Healthiest Cooking Methods

HEALTHY A METHODS BY: C.KOBLES MADNES TO YOUR *1 STEAM Steaming vegetables is thought to help retain the most nutrients. Steamed broccoli holds on to more glucosinolate-which can help reduce risk of cancer-than boiled or fried broccoli. Steaming allows food to stew in its own juices and retain the qualities that make vegetables so healthy. BROIL Broiled items are cooked for a short period of time under an intense direct heat, which minimizes the loss of nutrients and reduces fat. Broiling also enhances the flavor of foods. This is not an ideal way to cook veggies because it tends to dry them out, and you may end up slathering on a lot of marinade to keep your food flavorful. IMICROWAVE Cooking with a microwave does a better job of preserving vitamins, minerals, and other compounds that make vegetables nutri- tious because the cooking times are short- er. Some nutrients break down when they're exposed to too much heat. * STIR FRY Stir fry involves quickly frying small pieces of food in a large pan over very high heat, while constantly stirring. While this method does require some oil in the pan, it should only be a moderate amount – just enough to get a nice sear on your meat and vegetables. #S BAKE Baking doesn't use any water so minerals are retained and vitamin loss is only due to heat. When baking is defined as being done with the vegetable and skin intact, this minimizes contact with the air and also reduces nutrient loss when compared with boiling. RAW Raw food diets are all the craze these days and with good reason: raw vegetables keep all their vitamins and minerals. They also retain more fiber and water than cooked food. But it's also true that the cell walls-cellulose-- of raw vegetables remain intact, so certain nutrients aren't absorbed by our bodies as easily as with cooked foods. POACH7 Poaching is a cooking technique where food is gently simmered at low heat in liquid-generally water, stock, milk or wine. Not only is it an oil-free process, but it also reduces the excess fat of a food and makes it easier to digest. 836oil Cooking vegetables in water causes some of the nutrients to leach out. For example, boiled broccoli loses glucosinolate, the compound that may be responsible for its cancer-fighting properties. But some research has found that boiling could be the best way to preserve nutrients in carrots, zucchini and broccoli-as opposed to steaming, frying or even eating them raw. GRILL The problem with grilling is that it causes two types of risky chemical reactions. First, fat drippings create smoke that is filled with carcinogenic polyclyclic aromatic hydrocar- bons or PAHS. When smoke covers the food, PAHS get on its surface. Second, when meats are grilled at high temperatures for long peri- ods of time, compounds inside the food react and create hetereocyclic amines or HCAS. Research has found links between HCAS and breast, colon and prostate cancers. SOURCES: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2012/05/get-more-out-of-your-vegetables/index.htm http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/blog/whole-story/healthy-cooking-techniques-steaming http://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/HEALTHbeat_070808.htm http://greatist.com/health/grilling-bad-health/# http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/22/reducing-the-risks-of-holiday-grilling/ http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1383574299000162 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12351155?ordinalpos=3&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntre HealthCentral z.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum 23