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Attention raw-food fanatics: We're sharing healthy cooked vegetables, plus two that you should keep enjoyingraw.
By
Betty Gold
Betty Gold
Betty Gold is the former senior digital food editor at Real Simple.
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Updated on May 18, 2023
Fact checked by
Emily Peterson
Fact checked byEmily Peterson
Emily Peterson is an experienced fact-checker and editor with Bachelor's degrees in English Literature and French.
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"Eat your veggies," they say, and the more the merrier. U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommend at least 2½ cups (about three servings) per day, so if you love snacking on raw carrot sticks, don't let us get in your way.
But "they" usually don't elaborate on how to eat your vegetables, and their nutritional value varies with how they're prepared and served. While most veggies offer the optimal amount of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients when consumed raw, some cooked vegetables are actually healthier than their raw counterparts.
"Cooking vegetables can make it easier for your body to absorb their nutritional benefits," says Tracy Lockwood Beckerman, RD, author of The Better Period Food Solution. Here are four types of veggies Beckerman advises we consume cooked (rather than raw) to fully reap their nutrients—and two that are healthier raw.
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Tomatoes
While slurping a raw fresh tomato straight from the garden is one of summer's simple pleasures, cooking them offers additional benefits. "Cooking tomatoes does something remarkable to their cellular makeup," Beckerman says. "It breaks down their stubborn cellular walls so the body can mop up valuable nutrients, such as lycopene, which is a superstar antioxidant." Lycopene can help fight off colds and keep you protected during flu season.
However, not all cooking is ideal. Be careful not to burn or char your tomatoes (or any food for that matter) because cooking at a high temperature can diminish useful vitamins and minerals.
Try It: Roasted Tomatoes With Shrimp and Feta
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Carrots
Raw carrots are fine, but cooked carrots are better for you. Cooking carrots allows beta carotene, an antioxidant compound that gets converted to vitamin A in the intestine, to absorb more easily in the body, explains Beckerman. This helps your body soak up even more health benefits, like boosting your immunity and promoting eye health.
An ideal nutrition combination is carrots with an iron-rich grain, such as sorghum or buckwheat. Research shows that beta carotene significantly enhances the absorption of iron by protecting it from diminishing.
Try It: Pork Burgers With Crispy Carrot Fries
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Spinach
Contrary to popular belief, cooking spinach boosts the amount of iron in the final product when compared to raw spinach. Cooking also increases the bioavailability of other nutrients like vitamin A, E, and zinc.
As a bonus, adding vitamin C to your meal (like lemon juice or orange segments), significantly enhances iron absorption in your body. No vitamin C-rich foods handy? Get a similar effect by taking a multivitamin that has vitamin C with your meal.
Try It: Wilted Sesame Spinach
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Asparagus
Cooking asparagus helps to break down the thick cell walls of the asparagus stalk and helps our body absorb disease-fighting vitamins like A, C, and E. According to Beckerman, sautéing asparagus (or other veggies) in a drizzle of healthy oil (like olive oil) also helps increase the bioavailability of asparagus' key nutrients.
Try It: Fettuccine With Asparagus, Leeks, and Mint
Veggies That Are Better Raw
On the flip side, cucumber and celery are nutritionally superior when consumed raw. When cooked, celery loses certain valuable antioxidants, causing a reduction in the vegetable's nutritional value.
Additionally, a delicate antioxidant in cucumbers called fisetin—known for its anti-inflammatory, disease-fighting, and neuroprotective properties—dissolves when cooked in water.
Try It: Celery, Cucumber, and Pineapple Juice Smoothie
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Sources
Real Simple is committed to using high-quality, reputable sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts in our articles. Read our editorial guidelines to learn more about how we fact check our content for accuracy.
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USDA FoodData Central, Spinach, cooked, boiled, drained, with salt. Accessed June 9, 2023.
USDA FoodData Central, Spinach, raw. Accessed June 9, 2023.
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