Are You Eating These Foods The Wrong Way?

The way you consume or prepare certain fruits and vegetables can actually make or break the health benefits they provide. You could be slicing, dicing, boiling or cooking foods the wrong way which might end up reducing the nutritional value of the foods. In this article, we will discuss the foods that are eaten the wrong way.

Reduction of nutritional value can happen either by peeling a fruit which you aren't supposed to, by boiling a veggie instead steaming it, char-boiling meat and seafood or slicing a fruit or vegetable into small pieces.

Preserving nutrients in foods is crucial as it will help regulate metabolic processes such as digestion and the absorption of nutrients. This decreases nutritional inadequacies in the body.

So, why should you starve your body of nutrients when you can reap the benefits of every vitamin and mineral that each food has to offer? Read here to know the foods that are eaten the wrong way.

  

1. Broccoli

Boiling broccoli reduces the amount of vitamin C by 22 to 34 per cent and all the nutrients leach into the water which is thrown away afterwards. So, your body isn't getting the nutrients. The best way to retain nutrients in broccoli is to steam, pressure cook, microwave and stir-fry them which will retain 90 per cent of the vitamin C and other nutrients.

  

2. Potato

Cutting the potatoes into very small pieces before boiling will wash away all the nutrients and naturally, it starts losing its flavour. Cut the potatoes into larger cubes with its skin and boil it for 15 to 20 minutes. The potato skin adds fibre and nutrients and also retains the nutrients in the flesh of the potato.
Make sure that you wash the potatoes properly before boiling.

  

3. Flaxseed

Flaxseeds have heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, lignans that possess cancer-fighting properties and rich fibre content. If you are eating whole flaxseeds, you are eating them wrong as the body will not be able to break down the flaxseeds thus you won't get enough nutrients from them.

The best way to eat them is to grind them into your smoothies and sprinkle them in your salads.

  

4. Cabbage

The best way to eat cabbage is by steaming it. In this way, the nutrients are not lost by leaching. Steaming cabbage doesn't involve adding fat and extra calories in the form of vegetable oil or butter which makes it one of the healthiest ways to consume cabbage.

But, ensure that you don't overboil the cabbage as it tastes bitter because of the sulfurous compounds that are drawn into the water.

  

5. Onions

In salads, burger or a sandwich, raw onions are served to add crunchiness. During cooking, onions are sautéed which is not an entirely bad thing to do. However, onions are much more active in their raw state than cooked form because it contains a variety of organic sulphur compounds that have the most health benefits. These compounds help to break down fat deposits and speed up your metabolism.

  

6. Strawberries

Who doesn't love eating the juicy red strawberries? The correct way to eat strawberries is to eat them whole as they contain 8 to 12 per cent more of vitamin C. Slicing strawberries reduces the amount of vitamin C in them as it sensitive to light and oxygen and tends to break down.

  

7. Apples

If you are consuming apples in a sauce form or peeled form, you are missing on some of the important nutrients. Apple skin is rich in nutrients like fibre and antioxidants and if you peel the skin, you may miss out on the health benefits that it provides which includes fullness, controlling cholesterol and reducing inflammation.

  

8. Meat And Seafood

Char-boiling processed meat and seafood at a high temperature is the wrong way to consume them because the proteins in the meat change when it's cooked under high temperature. Instead, cook your meat at a lower temperature to reduce the production of heterocyclic amines which are carcinogenic compounds.

  

9. Nuts

Consuming raw nuts isn't the correct way to have them. Because they contain anti-nutrients like lectins and phytic acid that prevent them from being properly digested in the stomach. This decreases the absorption of nutrients. So, to decrease the anti-nutrients, soak nuts before consuming them. Soak walnuts and peanuts for 12 hours and almonds and cashew nuts for six to seven hours.

  

10. Bananas

Are you eating bananas the wrong way? Most of us eat plain bananas without pairing them up with any food. But, nutritionists say that eating bananas with some kind of fats like almond butter or peanut butter will help metabolize the fruit's high sugar content.

  

11. Spinach

Steam spinach leaves instead of having them raw as steaming will decrease the oxalic acid which hinders absorption of nutrients and increases the bioavailability of vitamin A, vitamin E, fibre, zinc, calcium, protein and iron.