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Thread: Cooking spinach and other greens?

  1. #1
    Pascale's Avatar
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    Default Cooking spinach and other greens?

    I was reading some articles online about cooking vegetables, and I read one article stating that uncooked vegetables such as spinach and lettuce have no nutritional value besides fiber without being cooked. This seemed really wrong, but I wasn't entirely sure. What do you guys think?

  2. #2
    Abe Froman Risker's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cooking spinach and other greens?

    Doesn't sound at all likely to me.

  3. #3
    sugarmouse
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    Default Re: Cooking spinach and other greens?

    do you have a linkor copy of the article?what did it say and waht was it for?it does sound strange

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    Default Re: Cooking spinach and other greens?

    Everything I've read indicates precisely the opposite - cooking destroys nutrients. Besides, who cooks lettuce?

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    Default Re: Cooking spinach and other greens?

    The statement that raw green leafy vegetables have no nutritional value other than fiber is patently absurd. Indeed, there is no ordinary food that we eat that has more nutritional density than raw green leafy vegetables. A review of the scientific literature will quickly disprove this silly statement. Raw green leafy veggies are not only supremely nutrient dense, they are also some of our greatest sources of phytonutrients and antioxidants in the diet.

    Best,
    Josh

  6. #6
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    Default Re: Cooking spinach and other greens?

    I agree with Josh.

    Although I have heard that cooking certain vegetables enhances rather than destroys their nutritional value, or makes the nutrients more available to the body. Not sure which. I've heard that broccoli and tomatoes fall into that category. That broccoli should be lightly cooked (preferably steamed) and that cooked tomatoes are better than raw.

    Anyone heard this or am I talking out my other end? (Wouldn't be the first time... :| )

  7. #7
    baffled harpy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cooking spinach and other greens?

    I've heard something similar, Daffy.

    IIRC light cooking is thought to increase the availability of some nutrients in, e.g. brassicas, by breaking down the cell walls so that the body can digest substances that would otherwise, er, pass straight through the system.

    On the other hand some nutrients are lost in cooking so it could be a good policy to eat a mixture of cooked and raw foods - which of course most of us do anyway.

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    Default Re: Cooking spinach and other greens?

    Harpy and Daffy are both right. Items such as beta carotene and lycopene are better absorbed when cooked (and when some fat is present in the meal).

    And there are some other key nutrients which are better absorbed when cooked. But for the most part, most nutrients are better absorbed raw. For veggies which have tough cell walls, an ideal way to get the benefit of those foods in raw form is to get a high quality blender and place those veggies in the blender to break down those walls. Most of the phytochemicals in broccoli are actually better absorbed raw because they are heat sensitive. To get into specifics, the heat inactivates the myrosinase in broccoli, which is the enzyme responsible for breaking down broccoli's glucosinolates into the active anti-cancer compounds.

    But, I am also a huge fan of eating lightly steamed greens because you can eat far more greens that way and get better absorption of those heat stable phytochemicals as well as simply getting far higher doses of the plant protective compounds in greens (because greens shrink so much when you steam them), you can eat far more of those than you can of the raw. I aim for a balance of 1 pound a day of raw greens (and other raw veggies) and one pound of steamed greens.

    Best,
    Josh

  9. #9
    Pascale's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cooking spinach and other greens?

    Thanks for the replies. I tried to find the article again, but I couldn't find it. I didn't think it was true, but I just wanted to be sure.

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