2 Minute Read: "Retaining of Nutrients"

-
Image credit: Unsplash.com
"To keep the body in a good health is our duty, otherwise we shall not make our mind strong and clear."  -   Lord Buddha. 

To perform this vital duty, we should eat healthy food. In India, food has been revered since ancient times || अन्न हे पूर्णब्रम्ह ||

Food is a great magic pill that makes us strong inside, gives us a healthy mind, increases longevity, helps us to look fresh & energetic outside and fills our life with happiness & positivity. Most of us are familiar with the benefits of food in our lives, food preparation methods and the importance of nutrients. Let’s now understand the importance of retaining the nutrients in our food and how it could be achieved.  

How to retain the nutrients?

Most of the nutrients in fruits and vegetables are water-soluble. They occur near the peel or skin of the fruit or vegetable. Carbs and proteins are not easily affected in the process of cooking. But vitamin C and B are the nutrients that are easily destroyed in various cooking processes.

The cooking process involves many stages such as cutting, peeling, chopping, soaking, boiling, sprouting, fermentation, etc. Let's understand how nutrients are to be retained in these stages during the cooking process:

Cutting/Chopping:

              Image credit: Unsplash.com

Cutting of vegetables and fruits exposes more surface area of the food to air, microorganisms and enzyme actions.
  • Do not expose the chopped vegetables or fruits to air for a long time.
  • Wash vegetables before cutting and not after. This is to avoid loss of nutrients during washing.
  • Cut vegetables preferably into medium size instead of small ones. 

Peeling:

Image credit: Unsplash.com

Once the vegetable or fruits are peeled, the moisture in them reaches to their surface. Due to this, peeled foods dry up and shrink very quickly.
  • Peel the vegetables or fruits only if it is necessary.
  • Do not leave the food too long after peeling.
  • Peel as thinly as possible. Most of the nutrients and vitamins are present near the peel. If you peel the vegetables or fruits too deep, the nutrients will be lost.
  • Wash food before peeling and not after. This is to avoid loss of nutrients.

Soaking:

Image credit: Unsplash.com

Food absorbs water and becomes soft when it is soaked in the water. It should be done as food can be more easily digested. In order to avoid loss of water-soluble nutrients - 
  • Do not throw away soaking liquid/water, since water-soluble nutrients get leached out. 
  • Use this soaking water in preparation of soups, curries etc.
  • Do not soak the beans, seeds or lentils for too long.
  • Soak them in a small quantity of water just to cover the food.
Food which contains plenty of moisture in them such as green leafy vegetables lose the nutrients if cooked uncovered, therefore it should be covered using a lid while cooking.

Recommended Methods

Here are some highly recommended cooking processes/methods that help to enhance the nutritional value of food - 

Sprouting:

Image credit: Unsplash.com

Sprouting helps - 
  • To enrich Vitamin C and B complex in food.
  • To improve the colour, texture and flavour of food.
  • To make food easy to digest.
  • Alfalfa green sprouts, mung bean sprouts, radish sprouts are some popular sprouts. 

Fermentation:


              Image credit: Unsplash.com
Fermentation helps -
  • To enhance portion of the B complex.
  • To improve the digestibility of proteins.
  • To boost the immune system with probiotic-rich food.
  • Yogurt, sourdough bread, idli, dosa, lassi, kombucha tea are some popular fermented food.
Therefore while preparing the food one should not just focus on the taste, aroma and appearance of the food. It is very essential that one should ensure that the nutrients are properly and scientifically retained across all cooking processes and methods.

Popular posts from this blog

2 Minute Read: "There Is Nothing Micro About Eat!"

-
Image
        Image credit: Unsplash.com Food has some essential constituents such as Vitamins and Minerals. These nutrients are called 'micronutrients'. The word 'micro' indicates that they are required in small amounts. Our body cannot synthesize them on its own; therefore they must be provided by food. Vitamins are protective foods as they build up our body's resistance to diseases. Minerals are important for the growth and development of various regulatory functions of the body. Food sources of Fat Soluble Vitamins: Vitamins A, D, E, and K are “fat soluble” as they require the presence of fat in the diet for their proper absorption. These vitamins can be stored in the body along with fats. Here are some examples:        Image credit: Unsplash.com Yellow, red fruits and vegetables like carrots, pumpkins, papayas, mangoes, etc. Milk, ghee,  and fish liver oils are rich sources of " Vitamin A ". We have to mainly depend on the action of sunlight o...
Read more

2 Minute Read: "Blissful Balanced Diet"

-
Image
   Image credit: Unsplash.com "Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well being."  This is very much evident in the current COVID-19 pandemic. People at large have now recognized the importance of being healthy, having greater immunity and the role of healthy food in their lives.  Balanced Diet Nutrients are constituents of food and include water, proteins, fats, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins. An adequate quantity of these nutrients in our food forms a “Balanced Diet”. To promote good health, we require all nutrients in an adequate quantity and should be consumed periodically.      Image credit: Unsplash.com Adding a variety of vegetables and fruits in our diet is highly recommended. This healthy habit helps us to negate the dependency on multivitamin pills and food supplements. By rotation, we should include green leafy vegetables, roots & tubers such as yam, sweet potatoes, potatoes, radish, carrot and ...
Read more