Eating a plant-based diet with plenty of vegetables is an important step in reducing your cancer risk. Our expert offers six tips for getting the most nutrition out of your produce.
It’s no secret that eating vegetables can help you stay healthy and lower your cancer risk. We know that eating a plant-based diet is a great way to maintain a healthy weight and reduce the risk for several types of cancer. And the phytonutrients found in plant foods encourage cell growth, strengthen the immune system and decrease inflammation.
But are you getting as much nutritional value as you can from your vegetables?
Help your vegetables keep their a-peel
If it is a vegetable with a skin that can be consumed, you should not peel it.
“The peel and the portion of the vegetable just beneath the peel are full of nutrients. By peeling them, you miss out on these nutrients
Prepare your vegetables in a variety of ways
Some vegetables have more vitamins and nutrients when they’re cooked a certain way. For example, tomatoes contain lycopene, a nutrient that can help lower your cancer risk.
“But when you cook the tomatoes, like in a tomato sauce, the amount of lycopene in them skyrockets.
It can be difficult to remember which ways to prepare your vegetables. “The key is to prepare them in a variety of different ways so you get a variety of nutrients.
Don’t overcook your vegetables
Whether you’re roasting or steaming them, remember not to cook vegetables for too long.
If you overcook vegetables, it’s likely you’ve greatly reduced the vitamin and mineral content.
“Light cooking and steaming is preferred to soften, moisturize and warm the vegetables. “Avoid frying and other high heat cooking methods that typically destroy many nutrients.”
Deciding whether to steam or boil your vegetables?
“Steaming is best because the vegetables themselves never reach a high temperature, which can damage nutrients. Boiling can be damaging to nutrients,
The exception is blanching, which involves submerging raw vegetables in boiling water for a few seconds, then placing them in an ice bath to quickly stop the cooking process.
Pair vegetables for extra benefits
Sometimes pairing certain vegetables together can make them even more nutritious. For example, a healthy fat like olive oil can help you better absorb the nutrients in leafy greens like kale.
Here are a few food combinations that can help you build an even healthier plate:
Pair iron with vitamin C. Try adding citrus or strawberries to your salad so your body can better absorb the iron found in spinach, kale and other greens.
Pair iron and zinc with sulfur. Sulfur binds to zinc and iron so your body can absorb them. Try adding garlic or onions to your protein.
Eat a rainbow of veggies
If you eat many different colored vegetables, you’re getting many different vitamins and nutrients. Carotenoids, which improve immunity and support vision, are often found in orange vegetables like sweet potatoes, apricots, carrots, cantaloupe and oranges. Indoles and glucosinolates, which help prevent tumor growth, are found in some green vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, kale and Brussels sprouts.
“When it comes to eating healthy, it’s all about variety and moderation, and vegetables are no exception to that rule.”
If you have limited access to fresh produce, don’t be discouraged. Fresh produce is great, but canned and frozen vegetables can be healthy too. Just watch out for added salt.
Commentaires