Raw foodism is on the rise. More people are embracing the idea that eating food in its most natural state is the key to better health. The logic makes sense — it’s pretty widely known that heat can alter the enzymes, vitamins, and nutrients packed into food. But is raw always better? It actually depends on how you cook it.
Cooking can change the way our bodies absorb nutrients. Some foods actually become more nutritious when cooked, while others lose a bit of their goodness.
For example:
🥕 Carrots & Tomatoes – Cooking boosts their antioxidant power (1, 2)
🥦 Broccoli & Spinach – High heat can zap their vitamins (1, 3)
To understand this, it’s important to know that vitamins have different ways of fitting into your body. Some vitamins are fat-soluble, meaning they need dietary fat in order to properly be absorbed. Others are water-soluble, meaning they’re absorbed directly into your bloodstream and therefore get flushed out quicker.
It’s helpful to know which foods respond best to which cooking methods to ensure you’re getting the most out of what you put into your body. Let’s look at how different cooking methods can impact the nutritive value of certain foods.
The Best (and Worst) Ways to Cook Your Food
1. Boiling: The Lake of Fire
Boiling is great for making things soft, but it also lets nutrients escape into the water — especially water-soluble ones like vitamin C and B. If you have to boil, try using the leftover water in soups or sauces so you don’t lose all those nutrients.
✅ Best for: Potatoes, legumes, eggs
❌ Not great for: Leafy greens, broccoli, peppers (full of water-soluble vitamins that just leak out)
2. Steaming: The Gentle Giant
Steaming is one of the best ways to keep nutrients in your food. Since the veggies don’t sit in water, they hold onto more vitamins. Plus, it keeps their natural crunch and color!
✅ Best for: Broccoli, spinach, asparagus
❌ Not great for: Meats
3. Sautéing: A Quick & Tasty Win
Sautéing is when you cook food quickly in a little oil. It helps your body absorb fat-soluble vitamins (like A, D, E, and K). Just be careful — if you cook them on super high heat, you can destroy some delicate vitamins.
✅ Best for: Peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, thin-cut meats
❌ Not great for: Super delicate greens (they can wilt too much)
4. Roasting & Baking: The Flavor Booster
Roasting brings out amazing flavors and keeps most nutrients intact! Some foods (like tomatoes and carrots) actually become more nutritious when roasted because the heat releases more antioxidants (1, 2).
✅ Best for: Sweet potatoes, carrots, tomatoes
❌ Not great for: High-water veggies like cucumbers (they just turn mushy)
5. Frying: Lake of Fire 2.0
Frying makes food crispy and delicious, but it’s not the best for nutrients. High temperatures can destroy vitamins, and deep-frying adds unhealthy fats. That being said, pan-frying in healthy oils (like olive oil) is wayyyy better than deep-frying in processed seed oils.
✅ Best for: Occasional indulgence (hello, crispy Brussels sprouts)
❌ Not great for: Most veggies (too much oil can overpower the nutrition)
6. Eating Raw: Nature’s Fast Food
Raw foods are packed with enzymes and vitamins — but that doesn’t mean raw is always best. Some nutrients (like lycopene in tomatoes) become more bioavailable after cooking (4).
✅ Best for: Bell peppers, cucumbers, leafy greens
❌ Not great for: Tomatoes, carrots
The best way to get all the benefits? Eat a mix of raw and cooked foods. Some foods are better raw, some are better cooked, and variety is key.
💡 Quick Tips for Maximum Nutrition:
✔️ Steam instead of boiling to save vitamins
✔️ Roast or sauté with a little healthy fat to boost absorption
✔️ Keep cooking times shorter to protect delicate nutrients
✔️ Use leftover cooking water for soups or sauces
At the end of the day, eating whole, nutrient-dense foods is what matters most — no matter how you cook them. So fire up that stove, experiment with new methods, and enjoy every nutritious bite.
Relevant Studies
-
Miglio, C., Chiavaro, E., Visconti, A., Fogliano, V., & Pellegrini, N. (2008). Effects of different cooking methods on nutritional and physicochemical characteristics of selected vegetables.. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry, 56 1, 139-47 . https://doi.org/10.1021/JF072304B.
-
De Castro, N., De Alencar, E., Zandonadi, R., Han, H., Raposo, A., Ariza-Montes, A., Araya-Castillo, L., & Botelho, R. (2021). Influence of Cooking Method on the Nutritional Quality of Organic and Conventional Brazilian Vegetables: A Study on Sodium, Potassium, and Carotenoids. Foods, 10. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10081782.
-
Palermo, M., Pellegrini, N., & Fogliano, V. (2014). The effect of cooking on the phytochemical content of vegetables.. Journal of the science of food and agriculture, 94 6, 1057-70 . https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.6478.
-
Agarwal, A., Shen, H., Agarwal, S., & Rao, A. (2001). Lycopene Content of Tomato Products: Its Stability, Bioavailability and In Vivo Antioxidant Properties.. Journal of medicinal food, 4 1, 9-15 . https://doi.org/10.1089/10966200152053668.
