Nutritional Value of Vegetables

How to Retain …

You need the super rich nutritional value of vegetables for your health.

A diet rich in vegetables can help lower the risk of heart disease and other heart problems, some types of cancer, diabetes 2, kidney stones and several other diseases.

The nutritional value of vegetables is at the most when they have just been picked from the soil. The best scenario is to consume them at this stage, raw or lightly cooked.

However, not everyone has the liberty of growing foods or vegetables fresh in the garden or farms. Frozen vegetables are just about as close to raw as possible, because they are generally frozen as soon as they are picked, to lock in the nutrients in them.

Although the nutritional value of vegetables is generally higher when eaten raw, some vegetables often contain some toxins and anti-nutrients. Cooking may be necessary to kill them off, depending which vegetable it is, and the amount of toxins and anti-nutrients it contains.

To be on the safe side, most vegetables cooked lightly are ideal. It is also important to note that cooking certain vegetables increases the amount of certain nutrients in them. For example, lycopene in tomatoes is about four times higher when cooked than when raw. Lycopene is a carotenoid – an antioxidant.

Preparing and Cooking Vegetables…

Even though steaming is an option, the problem is that we often end up steaming for a bit longer than the general three to five minutes recommended to retain the nutrients in vegetables.

Vegetables should only be steamed minimally before the colour of the water at the bottom of the steamer starts to change to the colour of the vegetables being cooked. The question is, will the vegetables be cooked enough to kill any toxins or bacteria that may be in them?

You will lose the nutrients in vegetables if you boil them in lots of water. This is because many of the nutrients in vegetables are water-soluble vitamins and also very light sensitive.

You need to cook them in such a way that you won’t lose the nutrients in them. Keep out water, excessive heat, oxidation (air and light), and water when cooking or storing vegetables.

Cook vegetables on low heat and keep cooking times to a minimum. You lose a large portion of the nutritional value of vegetables when you cook using the most common cooking methods such as boiling, cooking on high heat, and cooking in water.

Therefore, your method of cooking them matters. You need to handle vegetables with care to retain the nutritional value in them. Or should I say ‘cook with care’.

Microwaving Vegetables

Avoid microwaving vegetables. Although the microwave will keep cooking times to a minimum, it will contribute to you losing nutrients in vegetables. The reason is because of the high heat involved.

While the microwave does not directly work on heat basis, excessive heat is a by-product of the electromagnetic waves and vibration of food molecules that it works with. High heat applied to your vegetables at any stage will end up in more loss of nutrients for you.

Washing Vegetables

Wash vegetables upfront before slicing or cutting them. If you slice first before washing, you lose some of the nutritional value by losing some of the colour to the water you’re rinsing or washing with.

Whereas, when you wash the vegetables before slicing, you will notice that you won’t lose the colour (since you would have washed upfront), thereby retaining more of the nutritional value of vegetables in your diet.

The bottom line is this. The nutritional value of vegetables needs to still be in there when the vegetables eventually get onto the table and into your plate! Otherwise, what will be the point eating and planning meals to include them if you would have lost the nutrients in them?

The information here is for general guidance only.
Talk to your doctor before making any changes to your diet and lifestyle.