Cooking vegetables doesn't always destroy nutrients

Ever heard about how cooking veggies can diminish the nutritional quality? We've covered microwaving them before, but this little gem of a study addresses how other cooking methods affect vegetable nutrients. Steaming, boiling and even frying certain produce can actually increase antioxidant levels!

According to the study, it all depends on the vegetable and the way you cook it. Levels of a cancer-fighting compound in broccoli were found to be higher after steaming, rather than just plain raw broccoli. And carotenoids in boiled carrots were higher than its raw counterparts as well.

Now, the claim concerning diminished nutrients after cooking was not unfounded. Certain methods did actually decrease the antioxidant count. But if you cook the vegetable right, it can maintain or enhance the nutritional value in the end! I just wish they had shared all the methods and their findings directly to the article. However, it says the results will be published soon in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.