|
|
| Home >
Newsletters >
June 2009 >
The Ways to Cook and How Your Food is Affected |
The Ways to Cook and How Your Food is Affected
|
STEAMING preserves the vitamins and minerals in foods. In this method,
there is no addition of oils and fats, thus controlling fat and calorie
content. When you steam rather than charbroil foods, you also avoid the
danger of consuming carcinogens that are present in blackened foods.
Steaming concentrates the intrinsic flavor and juiciness of foods,
making food taste better.
STIR-FRYING is considered the healthy way to fry. Food is cut into small
pieces, put in a pan with a little water or oil and cooked quickly at
high heat. Vitamin-rich veggies, such as broccoli and carrots, retain
more nutrients, texture and color. Stir-frying does not require fat to
bring out flavor.
FRYING is not an optimal way to cook, as prolonged heating can destroy
nutrients. Butter and/or oil can be absorbed by food, so you ingest more
fat than you think. Oil temperature is also a factor. When oil burns, it
becomes toxic and free radicals are produced. When oil smokes, you
should throw it away.
BOILING can leech out nutrients. The left-over water where the food is
boiled may actually be better for you than the cooked food. However,
some food is best boiled: mustard greens, turnip tops, collards, and
similar vegetables have too strong a taste for other methods of cooking.
Try boiling kale and bitter greens. The left-over water can be used for
purposes such as soup stock.
MICROWAVING, though very convenient and fast, is not a good choice
because some nutrients are lost. And that’s not the only issue. Animal
studies indicate that immunity, cholesterol, hemoglobin, and white blood
cells are adversely affected by microwaving. People who eat heavily
microwaved food have a slightly higher incidence of stomach and
intestinal cancers, digestive disorders, and lymphatic malfunctions. All
of these are controversial and inconclusive, so more studies are needed.
In the meantime, reduce intake of microwaved foods except for heating
purposes.
Try treating your cooking as an art and be aware of the relationship
between your food preparation and nutrients! |
|
|
|