By michael - March, 31st 2014

Consuming more raw and cooked vegetables may improve your health by reducing your risk of heart disease, helping you to maintain your weight, and improving your blood pressure and cholesterol levels. While some nutrients found in vegetables such as water-soluble vitamins and enzymes may be depleted during cooking, levels of some other nutrients may be increased. Whether or not you should cook your vegetables depends on your health goals, the nutrients involved and the cooking methods used.

You’d be forgiven if you thought that raw is always healthier than cooked. For many fruits and vegetables that’s certainly the case, but it’s not always the case. Cooking some vegetables actually breaks down their tough cellular structure and makes it easier for the body to absorb nutrients. Of course, by cooking we mean cooking them the right way. Cooked kale may be healthier than raw kale, but deep-fried kale isn’t better than a raw kale salad. And, sure, if you love your raw kale salad and you can’t stand steamed kale, by all means, keep eating those salads. In the end, though, the best thing you can do is rid yourself of the idea that raw is always healthier than cooked.

1. Spinach.

Cooking spinach boosts your body’s ability to absorb all of the fantastic nutrients this leafy green is loaded with, like calcium, iron, magnesium, lutein and antioxidants like beta-carotene. The amount of calcium, …

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