Do vegetables lose nutrients after cooking?

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One reason the raw-food movement is gaining in popularity is the belief that vegetables lose their wonderful antioxidant-building nutrients during the cooking process. But a recent study published in the Journal of Food Science disputes that contention.
Take our quiz about some of the findings in that report.

1. True or false: Microwave cooking of vegetables destroys key nutrients.

2. Celery increased its antioxidant capacity in every form of cooking except this one:
a) pressure cooking
b) boiling
c) microwaving
d) frying

3. True or false: Cooking green beans actually increases their antioxidant content.

4. Which vegetable registered the highest losses of antioxidants after either boiling or microwaving?
a) broccoli
b) cauliflower
c) chard
d) peppers

5. Which of these vegetables did not keep high antioxidant content after cooking?
a) beets
b) artichokes
c) broccoli
d) green beans

ANSWERS: 1: false; 2: b; 3: true; 4: b; 5: c
Source: The Society for Food Science and Technology

(Sam McManis can be reached at smcmanis(at)sacbee.com)

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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