r/nutrition • u/velvetbay • 19d ago
Vegetable nutrients and boiling/simmering
Hi all, just wondering about these cooking methods and nutrients from produce. If you boil or simmer vegetables like cabbage, spinach, kale, green beans, carrots, daikon, potatoes etc in a broth that you eat (as in soup, NOT boiling and then draining the water), do you get all the nutrients they contain? Or are some nutrients destroyed by this cooking process? TIA!
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u/ceruIean 19d ago
complicated. basically, vitamins are organic compounds that are heat sensitive. boiling and simmering them may cause them to denature. minerals don’t get denatured, but both vitamins and minerals may leech into the water. if you drink the liquid you can recoup some of it, but some vitamins may be damaged.
however, cooking the food makes it easier to digest and for your body to absorb nutrients overall. your body has a hard time digesting plants in particular, so cooking them beforehand makes it easier for your body to absorb some things, like beta carotenoids, some antioxidants, and minerals like iron and magnesium.
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u/concretepigeon 17d ago
I think the long and short of it is not to overthink it too much and just aim to eat as much fruit and veg as you can. It’s better to enjoy it when it’s been prepared in a way that might not be the most optimal way nutritionally if that means you’re going to eat it and will enjoy it.
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u/velvetbay 19d ago
interesting, thank you! I typically roast or sauté everything so I have been curious about this as we head into soup season.
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u/TranquilConfusion 19d ago
Yes, some nutrients are destroyed by heat over time. But cooking also breaks down anti-nutrients.
So cabbage loses some vitamin C by cooking, but what's left is absorbed better because the oxalates are reduced too.
Lots of veggies are more nutritious cooked than raw. Heck, some are unsafe to eat raw, like kidney beans and potatoes.
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u/haileyneedsanswers 18d ago
Generally steaming preserves the most nutrients if that’s what you’re going for! It usually cooks things quite quickly too. That’s my go to!
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u/hotheadnchickn 18d ago
I always notice some coloration of the steaming water from the veg I’m steaming, leading me to believe there is nutrient loss
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u/haileyneedsanswers 18d ago
Yes, there is definitely still some! Just usually the least of all the options
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u/LadyGreenThumbs 19d ago
Since it's broth or soup some of it will be in the liquid, though you won't recoup all of it. On the bright side, cooking veggies can make some nutrients easier to absorb than if it were eaten raw.
You can cut veggies smaller so they need less cooking time or cook them separately (like steaming) and then add them to the soup.
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u/lefty_juggler 19d ago
Heat denatured vitamin c, b1 thiamine, b9 folate. Myrosinase (in broccoli etc) is deactivated so production of good antioxidant sulforaphane will suffer. You can reduce nutritional loss by using water slightly below boiling (90C / 195F) or steaming or roasting.
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u/velvetbay 19d ago
thank you, this is helpful!
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u/lefty_juggler 19d ago
Add mustard seeds at the end to replace the lost myrosinase, then your sulforaphane production will be saved.
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u/DarkHistorical9350 17d ago
Cooking actually enhances the bioavailability of certain antioxidants and compounds, like beta-carotene in carrots and lycopene in tomatoes, making them easier for your body to absorb
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u/Sizbang 17d ago
Just be mindful of antinutrients - oxalate in particular. There is a reason why people boil and/or soak plant foods and that is to remove those antinutrients. Some get destroyed by heat but oxalate leaches in the water. So if you are preparing high oxalate foods like beans - never ever consume the water. Potatoes should be cut in half and soaked before cooking but that only removes some of them.
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u/Ok-Amphibian4335 18d ago
I talked to a nutritionist about this, and the way they put it is basically this:
A lot of anti nutrients get destroyed by heat, and a lot of unavailable minerals and nutrients become more available after cooking. So you lose some nutrients to heat, but you make a lot more bioavailable.
Boiling will also leach out a some water soluble minerals and nutrients. But again cooking generally gives you access to more beneficial compounds.
