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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    Do cooked vegetables still contain lots of vitamins and nutrition?

    Related Topic
    Nutrition
    I prefer to eat my vegetables steamed rather than raw - are they still as nutritious?
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    Chris Fonda

    Dietitian, Nutritionist, Sports Dietitian

    As an Accredited Sports Dietitian, APD and athlete (springboard diver), Chris has both professional and personal experience in sport at the sub-elite and elite level.Chris … View Profile

    Great question as many people like to steam their vegetables. Steaming is actually the best method to keep the nutrients in food as it heats them gently. Microwaving for no longer than 3 minutes also keeps many nutrients in the food.

    When boiling vegetables, alot of the nutrients leak out into the water so you do lose more nutrition when boiling. Stir-frying is also a great way to keep the nutrition in vegetables (but don't over do it). Raw vegetables are also highly nutritious for you as well, but we all don't want to eat raw veg all the time.

    For more expert dietary advice, seek the guidance from an Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD). An APD can help you to learn ways on how to cook your food whilst maintaining optimal nutrition. To find an APD near you go to www.daa.asn.au

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    Leah Marmulla

    Dietitian

    Leah Marshall is a multi-book Author, Compassionate Transformational Coach, podcaster & founder of RecliamME! Programs. Her mission is to help adults navigate their Crossroad moments. … View Profile

    Hi, 

    As Chris has mentioned steaming is certainly one of the better ways of preparing foods.  The benifet is the heat and moisture softens the plant cell wall and helps digestion - the breakdown of the food to be able to release the nutrients that we need for our body to work. 

    A few exceptions are - root vegetables, because they have a stronger cell wall, and they store their carboyhdrates as starch - a complex arrangment of sugar molecules (we need these) boiling softens the cell wall to allow water  to help release the starch and again helps the body to access this great energy reserve of the plant.  

    Keep in mind the cell wall is fibre - so very important for digestive health and the carbs released  is still very important for overall nutrition. It is about balance, the big picture of food intake, lifestyle and your profile. 

    Two other points to keep in mind is fat soluable vitamins such as Vitamin K, E, D & A all of which are essential for healthy skin, bone, mental health, blood, and every cell, needs some fat to help carry it across from our food into our body.  So a small amount of healthy fat is important.  Remember 30% of our total Kj requirements is suggested to be oils and fats, so don't eleminate it all together. 

    The last point is that what can be eaten raw do so.  Green leafy vegetables can be cut and added to salads. Many of our vegetables other than potatos, sago, lentils, legumes, grains and rices can be eaten raw.  Chop them up, grate them, blend them and add them to other dishes.  The benefit of this is you are increasing the quantity of their enzymes which help your body to digest them easier. 

    Hope this helps.  Cooking is a science and an art (for some).  Keep it simple, eat what you can raw, lightly steam what you can, and boil the starchy foods to get the best out of eat group; drizzle with a little seasoned olive oil, or your favourite flavoured oil and enjoy.

    These tips, and more are shared in my monthy cooking classes. 
    To your health, leah  

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