Ask Me Help Desk - Peeling, Boiling and Steaming of Fruits and Vegetables. Are Things We Need Lost?

Hi, All!

Below, is my true title. There wasn't enough room in the title box to list it.

Peeling, Boiling and Steaming of Fruits and Vegetables. Do We Really Lose Vitamins and Other Nutritional Content?

The title is basically my question.

I've always heard that most of the vitamins and other nutrients for fruits and vegetables were in the "skins" of them. Is that true? Perhaps there might be a difference between the different kinds of fruits and vegetables?

I don't know...

I always feel a bit "guilty" when I take the skin off a potato, apple, cucumber or tomato, etc. Also, when I boil vegetables, I get the feeling that I'm "sucking the life out of what they might have to offer".

I've grown accustomed to steaming vegetables. Seems to be the right and correct thing to do.

Anyone have the "straight dope" about this? Can we differentiate about the proper preparation of the different kinds of fruits and vegetables so that what they have as far as vitamins, minerals and other nutrients will be retained so that they are best metabolized by us as we eat them?

Thanks!

Yes a lot of the vitamins and nutrients are in the skin. By the time we get food it has lost most of its nutritional value because soil has lost 80% of its minerals, fruits and vegetables are picked before it is ripe, most fruits and vegetables are either grown with pesticides and even often genetically engineered, then if it is processed and preservatives added it gets worse. Then when you put it in the microwave it causes cellular mutation and totally kills any nutrients that might be left.
There are a lot of other problems with our food as well that causes lack of nutrients.

Seeds Of Deception - Seeds of Deception

Hi, N0help4u!

So, what about potatoes and cucumbers? Those seem to be pretty benign and perhaps somewhat immune from the commercial processes, especially if they're home-grown, without the use of pesticides.

Thanks!

You may pay more for organically grown food but if you are concerned about additives and pesticides that we know are harmful,it is worth the price(if you can afford it)

Steaming is great.When you boil,you are boiling everything out,including flavor!

I don't think a cucumber skin has any value.I know it is a natural poison for roaches.

I think eating healthy is easy if you just eliminate fats and artificial ingredients.

If you avoid anything pre packaged.Full of sodium and fat.

Buy fresh and replace butter with lemon or even applesauce in recipes that call for oil.

I get the impression you are changing your diet,lots of dietary questions.

Good for you.I love to eat and I try to eat healthy.

For easy nuke dinners I like healthy choice TV dinners :)The portions are not that big but they are tasty and supposed to be healthy .

They don't call them that anymore .

TV dinners,I bet half the kids here don't know what that is. Good old Swanson. Yuck!

Bon appetite my friend !

Hi, artlady!

I'm also not neglecting you, N0help4u! Your post will be addressed by me!

I've cut out the t.v. dinner thing entirely. Have found that it's very hard for me to swallow what they have to offer. I was eating those kind of things all of the time over the past many years... When I'm tensed up over things, my throat closes up.

I do try to eat healthy things that are fresh. It's somewhat of a challenge because of my income at the present time. Things didn't used to be this way, but because of the economy, I don't have near the amount of business that I used to have.

What is your take on butter versus margarine, artlady and alternatives for the use of them?

This question is also good for anyone responding to the original post.

Thanks!

Oh honey I never use butter.I am a land o' lakes margarine all the way gal.
I cook with margarine instead of oil so that's all I use but I know its not healthy,just affordable.
When I do use oil I try to use sunflower oil.

I think potatoes are one of the few foods that is not genetically altered.

Many of the commercially grown foods grow the pesticide within the seed now. Monsanto and Round up came up with this.

I try to buy organic when I see it.
Organic produce has a sticker that begins with 9
Commercially grown sticker starts with 4

Any other # is more likely genetically altered.

Also one of the best things you can do to replace what is taken from foods is take digestive enzymes with every meal and add trace minerals to spring water.

I always use butter, margarine has no flavor to me. I don't over do it, but whenever it is called for, I use it.

I've never had any health issues because of it and there are too many conflicting reports about butter versus margarine that I got tired of reading and stuck with the one that tastes good.:D

I use Canola or Olive oil.

I was raised on butter and Lard. Southern Illinois.

Butter is better for you than margarine.
Also the cooking oils in glass bottles are way better for you than the Crisco/Wesson types in the plastic bottles.

Thanks, All!

I can see that there are things that could be addressed on separate threads devoted to the topics. All answers thus far, are really appreciated!

My original question was simply about "Peeling, Boiling and Steaming of Fruits and Vegetables. Do We Really Lose Vitamins and Other Nutritional Content?"

I would appreciate it if the answers would just be about that which concerns the original question.

Thanks!

Yes we do lose content and flavor and vitamins, but I thought NoHelp already addressed that.

I steam in a very small amount of liquid and for a short time if I am cooking veggies. I feel that the nutrients are there for still with the veggie.

I also do pressure canning and cooking, so everything is still with the veggie, but as NoHelp said... we really don't know how much was there to start with unless we grow it ourselves.:)

Your talking about butter vs marg. There is a good book out it's called Eat this not that there are at least 3 different one. They are showing the difference between products and what benefits you get from different food, It's easy reading and quick to the point. Answers a lot of questions, under $10. Lots of info.

Again, my original question was "Peeling, Boiling and Steaming of Fruits and Vegetables. Do We Really Lose Vitamins and Other Nutritional Content?"

As such, I would appreciate if answers are directed tonward what I originally asked.]

Thanks!

Off the top of my head: Organic vegetables actually have more nutrients than those sprayed with pesticides because plants tend to produce certain compounds in response to stress and attacks by insects, etc. Unprotected from pests and competing weeds, organic vegetables must fend for themselves, hence more of these compounds, many of which are good for us. There are exceptions, like the compounds in green potato skins, which are mildly toxic.

