Health Hack: Getting more nutrition from your vegetables
December 14th, 2005
Everyone knows that vegetables are a crucial, but often under-consumed part of a healthy diet (even - no, especially - a Low-Carb diet). Many people are under the impression that to get the most nutritional “bang for the buck” vegetables should be eaten raw, but that cooked vegetables are an acceptable substitute. Raw vegetables often get short shrift because the flavors are either less complex or occasionally bitter and their fiber content makes them harder or unpleasant to chew.
In fact, to get the most nutrition from your vegetables, not only should you get a variety of different kinds of veggies (green and leafy, cruciferous, yellow and orange, etc), but you should alternate between raw and cooked. This is because although raw vegetables are rich in excellent vitamins (and minerals) and cooking can destroy some of these nutrients, others are present but unavailable for digestive absorbtion unless the food has been gently cooked.
Beware, though of overcooking. There is nothing less appealing or nutritive than flaccid, grey vegetable matter. Think “al dente”; soft enough to chew with just a slight crunch, but still retaining a bit of resistance to the tooth.
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Entry Filed under: Diet, General Health
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2 Comments Add your own
1. Levi Wallach | February 24th, 2006 at 11:56 am
Hmmm, I don’t agree that veggies are neglected necessarily on low-carb diets. Perhaps it is by those who first start the diet, especially those who don’t even bother to read much, but instead believe the hype put forth by the media and the critics about how they are all about meat and nothing else.
Secondly, regarding raw veggies, I’m not sure if there have been any studies which indicate that they provide more nutrition than cooked. Some actually contend that some raw veggies have “antinutrients” as part of a defense meachnism so that they won’t be eaten as much. Also, some of the nutrients in veggies are fat-soluble, and so are not as effectively absorbed if they are not eaten with fat. I do agree that overcooking is not the best thing, though. Cooking things at high enough heat can damage some of the compounds and possibly turn some of them from healthful to harmful. Again, though, I don’t know of any studies that back much of this stuff up, so I would really like to see some, since otherwise all of this is basically guesswork and thus one person’s opinion is as good as the next’s!
2. Kevin "Mr. Tut" Kennedy-Spaien | February 24th, 2006 at 1:01 pm
Hi Levi! Long time no see!
My response:
When I say veggies awareness is particularly important to those on a low-carb diet, I do not mean to say that this is because of the foods allowed or disallowed, but rather it is because of the natural tendencies of many low-carbers. Yes, it is primarily a problem for newbies.
One important thing more abundant in raw veggies is certainly Fiber. Cooked veggies are of course very important to the diet, but do tend to have less fiber. As to other actual nutrients, I’ll rout about for more specific info.
Thanks as always!
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