8. Sweet potatoes
Raw or cooked? Cooked. Nutrients are more easily absorbed from boiled sweet potatoes than from any other cooking method, but they can also be steamed, roasted or broiled.
Benefits: Sweet potatoes are incredibly rich in beta carotene, a plant-based compound that the body converts to vitamin A. This fat-soluble vitamin is important for normal vision. The orange spud’s store of vitamins plays a role in controlling blood pressure. Bonus: The potato skin’s fiber content helps promote a healthy digestive system.
Tip: It’s fine to eat the skin as long as it’s well-scrubbed. Potato skins pick up microbes from the soil they grow in, so they should be washed before cooking.
9. Tomatoes
Raw or Cooked? Both. Cooked tomatoes help protect against heart disease, but heating tomatoes destroys vitamin C. Leaving them raw helps your immune system work properly.
Benefits: Raw and cooked tomatoes are both low in calories and fat, and rich in vitamins and minerals that help you stay healthy. Raw tomatoes offer vitamin C to keep your immune system in good shape, but heat destroys it. Cooked tomatoes help protect against heart disease. Eating a combination of raw (sliced) and cooked (roasted) at the same meal gives you the best of both worlds. Bonus: Tomatoes contain lycopene, a nutrient that gives tomatoes their color. Lycopene lowers blood pressure and helps protect against prostate cancer.
Tip: Processed tomato products have more lycopene than fresh, so go ahead and have a glass of tomato juice with breakfast, use canned tomatoes to make a sauce for dinner or dab some jarred salsa on a cracker for a midafternoon snack.
Save the best for last
“When I prepare dinner, I leave the vegetables for last,” says Ardisson Korat. “I start with a grain, which takes 30 minutes or more to cook, especially if it’s a whole grain. Then I prep the protein part of the meal and finally, as close to serving time as possible, I prepare the vegetables. Doing it that way preserves their flavor, their texture andtheir nutrients.”
Smart Veggie Combos
Here are some food combinations that provide an extra nutrition boost
Combining certain foods when you eat can influence the way your body absorbs nutrients, notes Penny Kris-Etherton, Evan Pugh University professor of nutritional sciences at Penn State University. Although all of these foods are good on their own, they’re even better with a partner.
1.Salads with dressing:Pair salads and vegetables such as spinach, broccoli and carrots that are high in fat-soluble vitamins with an oil-based dressing. A basic vinaigrette with salad oil, lemon juice, mustard and pepper does trick.
2. Vitamin C boost:Non-heme iron, a mineral found in vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, brussels sprouts and string beans, carries oxygen throughout the body so that our cells can produce energy. Help it do its job by pairing these vegetables with vitamin C-rich foods such as oranges, grapefruit and surprisingly, roasted russet potatoes.
3.Greens and avocado:Mixing leafy greens with avocado can increase the absorption of nutrients that are essential to keep your eyes, skin and immune system healthy.
4.Tea with lemon:Tea and lemon make a dynamite combo. Both green tea and black tea contain a substance with the tongue-twisting name epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which is linked to reduced inflammation. The body can better absorb EGCG when tea is flavored with citrus.
5.Tomatoes and oil:Roasted tomatoes with oil, tomato sauce and salads with oil-based dressing all help increase the body’s absorption of lycopene, a plant pigment that gives tomatoes their vibrant color. Lycopene helps protect the body’s cells from damage and has been linked to good oral and bone health, as well as a reduced risk of heart disease and some cancers.
FAQs
For people with lower immunity — who are at great risk of infections — it might be safer to cook vegetables rather than to consume them raw. Otherwise, for most people, raw vegetables are an excellent source of vitamins, minerals, and fiber and can be a part of healthy eating habits.
What is the healthiest way to eat vegetables? ›
Best: Steaming
Not surprisingly, steaming is the healthiest way to cook vegetables. Steaming vegetables is also the most efficient. A gentle steam is best; it allows vegetables to maintain their nutrients because the vitamins and minerals don't leak out into the water you end up discarding.
Which vegetables should not be eaten raw? ›
These are the 6 vegetables that should never be consumed raw
- Potatoes. Uncooked potatoes not only taste bad but can also lead to digestive problems. ...
- Cruciferous Vegetables. ...
- Red Kidney Beans. ...
- Mushrooms. ...
- Eggplant. ...
- French Beans.
Cooking, in fact, can increase the amount of certain nutrients in certain vegetables, such as lycopene in tomatoes and carotenoid levels in carrots. The reason being that the bonds that lock the nutrients in are broken by the cooking process thus the body can absorb more of them.
What are the healthiest vegetables to eat raw? ›
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- Sweet potato. “Sweet potato, often associated with oven baked, roasted or mashed, can actually be consumed raw,” says Cox. ...
- Kale. ifwecandoitbetter. ...
- Sugar snap peas. ...
- Celeriac. ...
- Cauliflower. ...
- Baby corn. ...
- Courgette. ...
- Brussels sprouts.
Studies have shown that people who eat a lot of raw vegetables have a 75% lower rate of high blood pressure than people who eat less raw vegetables, this figure is 42% lower in cardiovascular disease. Eating a lot of raw vegetables helps reduce blood cholesterol, especially stroke.
Which vegetable we eat raw as well as cooked? ›
Detailed Solution
| Food Item | Eating method |
|---|
| Carrot | Can be eaten raw in salads. Can be cooked as a vegetable. |
| Broccoli | Can be eaten raw in salads. Can be cooked as a vegetable. |
| Spinach | Can be eaten raw in salads. Can be cooked as a vegetable. |
| Chilly | Can be eaten raw as a condiment. Can be cooked along with vegetables. |
4 more rowsNightshade vegetables, like peppers, potatoes, and eggplant, are are controversial, because many claim they can cause inflammation, according to Cynthia Sass, a registered dietician. This can lead to some pretty serious complications down the line: heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, to name a few.
Is broccoli healthier, raw or cooked? ›
The leaves and stems of broccoli are very nutritious, but the florets have an even higher concentration of nutrients and phytochemicals. Raw broccoli has more vitamin C than cooked, but cooked broccoli makes the carotenoids more available to the body. So enjoy broccoli cooked or raw¬ just be sure to eat it often.
Are carrots better raw or cooked? ›
Foods which are healthier cooked
These include carrots, asparagus and even tomatoes, because cooking makes it easier for our bodies to benefit from some of their protective antioxidants, specifically ferulic acid from asparagus, and beta-carotene, which we convert to vitamin A, from carrots.
People can eat them raw, steamed, boiled, roasted, or as an ingredient in soups and stews. Boiling vegetables can reduce or eliminate some of the vitamin content. Raw or steamed carrots provide the most nutritional value.
Is it healthy to eat raw vegetables every day? ›
Chapman Family Cancer Wellness at Piedmont, says incorporating raw foods, specifically vegetables and fruits, into your diet can have numerous health benefits. “You will likely have more energy, better skin, improved digestion and a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease once you get used to eating raw food,” she says.
What is the healthiest way to prepare vegetables? ›
Steaming veggies can preserve nutrients, color, shape, and texture, without having to add any unnecessary fats through ingredients like oils or butter. To steam, place food into a steam basket and cover over simmering water. Since food is not directly touching the water, vegetables retain more of their nutrients.
Is it better to eat spinach raw or cooked? ›
Spinach. The leafy green is packed with nutrients, but you'll absorb more calcium and iron if you eat it cooked. The reason: Spinach is loaded with oxalic acid, which blocks the absorption of iron and calcium but breaks down under high temperatures. What Do You Really Get When You Buy Organic?
