With some vegetables the micronutrients are heat sensitive and can be destroyed.

But with others cooking allows the body to absorb more of the beneficial compounds because heat releases the nutrients from the cell matrix where they are bound.

Vegetables whether Raw or cooked = nutritional power houses so just eat them

Cooking vegies breaks down their tough cellular structure and makes it easier to absorb nutrients-of course you have to cook them correctly-not fried

Here are some vegies that are better cooked:

Cooking spinach boosts the body’s ability to absorb calcium, iron, mg, vitamin c.  Calcium triples in spinach when it’s cooked. It also gets rid of oxlalates that prevent iron absorption.

Cooked kale has greater cholesterol lowering effects than raw Kale.

Mushrooms are better cooked.  Cooking kills the toxin and breaks the tough cellular structure and makes them more digestible.

Tomatoes-boosts the lycopene released into the body-raw is only 4% - lycopene is linked to lowering disease and cancer.

BENEFITS OF COOKED VEGETABLES- makes the cell walls less rigid, which makes it easier to absorb certain nutrients and digest food better.  

BENEFITS OF RAW VEGETABLES- Boiling and cooking vegetables in high temperatures or in water decreases their nutrient levels.  Water soluble vitamins such as vitamin c and b are often lost during their cooking processes. Glucosinaolate, the sulphur-containing nutrient in broccoli that may help fight cancer is also decreased when the vegetable is boiled.  The amount of nutrients lost during cooking depends on many factors including method and duration of cooking.

Cooking and preparation to retain nutrients:

Reduce time vegetables are exposed to heat

Steam to reduce cooking time

Store in the fridge and only buy for a few days

BOTTOM LINE IS;

Regardless o f how your prepare your vegetables they are full of fibre, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.

FREEZING FOODS: preserving nutritional values, texture and flavour depents on length between harves and freezing

If grown organic the nutrient retention can be quite high.

Blanching them in hot water or steam to kill off bacteria and stop the action of food degrading enzymes before freezing can reduce vitamin c, b1,folate

Picking fruits and veggies before they are ripe also stops vegetables from developing a full spectrum of vitamins and minerals.  They ripen on outside but not the same nutrient value.

BOTTOM LINE IS ; When vegetables are ins season buy them fresh and ripe.  Off season frozen vegetables will give you a concentration of nutrients