don't zap your veggies

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Veggies Lose Antioxidants in the Microwave

 

 

Blanching and freezing also robs them, study finds

By Amanda Gardner

HealthDay Reporter

 

THURSDAY, Oct. 16 (HealthDayNews) -- Getting the necessary nutrients

from vegetables may be even harder than you thought.

 

New research shows that different ways of preparing, storing and

processing vegetables can affect how good they are for you.

 

Broccoli, for instance, can lose as much as 97 percent of some

antioxidants, or cancer-fighting compounds, when it is zapped in the

microwave.

 

Vegetables that are blanched before freezing (a common processing

technique) can lose up to one third of their antioxidants. Frozen

storage can also cause losses, albeit much smaller ones.

 

Two studies detailing these findings appear in the November issue of

the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture .

 

Antioxidants are plentiful in vegetables and work to eliminate free

radicals, which can damage cell DNA and contribute to various diseases.

That's why eating fiber, fruits, and vegetables, all of which contain

antioxidants, can help prevent cancer and cardiovascular disease.

 

As it turns out, though, that protective effect is most pronounced when

the vegetable is in its natural state.

 

The first study found that the simplest cooking method was also the

worst when it came to preserving nutrients. Broccoli lost 97 percent of

flavonoids, 74 percent of sinapics and 87 percent of caffeoyl-quinic

derivatives (three different types of antioxidants) when it was

microwaved.

 

When boiled the conventional way (i.e., not in a pressure-cooker), this

green lost 66 percent of its flavonoids; when tossed in a pressure

cooker, broccoli lost 47 percent of its caffeoyl-quinic acid

derivatives.

 

Steamed broccoli, on the other hand, lost only 11 percent, 0 percent

and 8 percent, respectively, of flavonoids, sinapics, and

caffeoyl-quinic derivatives.

 

The advantage of steaming vs. conventional boiling is that you're " not

using water directly in contact with the vegetable. The nutritional

compounds don't go into the water, " says Cristina Garcia-Viguera, lead

author of this paper. " Once the compounds are in the water, the

temperature destroys them much easier. "

 

A microwave wreaks havoc because it heats the inside of the vegetable.

That, combined with the fact that you normally use water when

microwaving, causes the destruction of valuable nutrients.

 

Even reheating steamed broccoli in a microwave would probably have the

same effect, Garcia-Viguera says, although she did not specifically

examine this in her research.

 

The findings can probably be extrapolated to many other vegetables but,

again, the researchers did not specifically address this.

 

The second study looked at the effects of blanching and freezing and of

long-term freezer storage on more than 20 common vegetables. As it

turned out, different species showed different effects from these

processing techniques.

 

In general, dietary fiber components were not affected or even went up

slightly. Mineral content, also, tended to remain stable.

 

On the other hand, antioxidant activity went down 20 percent to 30

percent during blanching.

 

Carrots, peas, and broccoli lost 30 percent of their vitamin C during

blanching/freezing, while green beans lost 10 percent and spinach lost

40 percent (with an additional 30 percent lost during deep frozen

storage).

 

Spinach also lost almost 40 percent of its potassium and 70 percent of

its folic acid during blanching.

 

Don't despair just yet, says Samantha Heller, a senior clinical

nutritionist at New York University Medical Center in New York City.

 

The use of these vegetables in the studies meant they were nutritious

in the first place, she says. " Then I'm still reaping the benefits

even if they're losing some of their qualitative values, " she says.

 

Moreover, Heller points out, not all of the healthy properties of

vegetables are being eliminated. " You're still getting plenty of

healthy compounds as well as fiber, so there's absolutely no reason not

to eat vegetables -- although, of course, the fresher the better, " she

says.

 

" If people are willing to have vegetables anyway, shape or form, even

if they are going to nuke then, I'd rather have them do that, " she adds.

 

More information

 

For more on eating enough fruits and vegetables, visit the Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention . The American Dietetic Association has

a series of nutrition fact sheets.

 

What goes on when you microwave food? Read about it at HowStuffWorks .

 

Sources: HealthDay

 

2003 ScoutNews, LLC . All rights reserved.

 

 

[Guest guest]

Hi,

 

And I've always wondered what kind of vitamin and vitality loss

occurs during the long shipping proceess of raw veggies. Sometimes I

wonder if flash freezing is not better. But still I persist in eating

raw.

 

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