Cooking is an art form created by human beings to please our taste buds. Therefore, it is possible to imagine that practically anything goes when we are in the kitchen. Within a diet, vegetables are an important part of our health, serving as a great source of vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants.
How these foods are prepared, however, greatly influences the impact they have on our body. For example, many vegetables are served raw in salads, but they are much more beneficial when cooked. Curious to know which ones we’re talking about? Check out this list of six foods that are better for us cooked than raw!
1. Tomato
Tomatoes are almost a regular item in salads, served mostly raw. However, this food increases your lycopene levels by more than 50% when cooked over a fire. And what does that mean? Lycopene is an antioxidant that is highly associated with a lower risk of developing heart disease and cancer.
In contrast, cooking a tomato can also cause its vitamin C content to drop by 29%. So eating it raw won’t hurt you at all, but other methods of preparation also have their benefits.
2. Mushrooms
Champignons or shimeji, appear in several different recipes. In Brazil, it is very common to see stroganoff dishes using this ingredient in their composition. In addition, this is a food with high levels of ergothioneine in its formula.
Ergothioneine, however, is only released during cooking. This antioxidant is responsible for breaking down the so-called “free radicals” — molecules that can be toxic to our body, weakening the immune system and anticipating aging.
3. Cabbage
Cale is an extremely tasty food and one of the main ingredients of a beautiful feijoada. On the negative side, this vegetable is loaded with enzymes that prevent the body from expelling iodine from the thyroid.
However, when a kale is steamed, these enzymes are broken down and there is a better regulation of metabolism. So you need to keep this information in mind the next time you go to the kitchen.
4. Pepper
Like tomatoes, bell peppers lose a good amount of vitamin C when boiled or cooked steam. For this reason, the ideal is to take it to the oven. The heat generated in the process of roasting a pepper causes its cell walls to break, facilitating the absorption of carotenoids by the body.
This substance is responsible for giving color to some foods and on top of that it works as a very potent antioxidant, stimulating our immune system and making us healthier.
5. Spinach
Spinach is the vegetable responsible for making Popeye stronger and it can also do the same with you — as long as it’s prepared in the best way. This is a food with high sources of iron, magnesium, calcium and zinc, but it also contains oxalic acid and phytic acid in its composition — substances that hinder the absorption of nutrients by the body.
When spinach is heated, however, calcium is released and is free to be absorbed by the body. Some studies suggest that cooking this vegetable also helps to reduce the risk of some types of cancer, such as bowel and breast cancer.
6. Carrots
Carrots are rich in a substance called beta-carotene, which the body decides to convert into a vitamin A. This process is critical in supporting bone growth, improving your eyesight, and keeping your immune system in good shape. When cooked, carrots end up increasing the concentration of this substance even more.
If that wasn’t enough, cooking a carrot with the skin on triples its overall antioxidant power. The only recommendation is that this food is not prepared in a frying pan, as this reduces carotenoid levels by 13%.
