| Why Steaming Vegetables Is Healthier Than Boiling |
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Claim: "Boiling vegetables removes some nutrients. Steaming them is better." Many of the nutrients in vegetables can leach into the water when boiled. And the longer the vegetables are cooked, the more nutritional value is lost. Cooking them quickly and in a small amount of water helps preserve some of their water-soluble vitamins. Therefore, the healthiest ways to cook vegetables are microwaving, steaming and stir-frying. If you do boil vegetables, here's a tip: Get back those leached nutrients by using the water in a soup, sauce or stew.
You might also be interested in: Article last updated and/or approved: March 2010. Originally appeared in September/October 2009 former print magazine.  Comments (6)
  written by Shida , January 31, 2016 I also disagree that microwaving food is unhealthy. I can't find the links to the scientific studies done, at the moment, but I did have to eat microwaved meals for about a month while I had a warehouse job. I am a very healthy eater, so my *ahem* "elimination" was always reliable and in a proper state. During the month of my eating microwaved foods, my fecal matter had turned to straight MUSH. No wonder I felt like crap that entire month! And then, I wound up getting sick (which is something that rarely, and almost never happens to me), VERY sick. I will never go back to eating microwaved food so long as I can help it, and no one can convince me otherwise. report abuse
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 written by Ken , December 04, 2014 Where do people get these amazing ideas about microwaves destroying food? Relax everyone. The "radiation" used in microwaves is non-ionizing. It is no more "unnatural" than using the electrical element on your stove (which also emits radiation, as there is electrical current). The microwave heats by using radio-frequency energy. The frequencies are in the UHF range used by many radio systems. report abuse
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 written by kazeshindo , September 20, 2014 I cannot completely agree with Alex and Chigunduru. I don't believe that microwaves are an unhealthy way of creating steamed vegetables. Although, microwave uses radiation to heat food substance, it only decreases the nutrients somewhat. By heating, burning, or boiling vegetables you are losing nutrients in some form or the other. When you are microwaving the food, in this case, vegetables, the microwave will emit electromagnetic radiation for a short period of time (depending on how long you are planning to steam it). Heating water using radiation is the same as heating it on the stove. It just causes the water molecules to move faster. However, in this case, the microwave have a shorter time period to steam vegetables so it should be better than using a stove. Shorter time to steam vegetables mean that less nutritional components are lost/destroyed. Of course, this is simply my opinion so I whatever I say can't be hundred percent correct. After all, I am no expert in the field of radiation and nutrition. report abuse
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 written by Kevin , July 02, 2014 Doesn't mean that some of the nutrients went with it? report abuse
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