The benefits of raw vegetables !
In spring, we often want to lighten our plates and naturally enjoy the benefits of vegetables: nutrients, vitamins, minerals as well as fibbers and enzymes. Eaten daily raw or cooked, vegetables are essential to a balanced and diverse diet. Crudités, salads, raw soups and spreads… There are many ways to eat raw in our diets: here is a short tour of raw vegetables and the discovery of raw diets
Raw and cooked or how to vary the pleasures
A raw vegetable naturally contains more water than a cooked one. Thanks to its fibber content, it also makes us feel full quicker. Furthermore, it requires extra chewing which also helps with feeling full.
Cooking can reduce the content in some vitamins (B, C, provitamin A) but increases some antioxidants (lycopene which content doubles after cooking for 30 minutes thus making cooked tomatoes twice as rich in antioxidants compared to raw tomatoes).
Another important factor: the type of cooking. Some vitamins are lost in boiling water hence the benefit of steam or braised cooking. Others (such as provitamin A) are fat-soluble: they spread in any type of fat (oil or butter). Hence the benefit of eating vegetables rich in provitamin A nicely seasoned - cooked or raw. Cooked and raw both have benefits for our bodies: thus, cooked carrots with butter seasoned with orange juice or grated carrots with a drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice (homemade or ready-to-eat) are two nutritionally relevant recipes.
The benefits of raw
Without going into a full-on raw diet (also called alive food diet which is made up of raw fruits, vegetables, cereals, sprouted seeds, nuts, seaweeds and other products exclusively plant-based), eating raw fruits and vegetables can benefit our health greatly. It is obvious every year, when the sun comes out and so do raw salads such as green salads or cucumber in yogurt. With protected minerals and vitamins, raw vegetables also have their precious enzymes preserved: they resist cooking up to 42 degrees celsius and help our body operate. Sprout grains and seeds (alfafa, radishes, lentils…) and vegetable juice naturally contain large quantities: a good reason to add them on the menu, for their taste and for your health! Eating both raw and cooked is ideal to balance your yearly nutrient needs. However, don’t forget to enjoy food above all!