An old piece about… vegetables
I originally posted this “piece” on a substack I started called “Is This Good For Me?” in 2019. It was a nutrition advice column. I had people anonymously submit questions via a survey link, and then I allowed myself to answer as tangentially as I wanted to! I’ve since changed the substack to be called “Art Dietitian” (something I was trying out), and then abandoned it. Ceramics is a much better creative outlet for me. But if you’re curious about the nature of my dietitian job, check out the below post! (The writing is a tad cringey, but I still stand by all the info!)
https://artdietitian.substack.com/p/are-raw-vegetables-better
Are Raw Vegetables Better?
If you like chewing a lot, then sure.
DEC 05, 2019
Question:
Does roasting vegetables negate the healthiness? Also, I've read that some methods of cooking vegetables cause some of the nutrients to leach out; is it even worth eating them at that point? Are raw veggies the only option??
- Gnawing on Raw
I’ve started giving Question-Askers names because I’m bored with writing “Question-Asker” in my response. If you send in a question, (click here to submit one!) be sure to anonymously sign it with a word or phrase. Thank ya.
Answer:
Dear Gnawing On Raw,
Imagine if raw vegetables were the only option — if eating the carrots and celery in chicken noodle soup or those crispy, slightly sweet florets of roasted broccoli was basically like eating cardboard. We’d become rabbits, always with a carrot in our mouths, gnawing, and gnawing, and gnawing. We’d need longer lunch breaks. I bet dentists would see a lot more action. People would arrive for appointments carrying tooth-studded beets and turnips.
Luckily, as seen in just about every cookbook and restaurant (other than the raw vegan ones), raw vegetables are not the only option. MERCI BEAUCOUP to the cavepeople for discovering fire!! My jaw needs a break. Bring me the sautéed greens, roasted carrots, grilled red bell peppers, fried zucchini, blanched green beans, and charred onions. Yum, yum, yum.
To be fair, I guess you’re asking me whether raw veggies are the only mode of vegetable consumption that contributes positively to health. I suppose that depends on what health means to you.
If your definition of health is holistic (including mental, social, emotional, and spiritual health as well as physical health), then the answer is HELL NO!
If your definition of health is similar to the reigning definition of health in our culture, which puts physical health above all, then the answer is still no.
Our society is currently obsessed with wellness as it pertains to physical health. People obsess about weight, inflammation, pain, digestive issues, skin abnormalities, etc. However, not taken into account is that our mental, social, emotional, and spiritual health are tightly related to our physical health. Stress can affect many physical symptoms, especially the ones I just listed. (In another post, I provided a detailed explanation of how stress can affect GI symptoms.)
When we look at health holistically, nutritional minutiae play a very minor role. A food’s nutritional composition should not be the main reason we choose to eat a food. Eating is so much more than a way to obtain vitamins and minerals. Vitamins and minerals are important, sure, but most are not difficult to obtain as long as you eat a balanced diet. A carefully calibrated eating regimen is not required to obtain ample macronutrients (carbs, protein, fat) or micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). Regular, balanced meals that include a variety of different foods are enough to meet most folks' nutritional needs for good health.
Hidden within your question is the assumption that we only eat vegetables to support our physical health. You’re not alone with this assumption, yet I wish this wasn’t the case. After all, vegetables are incredible. They have unique flavors. They add beautiful color to dishes. They provide a variety of textures, depending on how they’re prepared. And they can be prepared in so many different ways. It’s also true that they have nutritional benefits. They provide an array of vitamins and minerals and a nice dose of fiber. Also, most types of vegetables do not provide many calories since they are a large percentage water.
While it’s nice that veggies have physical health benefits, I find it sad that some people only eat vegetables to support their physical health. I believe more people would enjoy vegetables if we elevated nourishment and satisfaction like we elevate wellness and weight loss.
Many of my patients think you need A LOT of vegetables to be healthy. So, they juice them, blend them, and they even take capsules of powdered vegetable and fruit concentrate. I assume people think “the more, the better!” because the USDA’s new food pyramid is now a plate, more specifically “MyPlate”:
“Make half your plate fruits and veggies!” says the government. And really, if you did this at every meal, that’d be a lot of fruits and veggies. Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t really care for fruits and veggies, especially veggies. This is probably because they had vegetables, likely the canned or over-boiled sort, shoved down their throats as kids. Many people don’t even know the crisp, slightly sweet delight of a roasted crucifer.
This plate is a guideline in a country that is concerned about an “obesity epidemic.” Since so many Americans fall in the “obese” category, the government has assumed that many Americans eat too many calories. Vegetables and fruits are relatively low in calories, so when we fill up half our plates with vegetables and fruit, not much room is left for large portions of meat or starch, making it difficult to consume too many calories.
Eating plenty of veggies and fruits also helps people obtain ample fiber. Fiber supports our physical health in several ways. It helps blood sugar levels stay more stable, helps lower cholesterol, helps with bowel movement regularity, helps with the growth of beneficial bacteria, and helps promote satiety (or physical fullness) while eating. Neither juicing vegetables nor taking concentrated vegetable powders take up room on the plate or provide fiber. Vegetables are much more than carriers of vitamins and minerals.
