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SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2017
J OEL F UHRMAN , MD
Do vegetables lose nutrients when cooked?
Every day, we should eat a
combination of raw and cooked
vegetables, because the effects
of cooking are different
depending on which nutrients
we’re talking about.
Cooking modifies the physi-
cal and chemical properties of
foods. It causes degradation or
loss of certain nutrients and
phytochemicals, but also soft-
ens cell walls and other food
matrix components, facilitating
the extraction and absorption of
others.
Many nutrients are damaged
by heat, light, or oxygen.
Vitamin C appears to be the
nutrient most vulnerable to
cooking; about 30 percent of
vitamin C in leafy greens is
destroyed by cooking (if cook-
ing water is consumed, as in
cooking a soup).
Other nutrients degraded by
heat are folate, other B vita-
mins, and phenol antioxidants.
Minerals and fat-soluble vita-
mins (A, D, E, and K) are more
stable in heated conditions.
Cruciferous vegetables con-
tain valuable nutrients called
glucosinolates, which are con-
verted to cancer-fighting isoth-
iocyanates (ITCs) when the
plant cells are broken up by
chopping or chewing.
Importantly, heat inactivates
the enzyme (myrosinase) that
drives this conversion, so chop-
ping (preferably blending)
these vegetables before cook-
ing them is important. Blending
the raw greens and then adding
them to a soup or stew con-
serves ITCs. After that, steam-
ing-compared to stir-frying,
boiling and microwaving-
resulted in the smallest glucosi-
nolate losses in broccoli, but
the less it is cooked the better.
Remember though that the
myrosinase is deactivated by
heat, so in order to produce
more isothiocycanates from the
remaining glucosinolates after
cooking, eat some raw crucifer-
ous with that meal or add some
raw cruciferous (such as shred-
ded cabbage) to the cooked
greens.
Carotenoids, such as alpha-
carotene, beta-carotene, and
lycopene are not only heat sta-
ble, but actually more
absorbable once foods are
cooked. Carotenoids are inside
the plant cells, embedded in the
matrix of the food, and some of
the cellular structure must be
mechanically disrupted (such
as by blending or heating) to
make
the
carotenoids
extractable by the digestive
system.
Vitamin E fractions from
plant foods have also been
reported to be more bioaccessi-
ble after heating. A study on
raw foodists found that
lycopene status was low with-
out eating any cooked foods.
Fat intake in that study was
associated with better plasma
carotenoid status-adding fat is a
way to improve carotenoid
absorption from raw vegeta-
bles. One study measured
alpha-carotene, beta-carotene,
and lycopene in the blood after
subjects ate salads topped with
fat-free dressing, or dressings
containing either 6 or 28 grams
of fat.
Carotenoid absorption was
negligible from the salad with
fat-free dressing, and high from
the fat-containing dressings.8
Salad dressings made by blend-
ing nuts and seeds (instead of
using oil) are the healthiest.
Some nutrient loss occurs
when fresh foods are stored.
Produce that has been
shipped a long distance will
likely have less nutritional
value than the same produce
bought locally. Frozen vegeta-
bles do have lower levels of
vitamin C, thiamin, riboflavin,
and niacin loss due to the
blanching step of the freezing
process.
However, once the food is
frozen, nutrient losses due to
storage slow down substantial-
ly. Plus, frozen vegetables are
picked fresh and frozen soon
after, preserving a large propor-
tion of the nutrients.
For frozen fruits, there is
minimal loss of polyphenol
antioxidants
(such
as
flavonoids) because fruits are
not blanched before they are
frozen.
Sometimes nutrients are not
destroyed by heat, but can be
lost in the cooking water if
boiling or steaming-this is why
soups are a good cooking
method for vegetables.
Remember to avoid high-
heat dry cooking and browning
to prevent the formation of
acrylamide-a possible carcino-
gen formed in cooked starchy
foods.
A good general guideline to
maximize nutrient quantity and
variety is to eat a large variety
of raw and gently cooked veg-
etables-large daily salads plus
vegetable-bean soups or stews,
or vegetables cooked in a wok
with water or steamed for only
10 minutes.
Remember: Eat a large green
salad, containing a variety of
raw vegetables, with a nut and
seed based dressing at least
once a day.
Suggested healthy cooking
methods for vegetables:
• Steam greens in a wok
alternating covering and stir-
ring.
• Steam greens in a steamer
for 10 minutes or less
• Half artichokes up the mid-
dle and steam for 18-20 min-
utes
• Boil sweet potatoes, cook
carrots and parsnips in soups
and stews
• Bake hard squashes at a
low oven temperature (325° F)
for 1 hour
• Wok or steam mushrooms,
or add to soups and stews
• Puree raw cruciferous
greens, shallots and onions
before adding to soups and
stews
Dr. Fuhrman is a New York
Times best-selling author and
board certified family physician
specializing in lifestyle and nutri-
tional medicine.
Visit his website at Dr
Fuhrman.com, or submit questions
and comments to news ques-
tions@drfuhrman.com.
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