Cooking Veggies May Not Cut Nutrients
Cooking vegetables may not reduce all of the nutrients in those veggies, according to a new Italian study.
The University of Parma's Nicoletta Pellegrini, PhD, and colleagues bought freshly harvested carrots, zucchini, and broccoli at a local market.
In their lab, the scientists measured levels of various antioxidants in the raw vegetables. Then they boiled, steamed, or fried the vegetables. Lastly, they measured antioxidant levels in the cooked vegetables.
Raw vegetables were loaded with antioxidants. After cooking, their antioxidant levels were a mixed bag.
In some cases, the veggies lost antioxidants to cooking. But not all antioxidants decreased when cooked -- and in some cases, certain antioxidant
levels rose when cooked.
For instance, steamed broccoli contained higher levels than raw broccoli of glucosinolate compounds, which may reduce cancer risk. And boiled carrots contained higher levels than raw carrots of carotenoids, which give carrots their bright orange color.
No single method of cooking stood out as being best for all antioxidants.
"Our results suggest that for each vegetable a preferential cooking method could be selected to preserve or improve its nutritional qualities," write the researchers.
Their findings appear in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. ?
By Miranda Hitti
Reviewed by Louise Chang
?2005-2006 WebMD, Inc. All rights reserved
© 2007 WebMD, LLC.. All Rights Reserved. The University of Parma's Nicoletta Pellegrini, PhD, and colleagues bought freshly harvested carrots, zucchini, and broccoli at a local market.
In their lab, the scientists measured levels of various antioxidants in the raw vegetables. Then they boiled, steamed, or fried the vegetables. Lastly, they measured antioxidant levels in the cooked vegetables.
Raw vegetables were loaded with antioxidants. After cooking, their antioxidant levels were a mixed bag.
In some cases, the veggies lost antioxidants to cooking. But not all antioxidants decreased when cooked -- and in some cases, certain antioxidant
levels rose when cooked.
For instance, steamed broccoli contained higher levels than raw broccoli of glucosinolate compounds, which may reduce cancer risk. And boiled carrots contained higher levels than raw carrots of carotenoids, which give carrots their bright orange color.
No single method of cooking stood out as being best for all antioxidants.
"Our results suggest that for each vegetable a preferential cooking method could be selected to preserve or improve its nutritional qualities," write the researchers.
Their findings appear in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. ?
By Miranda Hitti
Reviewed by Louise Chang
?2005-2006 WebMD, Inc. All rights reserved
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2 Comments Add a Comment
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- More disinformation from the propaganda arm of Big Pharma. People in the Nutrition World knows that all living enzymes die when cooked to 118 degrees. You will never hear of the benefits of raw food from WEB MD, it would affect Big Pharma''s profits.
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- Make up your minds!!!! First it''s bad then it''s good then bad again then good again. I really don''t think it is how you cook or not cook the veggies just so long as you eat them!!!!!!!!
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