Almighty Dad | A stay at home dad blog

How you cook your vegetables makes a big difference in their nutritional profiles.  For instance, if you want more fiber you should eat them raw, but sometimes cooking them can increase antioxidants and vitamin availability.  But, not just any cooking will do.  Different vegetables need different kinds of cooking.  A study in The Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry and another study in The Journal of Food Science, reported in S’Obefit magazine, compared cooking methods for a variety of vegetables and determined the most effective methods for some of our favorite side dishes.  Here are the results: 

Broccoli:  Steaming or Griddling.  Steaming broccoli increases glucosinolates (a cancer-fighting compound).  Griddling your Broccoli increases free-radical killing antioxidants.  Don’t boil broccoli though or you’ll lose all those benefits (plus the fiber you would have had if you’d eaten it raw). 

Artichoke:  The best way to prepare an artichoke is to steam it.  Steaming increases antioxidants 15 times as much as in its raw form. 

Carrots:  Boil them or lightly fry them.  Boiling increases carotenoids and vitamin C in carrots and decreases polyphenols.  Frying retains polyphenols and caretenoids but significantly decreases vitamin C. 

Zucchini:  I like zucchini best when griddled so I’m happy to hear that that is the best way to cook it.  Both boiling and frying zucchini almost nullifies its antioxidant content.  Using a griddle doesn’t do harm. 

Spinach:  Griddle but don’t boil.  Boiling spinach takes away virtually all its nutritional benefit.  Griddling, on the other hand, increases its antioxidant profile. 

So there you have it.  Eating your vegetables raw is usually a good thing and cooking them doesn’t necessarily destroy their nutrients.  In fact, cooking is sometimes the best way to get the most out of a vegetable. 

To learn more about antioxidants go read my article Antioxidants and the Growth of a Scam.

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