People trying to get better nutrition in their diet by eating more veg may be cooking the food all wrong, according to an expert.
A food science professor has urged people to consider how they can preserve nutrients such as protein, antioxidants. vitamins and polyphenols by changing their cooking process of choice, resulting in the most nourishing meal possible.
Dr Keith Warriner, a professor at the University of Guelph's food science lab, told Global News that through boiling veg, you will end up losing vitamins through "leeching".
The refers to a process whereby nutrients such as vitamin C, folate, and niacin, are pulled out into the boiling water and most likely wasted. This is particularly true if you end up boiling your veggies for a lengthy amount of time, reports The Mirror.
Warning foodies to try another cooking method instead, Dr Warriner explained: "You're going to lose a lot of the nutrients in the water unless you use it for soup."
Global News then went on to cite a 2013 study where University of Illinois scientists cooked vegetables using three different methods: steaming, boiling, and stir-frying.
It was discovered that steaming - for just three to four minutes until your veg is lovely and vibrant - is probably the best way to retain as many healthy vitamins and enzymes as possible.
Stir-frying could also be a good option, as long as you keep the stir-frying time to a minimum and don't use too much heat. Using an oil with a higher smoke point, such as avocado, almond, corn, canola, grapeseed, or peanut oil can also help in this instance.
Dietitian Susan Macfarlane advised the publication that one easy and effective way to stir-fry veg is to briefly steam, before stir-frying quickly.
