Is it better to eat boiled or steamed vegetables?

Experts say that whether you like vegetables or not, one thing is for sure, eating vegetables is good for your body. Vegetables will be more nutritious if you know how to prepare them. Whether boiled or steamed vegetables are better is a matter of debate for many people.

Thanh Nien newspaper quoted the health website Health as saying that boiled vegetables are usually soft and easy to eat, especially suitable for the elderly and children. However, the boiling process can cause some vitamins and minerals to be lost, and make vegetables taste bland.

Steamed vegetables, on the other hand, retain their natural color, flavor, and nutrients. Steamed vegetables are often crispier, sweeter, and more flavorful than boiled vegetables.

Here are the benefits of boiled and steamed vegetables.

Steamed vegetables

Thanh Nien newspaper quoted the health website Health as saying that according to Jillian Kubala, a nutritionist working in the US, steaming is a cooking method that uses the heat of steam to cook food.

Instead of directly immersing food in boiling water like when boiling, steaming uses the steam from boiling water to transfer heat. Thanks to that, vitamins and minerals will not be lost, but will be retained completely in the food.

In particular, vitamins such as vitamin C, beta-carotene and flavonoid antioxidants are easily destroyed at high temperatures and are water-soluble.

When boiling vegetables, these vitamins often dissolve into the boiling water, causing the amount of nutrients in the vegetables to be significantly reduced.

On the contrary, when steamed, these vitamins are better preserved, helping us to absorb maximum nutrients that are beneficial to health.

Steaming still causes vitamin C loss, but it is a better option than boiling. According to research, the amount of vitamin C lost after 5 minutes of steaming vegetables is 14.3 - 8.6%, while the amount of vitamin C lost after 5 minutes of boiling is 54.6 - 40.4%.

Boiled vegetables

VnExpress newspaper quoted CNN as saying that researchers in Murcia, Spain, discovered that after boiling, celery loses 14% of its antioxidants - nutrients that help fight cancer strongly.

In another study, British food experts measured the amount of glucosinolates, another cancer-fighting nutrient, in broccoli, spinach, cauliflower, and cabbage after boiling them. The results showed that the glucosinolate content of boiled broccoli decreased by 77%, and that of cauliflower decreased by 75%. About 90% of the glucosinolates were lost in the broth.

Boiling causes water-soluble vitamins like vitamin C, B1, and folate to leach into the water. If you don't plan on drinking the vegetable juice, these vitamins will go to waste.

In summary, experts say that steaming vegetables (vegetables not exposed to hot water) is an ideal cooking method that can retain anti-cancer components and nutrients. This method also ensures that vegetables taste sweeter and more delicious./.