10 tips to prevent loss of nutrients while cooking

Many of us are not aware that cooking destroys nutrients in food. Really does cooking destroy nutrients in food? Yes cooking destroys nutrients trapped in food. Here are ten tips to prevent loss of nutrients from food while cooking. These are tips for healthy cooking

• Do not wash rice multiple times. This process leads to loss of nutrients present on surface of rice grains. Wash rice only once with good amount of water to remove dirt and dust present on surface. Never rub rice grains vigorously. This damages the surface of grains and paves ways to loss of nutrients. 
•  Lemon is store house of Vitamin C. Vitamin C can easily get destroyed due to heat. Hence always squeeze lemon on cooked dishes after turning off the heat. Never heat the dish after lemon is squeezed.Never wash chopped or diced or cut vegetables. This process removes water soluble vitamins present on cut surface. Always wash vegetables first and then take them to chopping board. Avoid fine chopping as far as you can. Larger the vegetables pieces smaller is the nutrient loss

• Avoid using cooking soda or baking soda as much as possible in recipes. Cooking soda destroys Vitamin Thiamine.
• Never cook at high temperature for a long time. High temperature for a longer duration is always detrimental to nutrients. High temperatures always wipe out Vitamin B-Complex
• Cook colored vegetables like carrot, beetroot, pumpkin etc at low temperature for a short time. This prevents destruction of Beeta carotene and anti oxidants present in these vegetables. Beeta carotenes protect your cells from the damaging effects of free radicals ,provide a source of vitamin A ,they enhance the functioning of your immune system and help your reproductive system function properly
• Frequently include recipes which need fermentation. Fermentation makes food easily digestible. It increases bio availability of nutrients and enhances nutrient content of food. Many fermented foods contain nutrients which prevent cancer.
• Use sprouts as much as you can. Germination destroys anti nutritional factors and enhances nutrients. Sprouted cereals and pulses are mostly used in many recipes. The process of sprouting breaks complex nutrients to their simpler forms. The nutrients in cereals or pulses multiply during the process of germination.
• Percentage of loss of nutrients in pressure cooking and microwave cooking are same.
• Avoid processed food as much as you can. These foods might have lost many nutrients while getting processed. Use whole wheat products instead of refined ones.

This article is copy righted. The author Dr.SavithaSuri is an Ayurvedic Physician and nutritionist

TIPS AND FACTS ABOUT AYURVEDA AND NATURAL HEALTH