Foods That Are More Nutritious When Cooked

Some nights you want nothing to do with meal prep. Maybe you deviate from the typical route home to the nearest sushi restaurant or settle for a salad thrown together with whatever’s left in your fridge. Fact is, you could be seriously missing out if you’re not taking the time to cook your own eats. Not only do people who cook their meals at home eat healthier and fewer calories than those who cook less, according to one Johns Hopkins University study, but their bodies are better for it, too. That’s right: Certain eats are simply better for you when you take the time to cook them. Specifically, a lot of your favorite vegetables.

“With certain foods, adding heat breaks down the cell walls, which helps release more antioxidants from the food, meaning it's easier for our body to access them,” says Alissa Rumsey MS, RD, CSCS, of Alissa Rumsey Nutrition and Wellness in New York City. On the short list: beta carotene, lycopene, quercetin, rutin, lutein and zeaxanthin.

Before we get into which vegetables are better for you after turning up the heat, there are a few factors to take into consideration. First off, how you prepare them. “Cooking by boiling (in small amounts of water), steaming and baking can make certain antioxidants more bioavailable,” says Dr. Josh Axe, clinical nutritionist and founder of Ancient Nutrition and DrAxe.com. Bonus: If you combine healthy fats like ghee or coconut oil with your cooking, you'll absorb these available nutrients even better.

But eater, beware. Just because these foods are good for you doesn’t mean you should throw on your chef’s hat and get cooking every single night. Just like your favorite workout, do this in moderation. “Just like it’s important to get a variety of vegetables with different colors and textures, it is also important to eat vegetables a variety of ways raw and cooked,” says Megan Ostler MS, RDN, Head of Nutrition at iFit.

Here, Axe offers up five vegetables that are better for you when cooked:

Carrots

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The beta carotene in carrots is drastically increases and converts to vitamin A when this veggie is exposed to heat. Each cup of steamed carrots contains more than 21,000 international units, (or IU) of vitamin A. Considering guys only need about 3,000 IU daily -- this is a total win.

Bok choy

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Do yourself a favor and snag some of this popular Asian cooking ingredient. As with carrots, cooking bok choy increases the beta carotene content significantly when cooked. Plus, studies have shown that those who eat cruciferous vegetables (including bok choy) have a lower risk of developing lung, prostate, and colon cancer.

Asparagus

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“Cooking asparagus breaks down the plant cell walls that make many of its antioxidants inaccessible when raw,” says Axe. “You can get up to 98 percent more quercetin from cooked asparagus than raw.” Added bonus? It’s a natural aphrodisiac, thanks to folate and vitamin B6, which can help boost feelings of arousal.

Tomatoes

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When you cook tomatoes, the structure of lycopene molecules changes to what is most easily absorbed by your body, says Axe. Good news for your eyes, since this member of the fruit family contains carotenoids, like lutein and lycopene, which can protect against light damage.

Shiitake Mushrooms

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Shiitakes contain potent phytonutrients that help keep cells from sticking to blood vessel walls and forming plaque buildup, which helps to improve circulation and improve healthy blood pressure. Just watch how you prepare them. Research published in the International Journal of Food Sciences revealed that the best way to cook shiitake mushrooms and preserve their nutritional properties is to grill or microwave them.

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