Before we start comparing the nutritional value between canned, cooked, steamed, and raw vegetables, it’s important to note that many experts agree eating veggies in any of these forms is better than not eating any veggies at all.
That being said, let’s look at some ways to prepare vegetables to get the best “bang” for your nutritional “buck”. According to myoptumhealth.com, vegetables fresh from the farm or just picked are more nutritious than their frozen or canned counterparts, but frozen and canned vegetables are an acceptable nutrient alternative.
Just be mindful of the amount of salt added to canned vegetables; try to buy those without added salt. And, don’t overcook any vegetables. Luluhealth.com tells us that the nutrients in any vegetable begin to deteriorate as soon as it’s harvested.
Also, any sugars in the vegetable begin to convert to starch from the moment it’s picked, which is why freshly picked corn straight from the farm is so much sweeter than the kind that’s been sing in the supermarket for a few days. However, frozen peas and many other vegetables are generally flash frozen on the spot where they are harvested, preserving those nutrients.
Cooked vegetables are generally not as nutritious as raw, though if you do cook them be sure to do it only long enough make them tender. The longer they cook, the greater the nutrient loss. There are, however, some exceptions. Tomatoes, for example, provide greater amounts of lycopene when they are cooked than when eaten raw. Cooking breaks down the plant’s cell walls, releasing greater amounts of nutrients. Zucchini, carrots and broccoli are best eaten cooked for this reason.
Canned vegetables are generally the lowest in nutrients, as so many vitamins are lost in processing under high heat. The water-soluble vitamins B and C are easily lost when canned or boiled. Researchers at the University of California found that between 85 and 95 percent of the vitamin C in canned peas and carrots were lost in processing. The vegetables containing fat-soluble vitamins such as A, D E, and K can be steamed or boiled, however, without losing a great number of nutrients.
