Boiling and freezing vegetables - nutrition

[oBakasan]

I frequently include frozen vegetables in my diet since they're cheap and I boil them before eating since it tastes better. Considering that I drink the left over water after boiling them, do you think I loose out on a lot of nutrients by freezing/boiling the vegetables?

[andrew112]

Originally Posted by oBakasan

I frequently include frozen vegetables in my diet since they're cheap and I boil them before eating since it tastes better. Considering that I drink the left over water after boiling them, do you think I loose out on a lot of nutrients by freezing/boiling the vegetables?

I always eat my asparagus frozen. All I do is pour some hot water over the asparagus to thaw it out enough so that I can chew it. I should probably start drinking the water that I pour over the asparagus though, just in case some nutrients escaped into the water.

[colint]

As well as much of the nutritition leaving the vegetables for the water, which would happen inside you, there are other issues with introducing heat.

If you must heat your food, consider steaming, since any loss is absolutely minimal.

The problem with heat is that it denatures the food. Water is not denatured: if you boil it, when it goes cold it returns to water. One of the best examples of denaturing would be boiling an egg. When the temperature rises the egg's natural state is destroyed. Even when the egg is cold again, it is not as before.

Indeed, much of the current concern for the planet is that we are warming her up beyond the point of no return - much like the egg - ie if we warm much further, even cooling later will not return her to the status quo.

At the risk of upsetting a lot of raw foodists, whilst it's true that cooking also destroys the enzymes, I'm not persuaded that is a problem. Enzymes are protein and proteins are broken down in the early stages of digestion in the stomach.


Colin

[MyEyeIsOpen]

I've read studies that concluded that for the average consumer buying veggies from the grocery store, frozen veggies actually contain more nutriets than veggies that were never frozen. Optimally, you'd pick the plant out of the ground and eat it, but short of that, freezing them preserves them longer.

And yes, steaming is where it's at if you're going to cook them. Most veggies are surprisingly good raw though, if you care to try that instead!