There is no doubt that a diet in which vegetables abound is a very good choice if we want to maintain a healthy diet. The saying already says: “Huerta and vegetables away the burial.” But, in addition to choosing food well, it is also important to know how we can make them and what kind of preparation is the best.
It is likely that more than once we have wondered if there is any difference between consuming raw or cooked vegetables. While it is true that cooking some vegetables exhausts the presence of certain nutrients, the truth is that the availability of others can also significantly increase.
Vegetables that improve when they cook
Cooking can have positive effects on certain vegetables because it increases the bioavailability of nutrients and improves their absorption. Why does digestion improve? The answer we have to look for it especially in the fact that cooking decreases the amount of insoluble fiber, which can be difficult to digest.
And, although many vegetables suffer a certain degree of nutrient loss when they heat up, in reality the amount they lose depends on the type of vegetable and the way they are cooked. In addition, some vegetables can end up having higher concentrations of certain nutrients when they cooked.
What vegetables is better to consume cooked to make the most of its nutrients?
Tomatoes, for example, improve when they cook. A study published in The British Journal of Nutritionmade in almost 200 people who followed a strict diet of raw food, determines that they have normal levels of vitamin A and relatively high beta -carotene, an antioxidant that is found in the fruits and vegetables of dark green and yellow, but low levels of the Licopeno antioxidant, a red pigment that is mostly found in tomatoes and fruits such as watermelon or red pepper.
Hence, cooking the tomatoes can increase the amount of lycopene. Several research They point out that the reason why this is that heat breaks the thick cell walls of plants and helps absorption by our body of some nutrients united to those cell walls.
Other vegetables that improve when they are cooked are carrots, spinach, mushrooms, asparagus or peppers, since they provide more antioxidants such as carotenoids and ferulic acid. And this occurs especially when they are boiled or steamed. This is indicated by a report published in Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry According to which these two forms of cooking allow the antioxidants to be conserved better, specifically carotenoids in carrots, zucchini and broccoli.
In the case of spinachcooking, contrary to popular belief, increases the amount of iron compared to its raw version. But it is not the only one that increases. So does the bioavailability of other nutrients such as vitamin A, E and Zinc.
Cooking asparagus also helps us break the cell walls of the stem, which helps our body absorb vitamins such as A, C and E. We can skip them with a little oil, which will also help us increase the bioavailability of their most important nutrients.
What is the best way to cook vegetables like these? Science has pointed out that boiling them is one of the worst options, since it can cause soluble vitamins to leak into the water. So much so that some studies have come to prove that boiling vegetables can reduce the nutrient density of the Hydrosoluble vitamins up to 60%.
One way to optimize the intake of these nutrients is to also consume the liquid together with the vegetables, as in soups or stews. But one of the best ways to conserve nutrients is to saute vegetables for a brief period of time, a process that reduces the level of nutrient degradation while softening the external fibers of food to improve digestion.
Also steam cooking or in the microwave, which do not use as much water as it boils, retain nutrients.
Vegetables that are better to eat in raw
If there is a great victim of cooking this is vitamin C, whose levels are reduced as soon as we cook products rich in this vitamin. In fact, it is estimated that about 30% of vitamin C present in green leafy vegetables is destroyed with cooking. The reason that this is that we talk about a very unstable vitamin, which is easily degraded by oxidation, exposure to heat – which can increase the speed at which vitamin C reacts with the oxygen of the air – and by cooking in cooking in water.
Boil vegetables can also reduce the concentration of B vitamins, but does not affect fat -soluble vitamins, such as A, D and E.
Therefore, what vegetables is better to consume raw? Cucumber and celery are better from the nutritional point of view when consumed raw. Because, when he Celery is cookedloses certain antioxidants and reduces its nutritional value. In the case of cucumbers, one of its antioxidants, called Physetine and known for its anti -inflammatory properties, dissolves when it is cooked in water.
Also the broccoli, onions or garlic or cauliflower it is better to consume raw. The cauliflower loses nutrients In almost all cooking methods, but boil and bleach it produces the greatest loss of protein, minerals and phytochemicals. Although if we prefer to cook it, we can opt for steamed or sauteed cooking, two methods that reduce nutrient loss to only a small amount.
In the case of onionschoosing them raw instead of cooked is a good option, since cooking largely reduces its antiplatelet content. Garlic is also better consumed to benefit us from its special sulphuric compounds. The studies They have shown that raw garlic contains greater amounts of these compounds, which cooking can destroy.
The peppers also offer their best version when we consume them raw. And this is explained because some of its key nutrients are also affected by heat. Specifically, they can lose up to 75% of their antioxidants when they are cooked, and also reduced significantly between the 15-40% its fiber content When they heat up. Also its vitamins B and C vitamins, soluble in water, degrades with heat, so adding raw peppers in our diet can increase the nutritional value compared to whether we cook them.
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