooked carrots are better for you. Cooking carrots allows beta carotene, an antioxidant compound that gets converted to vitamin A in the intestine, to absorb more easily in the body, explains Beckerman.
Which is healthier, steamed or roasted vegetables? ›
Essentially, if your aim is to preserve nutrients, light steaming is the way to go, but the thing is, flavour and enjoyment play a major part in food, too. “If roasting vegetables means you enjoy them more, then by all means roast them,” Hope says.
Is it better to steam or air fry vegetables? ›
Steaming vegetables preserves more nutrients and natural flavors compared to boiling. It involves cooking veggies over boiling water, resulting in a softer texture. On the other hand, air frying uses hot air to cook food, creating a crispy texture with less oil than traditional frying.
How to cook without destroying nutrients? ›
Steaming, microwaving and stir frying are better options than boiling. The good news is that many foods we usually eat raw are rich in vitamin C and the B vits (such as watercress, peppers, spinach, tomatoes and lettuce), so a balanced diet will provide you with plenty of them.
Do vegetables lose nutrients the longer you cook them? ›
Some vegetables contain water-soluble vitamins and phytochemicals and these can leech out when boiled. Picture boiling carrots; if you leave them to boil too long the water takes on an orange hue, which comes from some of the vitamins.
