How Does Cooking Affect the Nutritional Value of Foods?

The nutritional quality of some foods, most notably vegetables, can be altered depending on how they are prepared. Boiling, steaming, sauteing, and roasting can all have varying effects. Which foods lose nutrients after cooking, which ones actually gain nutritional value, and what are the preferred cooking methods for maximal health benefits? 

Informational Articles

• Is raw food healthier than cooked? (BBC Good Food – July 12, 2023)
• Cooked or Raw? The Best Ways to Eat 9 Healthy Veggies (AARP – July 7, 2023)
• Raw Is Not Always Better—These 4 Vegetables Are Healthier When Cooked (Real Simple – May 18, 2023)
• Is This Vegetable Healthier Raw or Cooked? (The New York Times – November 10, 2022)
• Raw or Cooked? How to Get the Most Out of Fruits and Veggies (WebMD – February 22, 2022)
• Do Vegetables Lose Nutrients When Cooked? (Livestrong – February 4, 2022)
• Does Boiling Vegetables Really Lose Nutrients? (Tasting Table – January 6, 2022)
• The Healthiest Cooking Method (Verywell Fit – December 22, 2020)
• 12 Surprising Vegetables That Become Healthier When They’re Cooked (September 9, 2020)
• How Different Cooking Methods Affect Nutrients (Kansas Living Magazine – August 14, 2020)
• Raw vs. Cooked: How to Get the Most Out of Your Vegetables (Best Health – July 6, 2021)
• How Cooking Affects the Nutrient Content of Foods (Healthline – November 7, 2019)
• 8 Vegetables That Are Healthier Cooked (Consumer Reports – September 27, 2019)
• Cooked vs. Raw: The Healthiest Way To Eat Fruits And Vegetables (HuffPost – August 7, 2019)
• Do Nutrients Change When A Food Is Cooked? (Science ABC – May 3, 2019)
• Does microwaving food cause nutrient loss? (CNN Health – September 16, 2018)
• Is Raw Food Healthier Than Cooked Food? (Healthline – January 24, 2017)
• The healthiest ways to cook veggies and boost nutrition (CNN Health – May 5, 2016)
• Method Matters When it Comes to Cooking Vegetables (Institute of Food Technologists – February 3, 2016)
• About The Buzz: Cooking Makes Fruits & Veggies Less Beneficial to You? (Foundation for Fresh Produce)
• Does cooking kill the vitamins in your food? (BBC)
• Food processing and nutrition (Better Health Channel)
• How to Keep the Nutrients in Your Veggies (Johns Hopkins Patient Guide to Diabetes)
• How to Prevent Vitamin Loss When Cooking Vegetables (Food Network)
• Is raw food better than cooked food? (British Health Foundation)

Peer-Reviewed Articles

• Quality and Nutrient Loss in the Cooking Vegetable and Its Implications for Food and Nutrition Security in Ethiopia: A Review (Nutrition and Dietary Supplements – April 23, 2023)
• Cooking at home to retain nutritional quality and minimise nutrient losses: A focus on vegetables, potatoes and pulses (Nutrition Bulletin – December 2022)
• Changes caused by different cooking methods in some physicochemical properties, antioxidant activity, and mineral composition of various vegetables (Journal of Food Processing and Preservation – August 4, 2022)
• Cooking techniques and nutritional quality of food: A comparison between traditional and innovative ways of cooking (International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science – October 2021)
• Effect of different cooking methods on loss of iron and zinc micronutrients in fortified and non-fortified rice (Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences – May 2021)
• Improved rice cooking approach to maximise arsenic removal while preserving nutrient elements (Science of the Total Environment – February 10, 2021)
• Impact of Cooking On Nutrients in Selected Vegetables  (International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications – February 2021)
• Effects of different cooking techniques on bioactive contents of leafy vegetables (International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science – December 2020)
• Loss of food nutrients orchestrated by cooking pots: a common trend in developing world (Journal of Food Science and Technology – September 29, 2020)
• Influence of Cooking Conditions on Nutritional Properties and Sensory Characteristics Interpreted by E-Senses: Case-Study on Selected Vegetables (Foods – May 9, 2020)
• Study on Nutrient Content Loss of Processing Manual Vegetable Noodles by Different Cooking Methods (IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science – April 2020)
• Effect of Cooking Methods on Ascorbic Acid Destruction of Green Leafy Vegetables (Journal of Food Quality – March 9, 2020)
• Effects of Cooking Methods on Nutritional Content in Potato Tubers (American Journal of Potato Research – January 2, 2019)
• Domestic Cooking of Muscle Foods: Impact on Composition of Nutrients and Contaminants (Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety – January 5, 2018)
• Effect of different cooking methods on the content of vitamins and true retention in selected vegetables (Food Science and Biotechnology – December 12, 2017)
• Effect of cooking on total antioxidant activity in selected vegetables  (International Journal of Home Science – April 2016)
• A review of the impact of preparation and cooking on the nutritional quality of vegetables and legumes (International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science – April 2016)
• The effect of cooking on the phytochemical content of vegetables (Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture – November 14, 2013)
• Effects of different cooking methods on the vitamin C content of selected vegetables (Nutrition and Food Science – September 6, 2013)
• Effect of cooking methods on mineral and anti nutrient composition of some green leafy vegetables. (Archives of Applied Science Research – July 31, 2013)
• Effect of cooking and processing methods on oxalate content of green leafy vegetables and pulses. (Asian Journal of Food and Agro-Industry – March 20, 2013)
• Carotenoids retention in leafy vegetables based on cooking methods (International Food Research Journal – May 2012)
• Effect of domestic cooking methods on the total antioxidant capacity of vegetables (International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition – August 13, 2009)
• Effects of Different Cooking Methods on Nutritional and Physicochemical Characteristics of Selected Vegetables (Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry – December 11, 2007)
• Nutrient retention in foods after earth-oven cooking compared to other forms of domestic cooking: 1. Proximates, carbohydrates and dietary fibre (Journal of Food Composition and Analysis – June 2006)
• Nutrient retention in foods after earth-oven cooking compared to other forms of domestic cooking: 2. Vitamins (Journal of Food Composition and Analysis – June 2006)
• Retention of β-carotene in boiled, mashed orange-fleshed sweet potato (Journal of Food Composition and Analysis – June 2006)
• Total and soluble oxalate contents in Thai vegetables, cereal grains and legume seeds and their changes after cooking (Journal of Food Composition and Analysis – June 2006)
• Influence of different processing methods on the glycemic index of potato (Nicola) (Journal of Food Composition and Analysis – June 2006)
• The influence of cooking and fat trimming on the actual nutrient intake from meat (Meat Science – January 2006)