Does cooking vegetables generally destroy cancer-fighting compounds?
Water-soluble nutrients, such as vitamin C and the B vitamins, do seep out of foods during boiling or steaming. However, if you reuse the cooking liquid in soups or to cook grains, you will get all the nutrients that have seeped out of the vegetables. On the contrary, some antioxidants are actually released or activated by cooking, including the lycopene in tomatoes and the beta-carotene in carrots and sweet potatoes. Researchers have found that you can multiply the antioxidant power of your carrots three times by cooking and puréeing them before eating. It turns out that cooking and puréeing releases cancer-fighting compounds from the carrot cells. To reap the full cancer-fighting benefits from the carrots you prepare, wash them thoroughly, but avoid peeling them as the skins are rich with cancer-fighting compounds. Also, try these tips to increase the beta-carotene in your diet: • When making mashed potatoes, add 2 carrots to the pot of potatoes when you boil them. Then mash the two