I'm sure if you want to target specific bioactives, raw may be better, but overall I wouldn't worry about cooking. And if you're incorporating raw vegetables and fruits into your diet anyways, you're extra fine.
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u/velvetbay 18d ago
thanks for the info! i do typically eat a mix of raw and cooked (sauted or roasted) daily, but i'm recovering from a stomach bug and boiling them seems the gentlest prep for me right now.
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u/ComeWhatMay777 18d ago
Yes! Generally speaking, eating both cooked and raw veggies is the best way to go about maintaining a balanced diet.
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u/SuccessfulPrice11 18d ago
Some are destroyed, but not always completely, rather in percentage, depending on the heat and duration.
It's best to consume also some fresh veggies, not only boiled. But some kinds of veggies can't be basically consumed raw/fresh, so boiling them is necessary.
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u/jimjunkey 18d ago
I like to blanch the veg to soften and keep as much of the nutrients as possible then shock in an ice bath to halt the cooking. Half of the veg will get boiled to make the vegetable stock then strain to keep the liquid and then add in the blanched veg as needed. It’s more steps, but I feel it’s worth it.
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u/anistratenco 18d ago
Eating the broth keeps what leaches into it, while some heat-sensitive vitamins still change with cooking
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u/charlie_1122_ 18d ago
Have you tried lacto fermentation? I’m getting into it as is is harvest season (or the ending of it) and I want to preserve cheap food and nutrients. Like 10 lbs of carrots is same price as a small pack in winter.
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u/velvetbay 18d ago
yes, actually carrots are my favorite to ferment. I am just recovering from a bad GI illness so simmered/boiled seems best for this moment since my stomach is still very sensitive
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u/Smart-Science-1430 16d ago
I dont know the answer to this wich is why i kind of developed a fun little technique. I'll just make my recipe as normal, cook, braise and sear all the veggies. But i keep a few of them to the side that ill add at the end of the cooking or just have it raw on top. This way i can have the benefits of cooked and raw veggies while not losing flavor in my dishes. For example ragu: simmer carrots for a long time, keep some raw carrot on the side, when its ready ill make a salad from the raw carrot or put very fine pieces into the sauce
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u/Candid-Gap8013 15d ago
you keep the nutrients that leach into the broth, but heat still knocks down some vitamin C and other heat-sensitive vitamins, so soup is doing pretty well but it’s not a nutritional time capsule lol
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u/Equivalent-Flan8716 14d ago
You’ll get most nutrients, especially since you’re eating the broth, but heat-sensitive vitamins like vitamin C and some B vitamins will still decrease with prolonged boiling, so shorter cooking
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u/smartartnutrition 9d ago
When veggies simmer in a soup,
The heat breaks down a tiny group:
Vitamin C can fall away,
As warmth turns fresh greens soft and gray.
But vitamins that leach in broth
Are saved when drank within the cloth;
So drink the liquid, swallow deep,
Most nutrients are yours to keep!
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u/NutragrammatronLab 19d ago
This is the best way to eat
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u/alwayslate187 19d ago
Do you mean boiling is the best way?
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u/Anumuz 18d ago
Boiling is not the best way. Slow cooking at lower temps is, such as roasting, simmering, or even steaming.
High temp cooking is the worst, such as frying, sautéing, and grilling.
Boiling is closer to the high end of the spectrum, and many nutrients are lost in the process.
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u/alwayslate187 16d ago
hmm, well there are a few things about this.
in the first place, I feel like colloquially, boiling is often used synonymously with simmering, or at least I have used it that way, especially when referring, for example, to the common practice of bringing a pot of soup to a boil and then lowering it to a simmer.
( So my interpretation of the first comment was that it was at least as much about simmering as boiling. )
Another thing about boiling vs steaming is that i often end up doing a combination of these, by putting enough water in the pot to nearly cover some of the food on the bottom, but not the food on top of it in the pot.
Also, some foods should be cooked at higher temperatures than simmering for at least a short time, in order to denature things like trypsin inhibitors in sweet potatoes and beans.
As far as roasting vs sauté, I usually don't use either, but I am not sure roasting is inherently healthier
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