Vitamins + baking/cooking?

Rowan09
Rowan09 Posts: 35 Member
edited November 15 in Food and Nutrition
I've always wondered about this... how much of a foods nutritional value goes away when cooking?
For instance today I baked muffins made with pumpkin puree. Inputting the ingredients on mfp gives me all the nutrients in the pumpkin, but do I lose all those nutrients after they bake in the oven for 20 minutes?

Replies

  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,324 Member
    If you goal here is losing weight, know that calories will not go away. In terms of vitamins and minerals, there may be changes, but nothing you would be able to figure out, and probably not so much that it would not be made up by other foods.
  • Nikion901
    Nikion901 Posts: 2,467 Member
    Some nutrients are lost through heating ... but that happens on the stove top or in a slow cooker as well. It really depends on the vitamin in question ... for example, Vit C is destroyed by heat ... But, the purpose on MFP is tracking calories and macros, and those do not deteriorate with heat.
  • Rowan09
    Rowan09 Posts: 35 Member
    rileysowner wrote: »
    If you goal here is losing weight, know that calories will not go away. In terms of vitamins and minerals, there may be changes, but nothing you would be able to figure out, and probably not so much that it would not be made up by other foods.
    My goal is to put good food into my body :) which is why I'm worried about vitamins.
  • Nikion901
    Nikion901 Posts: 2,467 Member
    edited January 2017
    Rowan09 wrote: »
    rileysowner wrote: »
    If you goal here is losing weight, know that calories will not go away. In terms of vitamins and minerals, there may be changes, but nothing you would be able to figure out, and probably not so much that it would not be made up by other foods.
    My goal is to put good food into my body :) which is why I'm worried about vitamins.

    The only vitamins tracked are Vitamin C and Vitamin A ... ... good nutiriton is great for hood health.

    Most vitamins are sensitive to heat and water. Water-soluble vitamins, especially most of the B vitamins and vitamin C, leach into cooking water. Vitamins A, D and E are fat-soluble and leach into cooking oils. Vitamin C is the most likely to get lost in cooking, according to Scientific American.

    Answer to getting the most of these is to eat plenty of raw fruits and vegetables in a wide variety.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    Rowan09 wrote: »
    My goal is to put good food into my body :) which is why I'm worried about vitamins.

    the species seems to have lived a long time since we invented cooking. just sayin'.
  • Rowan09
    Rowan09 Posts: 35 Member
    canadianlbs wrote: »
    Rowan09 wrote: »
    My goal is to put good food into my body :) which is why I'm worried about vitamins.

    the species seems to have lived a long time since we invented cooking. just sayin'.
    Thanks for your super super helpful information :)
  • TheDevastator
    TheDevastator Posts: 1,626 Member
    If you really want to know go to nutritiondata.self.com/ and check raw foods vs cooked foods of the same type.
  • Susieq_1994
    Susieq_1994 Posts: 5,361 Member
    I've wondered about this myself a few times, but honestly I don't think it's enough to be concerned about. I try to get a bit over 100% of the DV for vitamins, but I don't really worry about it or let it affect whether I'm going to eat my veggies cooked or raw. I also take a multivitamin now and then on days when the numbers are just horrible. ;) I think that the best thing to do is to just eat a wide variety of veggies and fruits in both their raw and cooked forms and everything will balance out nicely in the end. :)
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    Some nutrients are lost through cooking, but others are made more available through cooking. Eat a wide variety of vegetables, raw and cooked, and you'll fine. Stressing about it is probably more detrimental than the loss of vitamins.
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
    You can drive your self mad thinking about the minutiae of it all.

    Nutrient levels begin to fall from the second the food is harvested. Cooking can speed this process up or slow it down (Lycopene in tomato skins as an example)

    Just eat a wide range of raw and cooked vegetables of all different colours and you'll be fine.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories