Recently, one of my readers asked a question about how much baked bell peppers are rich in vitamin C or are they completely resolved when cooked. This question prompted me to prepare a more detailed answer to the question of preserving vitamins and other nutrients when cooking vegetables in the form of this article.
It is true that different cooking methods alter the nutrient composition of fruits and vegetables, but this is not always a bad thing. Some research suggests that while cooking foods can degrade some nutrients, the availability of others can be increased.
Therefore, it is impossible to say that there is a “best” form of plant consumption, for example, raw.
Many people believe that raw vegetables contain more nutrients than cooked ones, but again, this depends on the type of nutrient. One study in Germany of 200 people who ate a raw food diet found that their beta-carotene levels were elevated, but their plasma lycopene levels were well below average. This is likely due to the fact that fresh, raw tomatoes do have a lower lycopene content than cooked or processed tomatoes. Heat treatment destroys the thick cell walls of many plants, releasing the nutrients stored in them.
Water-soluble vitamins such as vitamin C and B vitamins, as well as a group of nutrients called polyphenols, are most vulnerable to food processing and preparation. Canned peas and carrots lose 85 to 95 percent of their natural vitamin C. Another study found that frozen cherries lose up to 50 percent of anthocyanins, nutrients found in the dark pigment of fruits and vegetables. During the cooking process, about two-thirds of the vitamin C is removed from fresh spinach.
Depending on the cooking method used, the loss of vitamin C in home cooking can range from 15 to 55 percent, according to a survey by researchers at the University of California, Davis. Interestingly, vitamin C levels are often higher in frozen foods compared to fresh foods – this is likely because vitamin C is killed during the storage and transport of fresh foods.
Fat-soluble vitamins such as A, D, E, and K, and antioxidant compounds called carotenoids, become more readily available after preparation and processing. In the journal article “The Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry»Concluded that carrots, zucchini and broccoli are better cooked than steamed, fried, or served raw. Least of all nutrients are retained during frying.
But when it comes to cooking vegetables, there are always compromises to be made. You can increase the availability of one nutrient while destroying another. For example, boiled carrots have significantly more carotenoids than raw carrots. However, raw carrots contain a lot more polyphenols, which disappear as soon as you start cooking them.
Summarizing all this, it is fashionable to say that no cooking method is ideal in terms of preserving 100% of the nutrients in vegetables. And since the best vegetables are the ones you’ll actually eat, flavor should also be considered when deciding on a cooking method.
The best way to get the most out of your vegetables is to enjoy them in a variety of ways – raw, steamed, boiled, baked, and fried. If you regularly eat a variety of fruits and vegetables, you don’t need to worry about how you prepare them.