Microwave cooking is generally no more likely to break down nutrients than other forms of cooking. People's suspicion of microwave ovens is mostly unfounded. As for mutations, heat is hard on DNA, sure, but we are not merging our cells with those in the beans in the burrito we are about to eat, so whatever DNA is left is irrelevant. We are going to be digesting it and damaging the DNA much more before we are done with it.

Some foods are actually better cooked in the microwave. Others don't do well, but more for reasons of taste and texture than because nutrients are destroyed. (Bread gets gummy in the microwave.) But it's a fine way to quickly steam vegetables, especially if you DON'T use plastic wrap or plastic containers. Use glass. Heated plastics release compounds that are carcinogenic or have hormonal effects.

Most cooking and processing makes calories MORE available than in raw food. The whole point of cutting things up and heating them is to make the food more digestible. Vitamin C is destroyed by heat, but not minerals and not protein, for example. I think B vitamins must survive baking since most baked cereals and breads have B vitamins in them. Most vegetables are most nutritious if lightly steamed. But I am guessing there are all kinds of exceptions.

I read somewhere that there is no natural human society that does not cook at least once a day. Apparently, cooking is a universal human trait.

Quote:

Originally Posted by N0help4u

Microwaves change the cellular structure.

The Dangers of Microwave Ovens Everyone Needs to Know

Microwave Cooking is Killing You!

Microwave Ovens: The Proven Dangers

NOhelp4u, Most of the allegations in these links are unfounded or else related to uneven heating, which is common in microwave ovens. Eg. Heating whole blood in a microwave is a no no, because it will damage the blood cells and break down the proteins. You wouldn't heat blood on the stove top in a pot either! At least not if you are planning to transfuse it into a patient... Blood is a tissue--like the kidney. Can you imagine popping a kidney into a pot of hot water on the stove before transplanting it into someone?

Microwave heat certainly alters the chemical structure of food, but so does baking, boiling, steaming, and grilling. Cooking IS altering the chemical structure of food. That's why we cook--to alter the chemical structure of food and make it more digestible and delicious.

As far as baby bottles and breast milk: it is better not to use plastic bottles to feed babies ANYthing--milk, juice, breast milk or water. It doesn't matter whether you heat the plastic in hot water or the microwave, it's still going to release bad stuff into the milk. And if you leave fluids in many types of plastic bottles, they will leach out bad stuff even if you don't heat at all. Basically if it's sitting in there long enough stuff will leach out.

No one should EVER heat formula or breast milk in a microwave because of uneven heating and the possibility of burning the baby's mouth. But this does not mean that rice cooked in a microwave is bad for you.

Ideally, the best place to store breast milk is in the breast, where it is clean, warm, and instantly available without preparation. But I understand that most employers make that difficult.

Older microwaves may leak radiation. If your microwave is 20 years old, get rid of it! If it is newer, don't worry. Don't stand in front of it; don't breathe gasoline fumes; don't cross the street without looking both ways...

Finally, the argument about DNA being damaged is very strange. We do not need or use the information in the DNA in the cells of the spinach leaves we eat--or in any other foods. We have our own DNA! Our bodies have no use for the genes of a potato cell or a chicken cell. Other forms of cooking ALL damage DNA too. Again, that's the purpose of cooking, to damage food--at least if you want to think of it that way.

Furthermore, our intestines are incapable of absorbing large molecules (and DNA is generally hugely long). During digestion, we break down foods into tiny molecules that can be absorbed through the cells of the intestines. Anything that does not break down passes on through. When we eat proteins, we break them down into individual amino acids. When we eat complex carbohydrates, we break them down into individual sugar molecules. When we eat DNA, we break it down into individual nucleic acids. If a stove or campfire does some of that breaking down for us, it just makes the job of digesting the food that much easier.

Ps. Yes, most skins are good for you because they are high in fiber and often contain nutrients. Eat the apple peel if you can stand it. I eat about half the skins of the potatoes I bake, but only if I have thoroughly scrubbed the potato before baking. Sometimes I peel fruit and eat the peel while I'm working. Then later I have the peeled fruit. :) Yesterday I did that with a peach.

Just make sure to wash fruits and vegetables in case they have pesticides or bacteria on them. Even organic fruit should be washed in case the person picking the fruit did not wash their hands or the water in which the produce was rinsed in the field contained bacteria--which has happened several times with prepackaged greens.

clough
I wanted to do CPR
on this post and breathe life into it before its buried
I was interested in the microwave thing now I only give advise from personal experience I'm not going to drown you with stat. shts.
if you take a T.V. dinner healthy whatever
and put it in a microwave VS. a toasteroven
you are going to find a BIG difference in flavor now where there is flavor there is vitamins good things for you .the toaster oven TV dinner is far better could be just personal taste I think it's the handling of the food and I think good flavor =good for u ?Eat what your body tells you , if that means pizza for breakfast so be it your body was craving CARBS. Listen to your body goes a long way with me.
As far as peelings my doggie doesn't eat anything that's bad for her and she loves potato ,apple,carrot peel

Hi All!

Wow! A lot of information here! That's great!

I'm sure that the microwaving debate could go on and on...

So, what I seem to be getting in the answers here, is that most of the really important nutrients are in the "skins" of the fruits and vegetables.

Would that be correct?

zippit, I agree with you concerning the difference in flavor between that which is cooked in a microwave versus that which is cooked in some sort of conventional oven.

A thread about margarine versus butter will be coming up!

Thanks!

I agree that a lot of foods don't taste good if cooked in a microwave. I think we all agree on that! I was just trying to address some of the myths about them causing food to leap up and bite you. Sorry for my excessive posting...