If your goal is to eat better this year, one way to start is by getting more vegetables into your diet.
The American Heart Association recommends that adults should aim to get about 2 to 3 cups of a variety of vegetables each day.
While veggies in any form provide valuable nutrients, some are actually better for you if they’re cooked.
According to dieticians with Consumer Reports, some nutrients are bound in the cell walls of vegetables, and cooking breaks those walls down, releasing the nutrients so your body can absorb them more easily.
Consumer Reports has broken down a list of the vegetables that are better for you if they’re cooked:
- Spinach: You’ll absorb more calcium and iron if you eat it cooked because spinach is loaded with oxalic acid, which blocks the absorption of iron and calcium but breaks down under high temperatures.
- Mushrooms: A cup of cooked white mushrooms has about twice as much muscle-building potassium, heart-healthy niacin, immune-boosting zinc, and bone-strengthening magnesium as a cup of raw ones.
- Carrots: Cooking ignites this veggie’s cancer-fighting carotenoids, the nutrient responsible for its orange hue, but don’t pan fry them because that will cause the carotenoid levels to dip.
- Asparagus: Cooking asparagus stalks raises the level of six nutrients, including cancer-fighting antioxidants, by more than 16%, a study found.
- Tomatoes: Cooking tomatoes reduces their vitamin C content, but a study found that it raises the total power of the disease-fighting antioxidant lycopene by 62%.
- Red Bell Peppers: You do lose some vitamin C when you cook red bell peppers, especially when the vegetable is boiled or steamed, but heat breaks down the cell walls, which makes the carotenoids in the peppers easier for your body to absorb.
- Broccoli and Cauliflower: These vegetables contain the fibers raffinose and cellulose, which can, for many people, cause bloating, gas and other problems. Cooking can make these vegetables easier on your digestive system.
- Sprouts (Alfalfa, Bean, Mung Bean, Etc.): Sprouts are, essentially, baby plants — seeds that have been germinated in warm, watery conditions, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises that they should not be consumed uncooked. Raw sprouts are often contaminated with bacteria that can cause foodborne illness.
For tips on how to best cook these vegetables, click here.