What are the benefits of boiled vegetables

Vegetables – a valuable source of many nutrients. They are rich in fiber, they contain a number of vitamins and minerals. Not all vegetables can be consumed raw, so they are subjected to a heat treatment – boiled, fried, stewed, baked. However, whether the beneficial properties of this vegetable after cooking, e.g., boiling?

Useful than boiled vegetables

It is widely believed that after cooking, the vitamin content in vegetables decreases dramatically. However, it is not always so, for example, if you cook vegetables too long, and under strong reflux. And the benefits of cooked vegetables is undeniable.

First, the result of cooking the cell walls of the vegetables are softened, which leads to better assimilation of nutrients. For example, by eating broccoli or spinach raw, as it absorbs no more than 2-3% carotenoids, and if he eats the same product after cooking, the absorption of carotenoids will be increased to 30%. In boiled carrots contains about 3 times more antioxidants than raw. Many raw vegetables contain strontium, which displaces calcium and magnesium from the body. During the heat treatment the content of strontium decreases sharply.

The same applies to the tomatoes. A decrease in the concentration of the vitamin after thermal processing more than kompensiruet increased absorption of lycopene – the substance that gives tomatoes their red color. But the lycopene has a pronounced antioxidant effect. It is therefore advisable to regularly eat boiled or stewed carrots and tomatoes in the prevention of cancer and other serious illnesses. Cooked beetroot is very useful when cooking this root vegetable useful properties not disappear.

In addition, some people, especially suffering from diseases of the digestive system contraindicated coarse fiber contained in raw vegetables. It is poorly digested and absorbed. After heat treatment (boiling), this problem disappears.

Finally, young children who have not yet fully adjusted work of all systems of the body, can be harmful raw vegetables. Therefore it is better to give them vegetables in cooked form.

How to minimize the loss of vitamins when cooking vegetables

There are a few simple but effective rules to help you minimize loss of vitamins when cooked. First of all, try to cook vegetables immediately after you cleaned it. If for some reason you can't do that, put the peeled vegetables in a bowl of cold water.

When the water boils, reduce the heat so that the boil was barely visible, and cover the pan. Even better is to cook steamed vegetables. With this method of cooking the loss of vitamins is minimal.