How to cook so that food does not lose vitamins

When we talk about what to eat to get all the vitamins It is important and fundamental to always keep in mind that it is best to opt for a diet as varied, complete and balanced as possible, since this is the simplest and most useful option when contributing to our organism all the essential nutrients you need to its proper functioning (and, in short, to have good health).

However, it is usually very common that although we know what foods give us certain vitamins and minerals, or we follow a varied and balanced diet, then we do not know what actions can influence that these nutrients are lost even before eating the food.

An example of this is the cooking, which especially affects both fruits and vegetables, which makes it differently.

Let's take an example: while cooking decreases the content of vitamins such as vitamin C or nutrients such as fiber, improves the availability for our body of other nutrients such as folic acid or lycopene (even more if we add small amounts to the cooking of oil).

What are the vitamins most sensitive to temperature changes?

There are certain vitamins and nutrients that can be seriously affected by changes in temperature, so that they can be destroyed even completely by the cooking we choose at the time of preparation.

Highlights include vitamins such as folic acid (B9), vitamin B1, vitamin B6 and vitamin C.

The best cooking methods to avoid losing vitamins

  1. Express pot: cooking in this way means less loss of nutrients than other equally healthy options, such as boiling or stewing.
  2. Stew: being a long-term cooking method but at a moderate temperature, you tend to lose a smaller amount of vitamins.
  3. Baked: although it depends on the time and the temperature necessary for the cooking of the food, in general there are minimal losses of nutrients. Obviously, the longer and higher the temperature, the more vitamins lost.
  4. Frying: unlike what can be thought, it is a form of cooking that actually destroys fewer vitamins. However, it is not a healthy option to choose it daily.

Image | Erik Burton TopicsCooking tricks

Does Cooking Affect Vitamins in Food?- Thomas DeLauer (May 2024)