How cooking impacts the nutritional value of various foods

Fillet of Salmon.

Cooking food helps your body digest and absorb nutrients. However, it can also reduce the amount of vitamins and minerals in various ingredients, and the way you cook your meals significantly impacts their nutritional value. Here’s what you should know about cooking various foods.

Vegetables
When it comes to cooking vegetables, the B vitamins and vitamin C are the most vulnerable. Since these vitamins are water-soluble, vegetables should be cooked in as little water as possible to maximize the preservation of nutrients. Steaming, microwaving and roasting are all effective ways to do this.

Additionally, the oil used when grilling and stir-frying helps your body absorb fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K.

Meat
Meat is a major source of several B vitamins, but these heat-sensitive nutrients seep out when meat is cooked for a long time or at a high temperature. To benefit from these vitamins, consume the meat’s cooked juices as well.

Cooking meat at a high temperature also leads to the formation of harmful compounds, so simmering and stewing are preferable to grilling and stir-frying.

Fish
Fatty fish, such as salmon and mackerel, are an important source of omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D. However, omega-3 fatty acids are easily damaged when exposed to the high temperatures required to fry, grill and broil fish.

The most effective way to preserve these nutrients is to use low-temperature cooking methods such as poaching and steaming. Baking also minimizes the loss of vitamin D in fish.

Overall, the best way to preserve the nutrients in cooked food is to limit the use of water, reduce the cooking time and keep the temperature as low as possible.