{"id":27249,"date":"2026-08-31T09:00:05","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T13:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/?p=27249"},"modified":"2026-08-07T13:26:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T17:26:35","slug":"raw-versus-cooked-fruit-and-vegetables","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/2026\/08\/31\/raw-versus-cooked-fruit-and-vegetables\/","title":{"rendered":"Raw versus Cooked Fruit and Vegetables"},"content":{"rendered":"
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istockphoto<\/p><\/div>\n

By chef Nancy Berkoff, EdD, RD<\/p>\n

It\u2019s often interesting to talk about\u00a0\u201cwhat\u2019s better for you: cooked or raw fruits and vegetables?\u201d The answer, which has been debated\u00a0since, well, people have been cooking,\u00a0is generally \u201cit depends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Our blog column is too short to get into details about raw versus cooked philosophies. We\u2019ll try to have a fast, \u201cfood for thought\u201d column, rather than attempting to get into the very fine points. Several\u00a0generalities on this topic could be:<\/p>\n

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  1. Prepare fruits and vegetables the way you enjoy them,\u00a0so you will be willing consume them on a regular basis!<\/li>\n
  2. Over processing (boiling for extended periods of time, for example) is rarely a positive for fruit and vegetable enjoyment or for nutrient value; Overcooked Brussel sprouts never won any flavor or vitamin awards.<\/li>\n
  3. Nutrition is not meant to be an \u201calways or never\u201d routine. Fresh spinach salad one day, steamed garlic spinach the next day\u2026 each menu item offers some type of and level of nutrition. \u201cCooking\u201d may mean up to only 118 degrees for some and roasting over a wood fire for others; raw may mean plucked from the tree and eaten or microwaved for thirty seconds and cooled; each technique provides some level of nutrition.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Way back when, there may have not been a great deal of choice whether fruits and vegetables were cooked or processed,\u00a0or not.\u00a0If you lived in an area that had year-round crops, you could have some guarantee that fruits and vegetables would be available throughout the year, no processing needed. If\u00a0you lived in a limited-growing climate, then fruits and vegetables\u00a0needed to be cooked or processed to ensure a steady food supply.<\/p>\n

    If we listen to food technologists, we understand that the way\u00a0fruits and vegetables are cooked or warmed does make a difference in nutrient availability and absorption.\u00a0Some nutrients will be better absorbed if veggies or fruit\u00a0are prepared or eaten\u00a0with a small amount of\u00a0healthy fat.\u00a0The fat soluble vitamins, A, D, E, and K, and nutrients found in plants, especially beta-carotene, lycopene, and carotenoids, are better absorbed when a bit of fat is included. So, for example, vegetables or fruit in a salad, served with a small amount of\u00a0dressing, avocado, or nuts can\u00a0help with absorption of fat-soluble nutrients. As a rule of thumb, we are speaking about a teaspoon or so of fat per serving. Larger amounts of fat don\u2019t improve the amount of absorption.<\/p>\n

    Heat breaks down cell walls, releasing nutrients. For example, cooked or heat processed (sun-drying would be one technique) tomato products tend to have higher levels of available lycopene than raw tomatoes. Vegetables like carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, broccoli, mushrooms, zucchini, asparagus, cabbage, and peppers supply more carotenoids or flavonoids to the body when cooked or warmed\u00a0than when eaten raw. Oxalates and phytates are substances found in many fruits and vegetables, and can impede the ability to absorb calcium and iron. Light cooking or heating helps to break down these substances, allowing the body to absorb more calcium and iron.<\/p>\n

    Water soluble vitamins, Vitamin C and all the B vitamins (B6, B12, folic acid, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, etc.) are heat sensitive. Fruits and vegetables eaten for these vitamins may supply more nutrients if consumed raw. Broccoli and cauliflower, chard, peppers, beets, and radishes contain nutrients that may \u201cleech out\u201d if exposed to a lot of cooking liquid or prolonged heat. If it is desirable to cook these fruits or vegetables, try to use the cooking water (which may contain some of the nutrients lost from the cooked vegetables). Soups, vegetables stews or borscht are ways to obtain water soluble vitamins, as is using the cooking water to prepare rice, grains, pasta or beans.<\/p>\n

    Both mushrooms and spinach benefit from gentle cooking or heating to release nutrients. The B vitamins found in mushrooms, and the calcium and Vitamin K found in spinach are better absorbed when these veggies are quickly blanched or saut\u00e9ed.<\/p>\n

    Of course,\u00a0this information needs to be considered in the context of regular intake. A menu plan that contains a variety of fruits and vegetables on a regular basis should contribute to health. Varying preparation techniques are helpful, as well\u2026 a spinach salad one day,\u00a0vegan creamed spinach the next day. If fruits and vegetables are more of an \u201cI should really do this\u201d with small portions on an occasional basis, rather than \u201cI really look forward to this\u201d with multiple portions throughout the week, than, hopefully, the maximizing\u00a0of nutrients will be a consideration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    By chef Nancy Berkoff, EdD, RD It\u2019s often interesting to talk about\u00a0\u201cwhat\u2019s better for you: cooked or raw fruits and vegetables?\u201d The answer, which has been debated\u00a0since, well, people have been cooking,\u00a0is generally \u201cit depends.\u201d Our blog column is too short to get into details about raw versus cooked philosophies. We\u2019ll try to have a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27249"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27249\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27251,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27249\/revisions\/27251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}