John Myers
Vegetables: Cooked, not raw!
Raw is healthier than cooked? Not with every vegetable! These 5 vegetables should be eaten cooked.
Everyone nibbles raw food these days. Admittedly – vegetable sticks with delicious dips are really delicious. Nevertheless, raw is not always the better alternative. Because – even if the belief has settled in our heads – not all vitamins are always lost when heating. On the contrary: some types of vegetables become even healthier when they are cooked…
Tip: drying is a gentler preparation variant than cooking. You can find suitable dehydrators by clicking on the link.
These vegetables are even healthier when cooked
Pumpkin
Pumpkin is generally one of the vegetables that are rarely eaten raw. There is a good reason for this: on the one hand, the plant tastes much more intense when it is heated. On the other hand, pumpkins contain a lot of beta-carotene, which is responsible for the strong color and is also converted into vitamin A in the body. However, the antioxidant can be absorbed much better if the vegetables are cooked. Oil or butter is absolutely necessary because vitamin A is fat-soluble.
Carrots
Just as orange, just as healthy: carrots also contain a large amount of beta-carotene. And that can best be cooked and absorbed by the body with the help of fat. By the way: beta-carotene makes skin beautiful and strengthens the eyes.
Tomatoes
Cooking tomatoes has its pros and cons. Although up to a third of the vitamin C contained is lost when it is heated, the content of another important substance increases by a third. There is talk of lycopene. The anti-oxidant protects the blood vessels and can even prevent cancer as a radical scavenger in the cells.
Green asparagus
Similar to the tomato, asparagus also has strong cell walls. The valuable vitamins A, C, and E are difficult for the body to absorb raw. That’s why green asparagus is one of the vegetables that should be better eaten cooked!
Spinach
Spinach is rich in vitamin B and iron. Its content increases when heated – for this reason, the cooked vegetables are even healthier. Caution is even required when eating it raw: uncooked spinach contains oxalic acid, which is harmful. Fresh young leaves should therefore always be used for salads instead of root spinach, as they contain less oxalic acid.
