Steamed and vacuum-cooked foods are healthier than a big salad

A very recent study conducted by INRAN (the National Research Institute for Food and Nutritiontogether with the University of Naples seems to put a noteworthy discovery on the table: it is not true that raw foods are better for you; on the contrary, certain cooking techniques such as steaming and vacuum cooking are not only able to keep the content of certain vitamins — such as folates, carotenoids and some antioxidant compounds — unchanged, but make them more bioavailable for absorption by the body; they can also increase their antioxidant capacity.

According to this evidence, the famous vegetable caponata could turn out to be healthier than the ever-popular big salads. Indeed, "the folate content -explains INRAN researcher Ruggeri- of certain vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli and asparagus cooked by steaming decreases by only 10% after steam cooking and is not altered in any way by vacuum cooking. And the bioavailability of folates increases".

From a scientific standpoint, the data would show that heat has the capacity to "degrade the cellular structures of tissues, softening cell walls and facilitating the release of antioxidant compounds out of the matrix".

And in all this, a leading role is played by the olive oil used in cooking, which becomes a vehicle for better absorption of vitamins and fat-soluble compounds.

Moreover, it should not be forgotten that cooking helps make foods safer by eliminating any toxins they may contain. The secret would lie in the cooking time: little water and short times.