It is rightly said that 'we are what we eat'. Our everyday meal plays a major role in building overall health. Hence, elders and health experts time and again stress including healthy vegetables, dairy products, nuts, seeds and more in our daily diet. The importance of these healthy food ingredients is not unknown to the world. But did you, your cooking technique has a major role to play as well? The way you cook your food affects the amount of nutrients your meal will contain. Let us explain it to you. While we cook a dish, the natural forms of various ingredients get processed for our consumption. This can have a significant impact on the amount of nutrients that are retained in the food. Different cooking methods can either increase or decrease the nutritional content of the food. This depends much on the type of food ingredient we use.
This often confuses us as to which method one must follow to retain the nutritive value of your food. Much relatable? Fret not, as always, we have found an easy solution for you. Nutritionist Lovneet Batra recently took to her Instagram handle to share a few quick tips that one must keep in mind while cooking food, especially vegetables. Let's take a look.
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Here're 6 Easy Ways To Retain the Nutritive Value Of Food:
1. Use the right oils:
Cooking with the right kind of oil may help preserve nutrients in food by protecting it from heat damage. When food is cooked on high heat, some nutrients get destroyed. This is where oil comes to the rescue. It slows down the process and allows the retention of nutrients. Besides, oil includes some essential nutrients such vitamins A, D, E and K, which are fat-soluble; meaning, these vitamins help the body absorb the healthy fats properly.
2. Choose the right cooking method:
Choosing the right cooking method may help retain nutrients in food and minimise the loss of vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients. According to Lovneet Batra, some of the best cooking methods to retain nutrients are boiling, steaming and stir-frying. She further mentions that covering the utensil properly, while cooking or storing, helps preserve the nutritive value of a dish, especially a vitamin C.
3. Cook at low temperature:
We all know slow-cooking helps make the food juicier, more aromatic and flavourful. It helps infuse the flavours of every element properly, elevating our overall meal experience by leaps and bounds. That's not all. It's good for your health too. As per the expert, some nutrients in your food can be destroyed when cooked at high temperatures. Hence, it is advised to cook food at low temperatures to preserve the essential nutrients well.
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4. Limit boiling:
As we all know, too much of anything can have a negative impact on us. While boiling is deemed as one of the healthiest methods of cooking food, overdoing it may have an exactly opposite effect. Vitamin C is water soluble and sensitive to heat. So over-boiling vegetables may wash out the water-soluble vitamins and B vitamins from your food.
5. Avoid re-heating:
Several nutrients in food are heat sensitive. So, reheating food may lead to a loss of nutrients, especially if it is reheated multiple times. That's not all. Certain foods, such as oils and fats, when reheated at high temperatures, can form harmful compounds, further affecting our overall health.
6. Avoid dicing or cutting vegetables into small chunks:
Nutrients in vegetables are often concentrated in the outer layers. So, peeling or cutting those layers can result in some nutrient loss. Additionally, overcooking vegetables (that are cut into small pieces) can result in the loss of certain water-soluble nutrients, such as vitamin C.
Next time, when you are cooking food, keep these tips in mind and enjoy a healthy and wholesome meal.