Keri says:
Here’s the deal: Just eat them! Whether they’re cooked or raw, all veggies are fair game. No need to overthink it. The truth is, most people aren’t hitting their daily veggie goals, so if you’re getting them in—no matter how you prep them—you’re doing your body a huge favor!
High veggie consumption is associated with:
- Reduced risk of chronic diseases
- Weight loss and management
- Improved gut health
- Stronger immune system
That said, there’s actually a little science that breaks down the differences in benefits.
Scientists believe that you do, in fact, get more calories from the same amount of food when it’s cooked, as opposed to raw.
The way we measure calories doesn’t factor in the energy your body uses to digest food. This is known as the thermic effect of food (TEF), the amount of energy it takes for your body to digest, absorb, and metabolize the food you eat. So, when you cook your food, you’re doing part of the job for your body. Translation? Your body has less work to do and burns slightly fewer calories. On the flip side, with raw foods, your body has to work harder, which means you actually burn off some of the calories while digesting. Cool, right?
Is it true that cooked vegetables offer lesser nutritional value than raw vegetables?
Some science has shown that water soluble vitamins like B and C may be lost when vegetables are cooked. The largest amount of vitamin loss was found in veggies that had been boiled.
On the other hand, antioxidant availability may actually go up in some cooked veggies.
Research shows that cooking some of your veggies actually increases levels of certain antioxidants such as beta-carotene in carrots and lycopene in tomatoes (the amount of vitamin C however is shown to go down). This is why you may have heard that cooked tomatoes or tomato sauce was better for you than eating them on your salad.
So, the net net of it all?
Veggies are veggies whether you eat them cooked, or raw. You can rest easy if you enjoy your veggies roasted over raw and feel free to consume the “extra” unknown calories in cooked veggies (there’s not enough of them to count). Personally, I’m all about mixing it up, because when you prep them in different ways, you’ll end up eating more! So get your veggies in beginning at breakfast and straight through to dinner and don’t stress about the prep method (as long of course they are not sitting in a pool of butter or cheese.)
(Image: Unsplash)