Which Vegetables and Fruits Become Healthier After Heat Treatment 0 8

Which products are preferable to consume in stewed, boiled, or baked form (frying usually has a negative effect on the product, increasing its calorie content, and the oil used for frying can release carcinogenic substances)? Specialists explain this.

Tomatoes

This popular salad vegetable contains a lot of the antioxidant lycopene. This substance has anti-cancer properties, lowers the level of "bad" low-density cholesterol in the blood, and helps alleviate menopause symptoms in women. “Tomatoes are especially beneficial for the elderly, as a lack of lycopene increases the risk of age-related degeneration of the retina,” warns Svetlana Pavlichenko, a cardiologist. “The beneficial properties of lycopene are activated by heating. The highest amount of lycopene is found in tomato sauce, stewed, and baked tomatoes in various dishes.”

Apples

This fruit significantly benefits our gastrointestinal tract by improving intestinal function. The fact is that apples are rich in pectin—a jelly-like substance that acts as fiber and promotes cleansing and improvement of the gastrointestinal tract. “When our gastrointestinal tract functions well, it leads to a decrease in cholesterol levels, improved lipid metabolism, normalization of digestion and stool, as well as improved skin condition,” says Anna Ivashkevich, a nutritionist, clinical psychologist-dietitian, and family therapist. “Moreover, in processed form, pectin becomes more accessible to the body and is better absorbed, so baked and stewed apples are very beneficial.” Additionally, consuming a large number of fresh apples can cause sourness and discomfort in the stomach, while baked apples do not cause such problems. “Of course, some vitamins and minerals are destroyed at high temperatures, but the benefits of pectin are hard to overestimate, and it is better absorbed when heated,” adds Anna Ivashkevich.

Broccoli

This cabbage has a distinctive taste and, like all vegetables from the cabbage family, is very beneficial. It contains fiber, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, manganese, sulfur, vitamins C, B1, B2, B5, B6, PP, E, K, and provitamin A. It is also rich in beta-carotene. Broccoli has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

“Broccoli is one of the most beneficial vegetables, containing the antioxidant sulforaphane,” notes Svetlana Pavlichenko. “It contains sulfur, which gives broccoli its unique aroma. In addition to its specific smell, sulforaphane reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and certain cancers. Like lycopene in tomatoes, sulforaphane reveals its beneficial properties during heat treatment. The most beneficial broccoli is steamed or boiled.”

Pumpkin

This sweet product can be an excellent low-calorie side dish. There are only 22 kcal in 100 grams of pumpkin pulp. Pumpkin is rich in fiber, pectin, organic acids, and omega fatty acids. “Pumpkin contains vitamins A and C, making it beneficial along with turnips for feeding friendly bacteria in the microbiome,” points out Mikhail Kutushov, a toxicologist and candidate of medical sciences. “The pumpkin pulp has a unique vitamin-mineral complex. This vegetable is high in vitamin PP, retinol, ascorbic acid, pyridoxine, folic acid, riboflavin, vitamin B5, thiamine, and tocopherol. It also contains various minerals and their compounds, such as phosphorus, fluorine, potassium, chlorine, calcium, iron, magnesium, iodine, and sodium.”

Pectin, like beta-carotene, is better absorbed after processing, but it should be gentle. “It is best to consume pumpkin in steamed or boiled form,” recommends Mikhail Kutushov, “as this vegetable provides a long-lasting feeling of fullness due to its high fiber content.”

Carrots

Beta-carotene is a well-known antioxidant that protects the body from aging and has anti-cancer properties. When heated, beta-carotene is better absorbed by the body. Carrots also contain lycopene, although in smaller amounts than tomatoes, which is also better absorbed after heat treatment.

“Raw carrots contain a lot of coarse fiber, which may not be beneficial for people with gastrointestinal diseases,” says Svetlana Peres de Montes Raterik, a clinical geneticist and nutritionist. “After heat treatment, the content of lipids and fiber in the root vegetable decreases, making the vegetable more easily digestible, improving intestinal function and enhancing gastric juice production.”

Fermented Cabbage

There is an opinion that the amount of vitamin C increases in fermented cabbage, but this is not entirely true. Rather, it can be said that the capricious vitamin, which breaks down during prolonged storage and heating of products, is better preserved in fermented cabbage.

Nevertheless, the fermented vegetable indeed acquires additional beneficial properties. “After fermentation, this product turns into a probiotic—a source of beneficial live microorganisms, as well as a prebiotic—a source of food for the microbiome,” explains Svetlana Pavlichenko. “The intestinal microbiome brings invaluable benefits to a person by participating in numerous metabolic processes.”

During the fermentation process, the number of lactobacilli—important representatives of the microbiome—intensely increases in cabbage. Once in the intestines, they prevent the development of opportunistic pathogens that can cause diseases under certain conditions. “Moreover, lactobacilli help absorb certain vitamins and create a natural barrier on the intestinal walls that prevents pathogenic microbes and toxins from entering the bloodstream,” adds the expert.