Best healthy ways to cook food

There are many ways to cook food, and some people prefer certain methods for their favorite dishes. But did you know the cooking method affects how many nutrients the food keeps?

After knowing this, you'll probably look for cooking methods that keep the most nutrients in the food instead of just the favorite ways. Or at least you'll try to mix these healthy ways with your usual ones.

For example, long exposure to heat lowers the overall vitamin content in food, but it can increase antioxidants that fight oxidation.

In this article, we'll learn about different cooking methods, how each affects nutrients, and pick the best healthy ways to cook.

How different cooking methods affect nutrients

Not all cooking methods affect nutrients the same. There are always good and healthy ways. Since food is one of life's pleasures, it should be healthy, and cooked the right way.

It's good to know which nutrients are easily affected by heat and which can handle it without changing. Vitamin K And most minerals by heat, contact with water or air, except for the mineral potassium, which can be lost in cooking liquids.

Heat can destroy vitamins H andC, plus most of the vitamins B complex, except riboflavin and niacin.

Cooking in water damages vitamin C, most of the B complex vitamins, and potassium or causes it to leach into the liquid.

Cooking with fats can also decrease Vitamin A, andVitamin D, and Vitamin E.

In general, cooking methods that take a long time lead to losing a lot of nutrients, unlike methods that take less time.

Cooking methods using liquids

There are many different liquids used in cooking with liquids, like water, broth, milk, or any other liquid in cooking, and the cooking methods with liquids vary and can include:-

• Boiling hard:- Boiling in water or any other liquid at a temperature starting from 100 degrees Celsius, and pasta, chicken, shellfish, and eggs are often boiled.

The effect of boiling on nutrients varies depending on the boiling time. Vegetables can lose a lot of vitamins C and B complex, but some important plant compounds (carotenoids) may increase. Some nutrients like potassium settle in the water.

•  Medium boiling:- It happens when food is dipped in boiling water for a short time. This is the first step to preserve foods frozen for long times because it helps keep the bright colors of vegetables. Nutrient loss here is low since cooking time is short.

• Low temperature boiling:- Similar to high boiling but at lower temperatures, less than 100 degrees Celsius. The liquid is heated to boiling, then the heat is lowered and it’s left to cook. Nutrient loss here is similar to high boiling.

• Poaching:- Also like boiling but the water doesn’t boil before putting in the food. So poaching is less intense than boiling, but nutrient loss is similar. Eggs, fish, and some fruits are often poached.

• Cooking:- Cooking in liquid at low temperatures usually takes a long time with heat exposure, so many nutrients like vitamin C are lost. But you can benefit from the nutrients that settle in the broth or sauce as long as you eat them too.

• Using steam:- Steam uses liquids too, but the food isn't submerged. It cooks in steam rising from the liquid. This way, fewer nutrients get destroyed or lost. You might need special steam cooking pots.

• Pressure:- Pressure cooking also uses special pots. This method lets you cook at very high temperatures and cuts cooking time way down compared to boiling. You lose fewer nutrients this way.

While cooking in liquids can cause loss of many nutrients at varying levels depending on the type, it doesn't need added fats, which lowers the calorie content In the final dish.

Also, steaming is considered the best cooking method using liquids because it keeps most of the nutrients intact.

Cooking methods using dry heat

There are many cooking methods where only heat is used without adding liquids to the food, but here you can use some fat to prevent the food from sticking to the pots, which adds more calories to the dishes, These methods include:-

• Roasting:- Roasting means cooking food in the oven with or without some fat added, at temperatures between 150 - 220 degrees Celsius. It is often used to cook meat, fish, and vegetables. Roasting destroys vitamin C and most B vitamins due to the heat. It can also destroy vitamins A and E if extra fat is added.

• Sauté frying:- Sautéing is a dry heating method that usually needs small amounts of fat. It’s mostly used to cook vegetables and some marinated tender meats. This method loses a small number of nutrients because cooking time is short.

• Grilling:- Grilling means cooking on charcoal, flame, or any other heat source with or without adding fat. This method causes loss of heat-sensitive vitamins and some fats from the grilled foods. It often includes fish, meat, vegetables, and some fruits.

• Baking:- Baking is mostly used to prepare pastries like pizza, biscuits, and bread. It’s also used for some casseroles like meat, potatoes, and fish. The heat here destroys vitamin C and many B vitamins.

• Microwave:- Microwave ovens are mostly used to heat leftovers, but they are good for cooking some vegetables too. Cooking time is short which means less nutrient loss. The real risk is whether the microwave heat is enough to kill bacteria, so it’s not a good way to cook meat and poultry.

Cooking methods using fat

Besides losing nutrients, cooking methods using fats can add a lot of calories to dishes. Some cooking methods with fat include: They are:

• Deep frying: This method happens when food is fully submerged in oil heated between 145 -190 degrees Celsius. This is a fast way to cook food so nutrient loss is small or at least less than boiling.

• Pan frying:- Food is also cooked in hot oil but with less oil. The pan is used to stir the food. This way the food soaks up a lot of fat and calories.

• Stir frying: Stir frying uses high heat and little oil. But since cooking time is short, liquid loss is small and added calories are low.

Amount of nutrients lost in different cooking methods

Overall, some estimates of nutrient loss in foods depending on the cooking method can be given as follows:-

• Boiling:- 35 - 60% of the nutrients get lost.

• Roasting:- 10 - 47% of the nutrients get lost.

•  Steaming:- 10 - 25% of the nutrients get lost.

• Cooking, baking, grilling10 - 12% of the nutrients are lost.

• Frying:7 - 10% of the nutrients are lost.

• Pressure cooking5 - 10% of the nutrients are lost.

Beyond the way you cook food, there are some steps that make your final dishes healthier and keep a good amount of nutrients, which include:

• Cook vegetables just until they're done, not until they're soft.

• Serve cooked dishes right away because keeping them warm for too long destroys vitamin C.

• Add some fresh fruits and veggies to make up for nutrients lost during cooking.

• Choose healthy fats to add to your food, like olive oil or canola oil.

• Drink the cooking liquids that have nutrients in them, like soup and broth.

• When grilling, let the meat dry and turn brown, and make sure the grill is hot before you put the food on.

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