Hey guys I usually buy frozen veggies, either standard mixed or california mixed vareity and also some spinach, I usually steam them OVER water so the nutrients won’t leach out and then seal the rest in a container, microwaving them later when I want more…
Do any of you think microwaving veggies effects the nutrient content?
Snippdawg, I don’t know the answer to your question, but I would very strongly recommend that you NOT warm up your veggies in plastic Tupperware type containers, as the plastic leaches into the food. They’re called environmental estrogens or zenoestrogens, if I remember correctly. Not good for health or body comp, either one.
Thanks for the info, I guess I should just use a regular plate or bowl then?
TT, what do you recommend heating veggies up in? I have been bringing frozen vegetable mixes to school in tupperwares and then microwaving them there. This goes against the advice you are giving but I can’t think of any viable alternatives.
I use ceramic bowls and containers.
i’ve heard mixed thoughts on this. so is it basically a concrete no no to microwave vegtables?
john22, modern day microwaves are an incredible convenience. If it’s the only thing available to you, I wouldn’t worry about it. However, when I’m at home, I use my steamer.
Tuesday, when microwaving, I only use glass or ceramic bowls/plates. And along the same lines, I don’t use plastic wrap to keep things from splattering, either – for the same reason.
My recommendation to you is that you do your own research on the topic of environmental estrogens – it’s even been discussed here on T-Mag – and come to your own conclusions.
a recent study (Baylor University, maybe?) showed that microwaving veggies can destroy up 80% of the beneficial nutrients and is as bad or worse than boiling
steam them to cook them, but even re-heating in the microwave is probably not a good idea, especially in plastic (synthetic estrogens from plastic are leached out when heated, with fat-laden foods being the worst)
–Bill
Finally someone weighs in with the answer to the original question!!! Good job, Bill.
did they microwave these vegetables in water? I always microwave my vegetables in a glass container with a separate glass of water in the microwave at the same time. That way they get “steamed” without leaching out into the water. I have a hard time believing that 80% of the nutrients in my veggies disappear in a 1-2 min microwave session.
I only eat raw organic vegetables. Have been doing so for many years. I am 48 and training harder than ever and breaking personal records.
Is there a cause and effect here? Who knows, but I know for sure it has not hurt me.
Stay with Gods food whenever you can. Things that come in a box are usually that great for you. Not including Grow of course.
Try it.
ZEB- I was a raw veg. advocate until I read that partial cooking actually released more of the nutrients. I presume your line of fire is purely anecdotal, but with the “complexities of cooking” again made apparent, it made me think…
Bill, can you give further details of this study (a reference?), as I’m sure there’s quite a few of us who’d like to read and make our own conclusions.
Regards, SRS
SRS,
I too read some reports that stated, for example that more “Carotene” is released if the vegetable is slightly cooked.
I do not question such studies. My only question would be, while perhaps certain nutrients are better released under cooking, which ones are lost?
For example certain enzymes die immediately upon cooking. How then do we acquire these important digestive enzymes?
The only study that comes to mind regarding cooked foods vs. raw is one done by Dr. Francis Pottenger. In that study it was his conclusion that cooked vegetables are lacking “live” enzymes which assist the bodies degestive process.
However, as you state, this is mostly anecdotal on my part. It seems to me that human beings were meant to “graze” on raw vegetables and fruits, just as our ancestors did. Why does a vegetable have to be cooked? It was grown in nature and seems to me ought to be able to be consumed as it was grown.
I began eating raw vegetables many years ago when I read about a certain health guru who practiced this way of eating for many years.
Next year this health guru will turn 90 years of age. His name is Jack LaLanne. We should all be as healthy as this man at any age!
Hey guys,
Hopefully I might have something to add to this. Maybe instead of cooking you could ferment veggies? I make my own saurkraut, and I throw all kinds of good veggies in there…onions, hot peppers, bell peppers, broccoli, different colored cabbage. It’s good on burgers or by itself. It’s raw, but the fermenting supposedly gets rid of the “bad” parts of the veggies (I forget what the bad thing is in cruciferous veggies) and it adds lots of good things because it ferments. Not to mention it lasts longer!
What if you just heated your veggies slightly? Like put them in hot water (maybe 105 deg or so) and let them sit in there for a bit. This wouldn’t “cook” them and destroy nutrients, but maybe it could help reduce some of the heat sensitive bad parts? I dunno…just guessing here. Charles Poliquin recommended holding raw eggs under running hot water for a minute to reduce the avidin problem…could something similar apply to veggies like broccoli?
I had the wrong continent on that study–it was conducted by an agency of the Spanish government
anyway, the original news item I read didn’t say how they were cooked–turns out they were cooked in water, which is essentially boiling them–the nutrient loss was attributed to seapage into the water
I have always cooked mine without water, and only briefly (60-120 seconds)–I had stopped, but now I will begin cooking them in the microwave again–thanks for bringing up the topic
–Bill
Bill- Yep, it’s dangerous just to read news articles or abstracts without all the facts to hand.
ZEB- You’ve got a point with big Jack. Another name that comes to mind in regard to raw food is that Dr who invented the “Evolutionary Fitness” concept. Sorry, can’t remember his name. Looks damn good at close to 60 though.
BTW, ever dabbled in the raw meat thing? For me unfortunately I just don’t trust today’s meat production/ processing/ handling standards enough (having witnessed abbatoir and grocery store practice at first hand). Perhaps if I lived out on the range, and killed it myself…SRS
what do you guys mean by eating raw veggies. Do all you eat are salads and carrots? Or do you bite right into the head of a bunch of lettuce? I am trying to understand how much and how you eat your vegetables raw.
On a side note, I have just recently started to clean up my diet in the last few weeks and feel much better already. I eat frozen vegetables, sometimes they are organic, sometimes they are not. I almost always microwave them, sometimes in plastic, sometimes in glass. And I still feel a hell of a lot better no matter what the studies say. I think the most important thing is to get the vegetables in your system however you can. If microwaving is convenient and works, who cares? It is still better for you than not eating vegetables at all.
shank,
Each evening for dinner, my wife prepares a dish with various raw organic vegetables. Tonight we had: Broccoli, Carrots, Sweet Peppers, Cauliflower and Mushrooms. Sometimes I may use a good oil and vinegar dip.
The vegetables that are not eaten are placed in an air tight container and refrigerated. I will consume them the next day for lunch. It’s a great system. If you rotate the vegetables you will never get tired of it.
We find that with raw vegetables the taste really comes through. My children hated vegetables until they were introduced to this method.
This local pizza place serves brocolli deep fried in a cheesy batter–by far the tastiest brocolli ever. But that’s neither here nor there.
Does anyone else have a mild allergic reaction to raw veggies, e.g., itchy lips and tongue, very mild wheezing? I do. But I can eat any vegetable cooked with no problems. Hmmm?
Man I try to eat veggies raw but I do not like’m, I force myself to eat them each day as it is which brings me to another question…
For a veggie challenged person like me any good dip/dressing ideas that would go good with raw veggies?