Yes, the Nutrients Are There

My question is whether you get any nutrients besides sugar and fat from those marshmallow-covered yams or the green beans swimming in condensed mushroom soup and topped with fried onions from a can. The research on cooking techniques and retention of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients in vegetables and fruits is not extensive but overall, the answer is yes. Here’s a synopsis of what I found.

Cooking and Nutrients

The vitamin that seems to be lost regardless of whether it’s boiled, microwaved, or sauteed is vitamin C. Microwaving seems to preserve the most nutrients, but close to 90% of vitamin C is lost.

For some nutrients, such as beta-carotene and other carotenoids, starting with fresh vegetables as opposed to frozen seems to help retain nutrients. The amounts of carotenoids in carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, and yams seem to increase when they are cooked. The same may be true in greens such as spinach and collard greens. Adding bacon doesn’t appear to cause any issues. Using nuts and fruit to make the veggies more attractive can add nutrients as well; for added color and texture, we added slivered almonds and pomegranate seeds to the brussels sprouts with parmesan—yum!

Casseroles may provide the best cooking style when appropriate. Whatever minerals leech out of the vegetables or fruits will be retained in the liquid of the casserole.

Surprise Finding

Cooking may reduce the amount of pesticide residues in vegetables. It’s nice to know that blanching, boiling and even stir frying may decrease residues by 10–80%. The research didn’t look at the liquid used for blanching or boiling, so we don’t know whether it’s a chemical change in the structure of the pesticide or it just leaches it out. Still, it was a welcome surprise.

The Bottom Line

Traditional holiday foods do retain beneficial nutrients. They can’t offset all the fat and sugar that were added, but we’re getting some of the vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients the foods contain. To me, the real lesson is that the way the food is prepared may help you eat more vegetables and fruit. Steamed green beans? Yecch. But covered in a sauce? Maybe that will help get more vegetables into your picky eaters. As long as we control the amount and the frequency, we can feel good about eating holiday foods all year long.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

References:
1. Food Sci Biotechnol. 2017 Dec 12;27(2):333-342
2. Nutr Bull. 2022 Dec;47(4):538-562.  doi: 10.1111/nbu.12584.
3. Foods. 2022 May 18;11(10):1463.