Raw or boiled vegetables: where is the maximum benefit

It's a well-known fact: in fresh fruits, not subjected to heat treatment, a maximum of useful vitamins and minerals is preserved. And the fiber contained in them helps to remove dangerous toxins from the body, stimulates intestinal motility and normalizes digestion. But did you know that many of the usual vegetables that we try to eat raw will bring much more benefit when boiled? Together with estet-portal.com, we will find out which of the most popular and favorite vegetables will bring much more benefit if they are pre-boiled.

1. Cooked Carrots: An Affordable Source of Beta Carotene
2. Ode to ketchup and tomato sauce
3. Spinach – favorite among boiled vegetables
4. Cabbage stew: a sumptuous side dish and vitamins
5. Boiled beets: borscht, vinaigrette and beetroot
6. Broccoli: A real gem from the steamer

Cooked Carrots: An Affordable Source of Beta Carotene

Carrot – one of the most popular root crops, characterized by a high content of beta-carotene, which we need to prevent premature aging, cancer and vision problems. Scientists managed to establish that boiled carrots share not only beta-carotene with us much more generously, we absorb much more antioxidants from it than we could get by eating this root vegetable fresh . However, the benefits of carrots in your soup or stew don't stop there. Boiled or stewed carrots are quite appropriate in the diet of children and people with problems in the digestive tract. Why?

The high fiber and pectin content of raw carrots can put too much stress on the liver and pancreas. In such cases,

boiled vegetables help out: they are much easier to digest by our body.

Broccoli: A true treasure from the steamer

Broccoli – one of the most "fashionable" vegetables, the popularity of which has been growing rapidly in recent decades. This vegetable, a little exotic for us, serves as a source of vitamin K, which ensures optimal absorption of calcium, which means that it protects bone and connective tissue from premature aging. And broccoli contains solid reserves of vitamin A, which we need for good vision and high immunity. Among the minerals in this amazing variety of cabbage, manganese, sodium, phosphorus, calcium and iron are in the lead.

Nutritionists have found that regular consumption of broccoli contributes to the effective prevention of certain forms of cancer and helps fight systemic neurological diseases, strengthens blood vessels and helps maintain excellent vision.

But how do you eat this wonderful vegetable to get the most out of it? This rather delicate product is recommended by experts to be steamed – so it retains all its healing properties:

Divide the broccoli into small florets.
Pour water into a 3L pot so that it only covers the cabbage. If you pour too much water, the cabbage will turn out boiled, not steamed.
Bring the water to a boil and put the broccoli in a pot.
Cook covered for 3 minutes over high heat.
After that, reduce the heat to a minimum and cook the same amount more.
Serve with butter.

Ode to ketchup and tomato sauce

Tomatoes are always associated with hot summers and the invariable salad of fresh vegetables, which at this time of the year often complements lunch or dinner, and sometimes even replaces a meal. During this period, we usually prefer fresh tomatoes, leaving less healthy ketchups and tomato sauces for the cold winter. But are stewed tomatoes so useless? Vitamin C, indeed, is largely destroyed by heating. However, the pigment lycoptin, which gives tomatoes their scarlet color and is a powerful antioxidant that prevents the development of malignant neoplasms, is absorbed much better from heat-treated fruits. So your favorite tomato sauces,

which you can season with pasta, cereals or boiled vegetables, as well as Homemade ketchups, which contain a moderate amount of salt, spices and no artificial preservatives, emulsifiers and flavor enhancers, will give food a unique taste and will be healthy. 

Spinach – one of the most amazing types of leafy greens, the beneficial properties of which can be talked about for a very long time. Tender spinach leaves – a real treasure for those who carefully monitor their health. They are rich in vegetable proteins and calcium, contain magnesium, phosphorus, iodine, iron and the most necessary vitamins A, C, E, PP and group B vitamins.

Heat treatment significantly increases the vitamin and nutritional value of this product. Suffice it to say that in boiled (or stewed) spinach, the concentration of special vegetable pigments increases by almost a quarter – carotenoids. For the human body, they act as a powerful antioxidant. In addition, cooking allows you to almost triple the content of calcium, which provides strength to our bones and controls blood clotting.

Cabbage – one of the most familiar, traditional vegetables that we used to include in our diet quite often. Fortunately, in the recipe of our most beloved cabbage soup, borscht and second courses, cooked cabbage occupies a central place.  This is practically a universal product:

tender leaves of young cabbage become the basis for the first fresh vegetable salads of spring;

• sauerkraut – cheap and effective way to deal with spring hypovitaminosis;
• stewed (or boiled) sauerkraut  as part of soups, stews or pastry fillings – a real treasure containing a record concentration of valuable vitamins.
• stewed or boiled
cabbage – it is not only tasty, this dish is not too high in calories, and, in addition, in this form, its coarse dietary fibers irritate the stomach much less.

We decided to cook a classic dish of Russian cuisine – cabbage soup? Do not boil them for future use, after storage in the refrigerator, the content of much-needed vitamin C is reduced by almost 90%!

Beetroot, has a bright saturated color and contains a completely unique complex of vitamins and minerals. Of course, B vitamins – not so uncommon, they are present in a wide variety of vegetables and root crops. However, beets, in addition to a group of vitamins and minerals, contain beatin. This compound has a beneficial effect on liver function and promotes protein absorption. We usually boil or stew beets – in its raw form, this vegetable is poorly absorbed by the body. Fortunately, even prolonged heating does not reduce the nutritional value of this wonderful product. Moreover, all vitamins and minerals will be better absorbed by your body.

Usually we use only beet roots, mercilessly throwing away the most valuable product – beetroot. You can add it to soups or dishes of ancient Slavic cuisine: botvinya or beetroot. Well, in winter, beets are useful for making vinaigrette – traditional salad of boiled vegetables.

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