But on the topic of vitamins and minerals, cooking vegetables can actually allow for better vitamin and mineral absorption in some cases. For example, many raw vegetables (especially spinach and other leafy greens) contain oxalates which bind to minerals like iron and calcium and inhibit their absorption. Heat helps break down oxalates, allowing for better absorption of these minerals. (1,2)
Cooking tomatoes, carrots, asparagus, and mushrooms also increases the bioavailability of beneficial nutrients in these vegetables. (2)
Of course, overcooking vegetables can also reduce the vitamin and mineral availability, but overcooked vegetables don’t taste good anyway. Also, letting produce sit in the fridge too long before eating (old produce is discolored, wilted, or pruny) can also diminish vegetables’ vitamin and mineral content. And, as many people have heard, boiling veggies, but especially over-boiling vegetables, will cause a portion of the vegetable’s water-soluble nutrients to leach out into the water. (You could always cook soup or rice with the water, however). The fat-soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, E, and K) will still be mostly present in the boiled vegetable.
In all these instances, the vegetables will still have fiber and will still take up room on the plate. But if they don’t taste good, don’t force yourself to eat them. Compost those veg, and find a better way to prepare them next time. The majority of my patients who don’t like vegetables haven’t tried many preparations of vegetables. Often, they’ve only had canned or boiled veggies.
Vegetables taste best with salt and fat. They’re even better when crispy, as crisp is a texture that the human palate cannot get enough of – thus why my patients on pureed diets really struggle to enjoy eating. So if you’re not on a pureed diet – ROAST YO VEG! (Cut ‘em up, massage with olive oil, apply salt and other seasonings. And when they come out, add some cheese and lemon, or drizzle with aioli. Mmmm). Also, when vegetables are consumed with a source of fat, not only do they taste way better, the fat helps improve the absorption of the vegetables’ fat-soluble vitamins.
Raw vegetables are still great sources of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. They take up room on the plate. And they’re easy since they don’t require much prep. If you like raw vegetables, eat raw vegetables. However, I usually find raw veggies less pleasurable than cooked veggies. The texture gets old. So much chewing! I don’t need eating to be a workout. When I do eat raw veggies, I like them dipped in hummus or some mayo-based sauce. Also, I love salads and slaws – both which have salt and fat added via dressing and toppings. The acid in dressings helps improve iron absorption from plants, and acid also helps soften the hardy fibers in cruciferous vegetables (like broccoli, cabbage, and kale) making those raw vegetables easier to digest.
Steer away from raw vegetables when having gastrointestinal distress, especially diarrhea. You can even preemptively avoid raw vegetables when you know your day is going to be stressful. Stress and anxiety (especially acute stress) often slow digestion. Raw vegetables require a lot of digestive energy since so much intact fiber has to be broken down. Piling a load of raw broccoli into a stressed-out gut will lead to farts and loose stools for many of us.
GOR, hopefully you’re seeing that the preparation method for vegetables doesn’t matter all that much. In any case, I encourage you to eat vegetables not because they’re “healthy” but because they taste good and feel good. Eat them because they’re colorful, delectable gifts from the Earth. This is true holistic health – what I believe most people are really aiming for, if capitalism’s wellness culture would get out of the way.
When considering health, incorporate your emotions (“Mmm, I like these, they add nice color to the plate. I’m happy eating these veggies”), your social life (“I’m going to have fun making a delicious vegetable dish to share with others, and I might even buy the ingredients at a local farmers’ market”), and your spirit (“How brilliant that Mother Nature/God created these delicious plants, and that our ancestors discovered tasty ways of preparing them”). Even more, a daily dose of vegetal fiber tends to feel nice because it helps with regular bowel movements, which are oh-so satisfying. But also, a day, a few days, or even a week without vegetables is not an issue. Your bowel movements may be slightly less satisfying, but your physical health will not suffer.
Sure, vegetables (prepared in any way) are generally helpful for our physical health, but if the only reason you’re eating them is to support your physical health, I actually encourage you take a break from them. During this break, learn how to eat in a way that’s enjoyable, a way that makes you happy and less stressed. Add vegetables back in when you miss their taste and texture. Do not add them back in to relieve health anxiety about not eating them. Learn to tell the difference between these two forces. Your overall health will benefit from this challenge.
Per the renowned dietitian Ellyn Satter, competent eating is when “you eat fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and other nutritious foods because you enjoy them, not because you have to.” Contrary to your thought that vegetables may be pointless to eat if they lack nutrition, I’d argue that vegetables are pointless to eat if they’re not enjoyed.
To your health, all of it –
Paige RD
1) http://www.moringanews.org/documents/ironD.pdf
Disclaimer: While I am a practicing dietitian, this is only an advice column and cannot stand in for one-on-one work with a registered dietitian who has access to your health records and a fuller story. If you want more than this advice can provide, please look into making appointments with a registered dietitian (RD or RDN) in your area.
