Okay, raw foodism may have become a bit trendy and we now know that it is beneficial to consume fresh fruits and salads every day, but do we need all the foods we put on our plates to be raw in order to have a nutritious diet? What about cooked vegetables?;
«Consumption raw food only could lead to a lack of certain nutrients and energy, as the variety of foods we could eat would be limited,» says the British Heart Foundation.
Although some vitamins and phytonutrients are lost in cooking, others are lost in other foods. increases bioavailability and are more easily absorbed by our body.
Laura Brown, Lecturer in Nutrition, Food and Health Sciences at Teesside University, lists 7 vegetables that are best eaten cooked. What are they?;
1. The asparagus
«In vegetables, important nutrients are sometimes trapped in the cell walls. When they are cooked, these walls... collapse, releasing ingredients that can then be more easily absorbed by the body. Cooking asparagus destroys their cell walls, making them more easily absorbed by the body. vitamins A, B9, C and E more available for absorption,» Brown says.
Studies in the International Journal of Food Science & Technology and International Journal of Molecular Sciences found that cooking enhances the antioxidant action of asparagus 16-25% and increases levels of phenolic acid (a polyphenol).
Vitamins A and E are fat-soluble, which means they are more easily absorbed when combined with a source of fat. Cook asparagus in olive oil or accompany it with toasted nuts.
2. The mushrooms
Second in line with the vegetables (although it is a fungus) we prefer cooked is the multi-tool called mushroom, which is full of antioxidants. So eating it helps protect us from free radicals, helping to reduce our risk of certain chronic diseases.
A study published in the journal Food Chemistry showed that the exposure of mushrooms to heat drastically enhanced their overall antioxidant actions, while a study in the World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology reports that mushrooms contain large amounts of the amino acid ergothioneine (which has antioxidant activity), which is released during cooking.
3. The spinach
We peel a whole bag of spinach, so that we can eat two plates. This leafy vegetable shrinks a little when cooked. So, of course, we can consume a little more and benefit more from its nutrients.
Spinach is rich in iron, magnesium, calcium and zinc. These nutrients are more easily absorbed when they are cooked. Why? Because Popeye the sailor man's famous food contains oxalic acid, a substance that prevents the absorption of iron and calcium. However, boiling and scalding have a positive effect on reducing oxalate. In fact, steaming it will also reduce the loss of folic acid (B9), which is water-soluble.
4. The tomatoes
According to the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Science at Bastyr University, tomatoes lose a lot of vitamin C when cooked. However, a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that cooked tomatoes have significantly higher levels of lycopene, probably because heat helps to break down cell walls.
As for how to cook them? Lycopene, which has strong antioxidant activity, is best absorbed when consumed with «good» fats. So you can make a sauce, accompany roasted tomatoes with olives or pour virgin olive oil over them.
5. The carrots
B-carotene is a substance that our body converts into vitamin A, a fat-soluble vitamin that plays an important role in the bone health, vision and our immune system. It is also responsible for the orange colour of carrots. Studies have shown that cooking them boosts beta-carotene levels, and if you don't remove the skin, it can triple their overall antioxidant power.
It is advisable to bake them in the oven or boil them, because frying can reduce carotenoid levels by 13%. Also, a study in the International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research revealed much higher phytonutrient levels in carrots cooked with less water.
6. The kale or kale
Many of us don't like this leafy vegetable, despite our best efforts, as it is a fashionable vegetable. The good news is that we can give it another chance by eating it cooked.
According to the Harvard School of Public Health, raw kale contains isothiocyanates, which prevent the body from using the iodine it needs. However, cooking them deactivates the specific enzymes, so we can lightly steam it while minimizing the loss of antioxidants.
7. The Brussels sprouts
At the end of our list of cooked vegetables, the misunderstood Brussels sprouts. If we're having a hard time getting them into our diet, let's try steaming them in a wok. This small cruciferous vegetable when cooked produces indole, a compound that has been found to destroys precancerous cells. In addition, some of the sugars found in raw Brussels sprouts can be difficult to digest, so cooking them can help prevent bloating and gas.
On the other hand, they are rich in glucosinolic acids, which the body can convert into a number of compounds with anti-cancer activity. In order for this conversion to take place, the enzyme myrosinase must be active. However, cooking destroys this enzyme, so we choose the following techniques.
How we cook them
How we cook vegetables is just as important as whether we cook them, in terms of their nutritional content. For all vegetables, higher temperatures, longer cooking times and the largest quantities of water cause the loss of more nutrients.
In order to preserve the most sensitive nutrients, we make sure to cook them lightly, choosing to steam or microwave and using the least amount of water possible. Stop cooking before they become too soft.
M. Papadodimitraki
