You hear constantly that you should eat plenty of veggies for optimal health. They are, after all, full of vitamins and minerals. But eating them may not be enough. The nutrients are capable of leaching out before they ever make it into your body. Particularly vulnerable are folic acid, vitamin C and thiamin, according to the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service. To ensure maximum benefits, you must take precautions when handling and preparing such foods.
Step 1
Buy as you go. Instead of stockpiling produce, shop often and purchase only the amount you will be able to use over a few days, Baylor College of Medicine recommends. Avoid picking up vegetables that are limp or wilted. When you get home, put then in the refrigerator.
Step 2
Wash your vegetables, but do not soak them. Nutrients can seep into the water. Spray the produce to remove any illness-causing bacteria such as salmonella. But remember, the less contact with water, the more retention of vitamins, the University of Kentucky advises.
Step 3
Keep fruits and vegetables whole. When you cut them into small pieces, you expose more surface area. This means oxygen has a better chance of breaking down the nutrients.
Step 4
Cook foods for as short a time as possible, or eat them raw. Stir frying with just a bit of oil, steaming and microwaving are three quick ways to prepare vegetables. You can also cover the pan to speed up the process, the Baylor College of Medicine notes.
Step 5
Freeze vegetables if you cannot consume them in five days or so. Vitamin content declines from the time the produce is harvested until the time you put it in your mouth. You can deactivate the enzymes that cause this process by blanching the foods--boiling or steaming them briefly--and then immediately cooling them in ice water, according to the University of Minnesota Extension. Then put them in the freezer, to be enjoyed another day.
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