Vegetables - should you eat them raw or cooked?
Are vegetables more nutritious raw or cooked? If you are an omnivore, you probably don′t care — you are used to cooked food. Meat eaters may eat raw vegetables in salads, with dips, or possibly juiced. But we eat our meat cooked, and we want the rest of our dinner cooked as well.
Vegetarians are a different story. If you are a firm believer in the health benefits of a vegetarian diet, you probably want to know if cooking enhances or diminishes the nutritional value of food. Of course, raw foodists are already convinced that raw is the way to go. So what is more nutritious, raw or cooked vegetables? It turns out that there is no simple answer to that question.
There are advantages and disadvantages to cooking vegetables (1,2). On one hand, cooking softens food by breaking down plant cell walls, making nutrients more accessible. Cooking also denatures proteins and softens starches, making them more digestible. On the other hand, heating damages some vitamins and phytonutrients, as well as destroying vegetable enzymes. Frying does more damage than steaming or boiling; the higher temperatures can damage unsaturated fats, which in turn uses up antioxidants. So what′s better, raw or cooked? It′s pretty well a toss-up.
Given today′s industrial food production and distribution system, I doubt very much that we can get enough vitamins and minerals from our vegetables, no matter how we eat them. I am convinced that eating vegetables is more important for their effect on macronutrient intake — carbohydrates, proteins, and fats — that for their micronutrient content.
You can always compensate for what you should have gotten from your food but didn′t — vitamins and minerals; you can take supplements. You′ll end up paying twice for your nutrients, first for food and then again for the supplements. But at least you eat right.
It is a good deal more difficult to compensate for what you ate but shouldn′t have — excess calories. The best way to cut back on high-calorie foods is to add more vegetables to your diet. Vegetables are excellent sources of dietary fiber. Soluble fiber gives you a sense of fullness — you′ll likely eat less. They also slow nutrient digestion and absorption. Insoluble fibers help keep you "regular".
The bottom line? Eat your vegetables any way you like them, but eat them! Learning to prepare tasty vegetable side dishes may well be the easiest way to control your waist-line.
But add a quality nutritional supplement to your diet to ensure that you are getting the vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients you need.
Sources
Vegetarians are a different story. If you are a firm believer in the health benefits of a vegetarian diet, you probably want to know if cooking enhances or diminishes the nutritional value of food. Of course, raw foodists are already convinced that raw is the way to go. So what is more nutritious, raw or cooked vegetables? It turns out that there is no simple answer to that question.
There are advantages and disadvantages to cooking vegetables (1,2). On one hand, cooking softens food by breaking down plant cell walls, making nutrients more accessible. Cooking also denatures proteins and softens starches, making them more digestible. On the other hand, heating damages some vitamins and phytonutrients, as well as destroying vegetable enzymes. Frying does more damage than steaming or boiling; the higher temperatures can damage unsaturated fats, which in turn uses up antioxidants. So what′s better, raw or cooked? It′s pretty well a toss-up.
Given today′s industrial food production and distribution system, I doubt very much that we can get enough vitamins and minerals from our vegetables, no matter how we eat them. I am convinced that eating vegetables is more important for their effect on macronutrient intake — carbohydrates, proteins, and fats — that for their micronutrient content.
You can always compensate for what you should have gotten from your food but didn′t — vitamins and minerals; you can take supplements. You′ll end up paying twice for your nutrients, first for food and then again for the supplements. But at least you eat right.
It is a good deal more difficult to compensate for what you ate but shouldn′t have — excess calories. The best way to cut back on high-calorie foods is to add more vegetables to your diet. Vegetables are excellent sources of dietary fiber. Soluble fiber gives you a sense of fullness — you′ll likely eat less. They also slow nutrient digestion and absorption. Insoluble fibers help keep you "regular".
The bottom line? Eat your vegetables any way you like them, but eat them! Learning to prepare tasty vegetable side dishes may well be the easiest way to control your waist-line.
But add a quality nutritional supplement to your diet to ensure that you are getting the vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients you need.
Sources
- Sushma Subramanian. Fact or fiction: Raw veggies are healthier than cooked ones. Scientific American March 31, 2009.
[Full Text} - Jon Barron. Food – raw versus cooked. Jon Barron′s Alternative Health Newsletter March 16, 2009.
[Full Text]
I think raw fruit and vegetables will always be the healthier option. Cooking simply removes too many of the fruit/vegetables nutrients.
http://www.healthpoints.info
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I prefer half-cook. But there are veggies that can be eaten-raw such as cucumber, carrots and the like. In totality, raw is better because the health components are still intact.
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That's great, I never thought about Vegetables - should you eat them raw or cooked? like that before.
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I believe its essential that people start eating more vegetables and fruits in their diets. I have been a vegetarian for the last 21/2 years. Another thing to consider is the quality of the veges. Due to over farming & pesticides mainly the nutritional value of most veges are inferior to organic produce. Alot of the ennzymes from veges actually aid the digestive process as well.
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That's great, I never thought about Vegetables - should you eat them raw or cooked like that before.
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I think that raw is better you lose very little of the nutrients and that has to be good.thanks Helmut
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Of course you have to cook them first. Your body can't digest raw food that easily..why? One word. Enzyme. Good point from jsun though..
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I doubt very much that we can get enough vitamins and minerals from our vegetables, no matter how we eat them.
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Meat eaters may eat raw vegetables in salads, with dips, or possibly juiced. But we eat our meat cooked, and we want the rest of our dinner cooked as well.
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Thats really very nice blog, I am impressed.
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Thats great, I never knew before this blog.
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Great ....You have beautifully presented your thought in this blog post.
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Great site. I like the way you explain everything without using complicated terms.
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As long as you eat veggies, you'll be fine! My idea is to eat a bit of both--salad once a day, and cooked veggies in the other meal. That way it's balanced!
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Good point - just EAT them! I have to add as a medical professional, that cooking also eliminates some harmful bacteria, not all of which is always removed by washing. The chance of food poisoning goes way down.
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You raised an important point! For example, bacterial contamination from fecal matter has to be a major concern in the developing world but it can also happen in industrialized countries, despite stricter food safety measures. Remember the tainted spinach in the U.S. a while back?
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The smaller cold water species are more succulent and sweet and are an excellent choice for sandwiches or salads, whereas the larger warm water prawns are extremely flavoursome, adapt well to strong and spicy flavours and are popular in many oriental dishes.
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Vegetables should be eaten in any form either cooked or raw as they save you from diseases such as Dermatitis Atopi.A disease like Dermatitis Atopi would cause you to be a different one among others for a long span of life. So be sure, have vegetables in either of the forms.
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