Veggies: Is It Better To Consume Them Raw Or Cooked?

Should you eat veggies raw or cooked?

Surprisingly, there are a number of vegetables out there that are actually better cooked - say what now?

In some cases, cooking your veggies allows them to release more nutrients, as well as more cancer-fighting properties such as antioxidants.

(Yes, it’s normal to be mind-blown, especially when there’s tons of info out there saying just the opposite!)

Here’s the veggies in question:

TOMATOES: Tomatoes are another vegetable that is better cooked than eaten raw. Even though they lose a lot of vitamin C in the cooking process, cooked tomatoes make up for it in other areas. They have a higher level of lycopene than their raw counterparts. Lycopene is one of the most powerful antioxidants out there, helping lower the risk of cardiovascular disease and multiple types of cancer. Make sure to cook them with a healthy fat such as olive oil to optimize your body’s ability to absorb all of the goodness!

BELL PEPPER: To fully optimize the health benefits of your bell pepper, you’re best with lightly roasting it. Stick with cooking it for ten minutes or less - that’s the sweet spot. Similar to tomatoes, you will lose some vitamin C in the cooking process. However, the heat from cooking will break down the cell walls of this veggie, allowing you to fully-unlock the other healing benefits of it, such as its multiple varieties of antioxidants.

BROCCOLI: Cruciferous veggies such as broccoli are packed with glucosinolates, which can be converted into cancer-fighting compounds within your body. This one is a bit tricky - chopping up the veggies helps activate glucosinolates, but cooking alone will destroy it. To over come this problem, chop broccoli up 90 minutes prior to cooking to allow it to activate within the veggie. Lightly roasting them or steaming is best.

SPINACH: Spinach packs high levels of magnesium, iron, and calcium. Eating this veggie raw is best, and chopping it up will allow it to release the most veggies. My recommendation: chop it up into a salad, or throw it in a smoothie and allow your blender to do the chopping for you. If you do cook this one, follow the protocol of broccoli, and chop it up 90 minutes prior to allow the nutrients to activate.

MUSHROOMS: Mushrooms are best cooked as well. Packed with antioxidants, exposing them to heat only amplifies the activities of these. Cooked mushrooms also have a higher level of nutrients such as potassium and zinc. Lastly, some varieties of raw mushrooms contain agaritine, which is a potentially cancer causing substance. Cooking them will eliminate this toxin, allowing you to enjoy them risk-free.

ASPARAGUS: Most of us consume this veggie in its cooked form anyways, but there’s good reason to continue doing so. By cooking asparagus, you are raising the level of absorbable nutrients by up to 25%. These nutrients include several antioxidants, such as phenolic acid, which is has been linked to lower cancer rates. For best results, boil them and then coat with olive oil - the healthy fats will help you absorb the nutrients.

KALE: Rejoice in the fact that cooking this veggie is actually healthier than eating it raw! When this veggie is cooked, it creates enzymes that reduce the levels of isothiocyanates that kale naturally contains when raw. Isothiocyanates aren’t great for you in the fact that they prevent the body from using iodine for the thyroid - which helps regulate your metabolism. Steaming kale will prevent this problem, while also optimizing the amount of nutrients and antioxidants that kale naturally contains.