CarrotsCooked: Eating raw carrots every day for 4 weeks barely affected blood beta-carotene levels, one study found. But eaters of canned carrots had levels three times as high, because cooking skyrockets the body’s ability to extract beta-carotene.Raw: Cooking carrots may destroy some of their polyphenols—plant-derived antioxidants that can’t withstand heat. KaleCooked: Kale is high in beta-carotene, so cooking gives the nutrient a boost. Steaming especially improves its ability to bind bile acid—linked to lowering cholesterol—much more than in its raw state, found one study.Raw: One cup of kale packs 107% of your daily vitamin C! But C is heat sensitive, so levels plummet when cooked. TomatoesCooked: In one study, cooking upped lycopene in tomatoes by 35%, because heat breaks down cell walls and makes it easier to extract. The more you heat tomatoes—especially when you cook with fat, like olive oil—the more lycopene your body can use.Raw: The same study showed that cooking tomatoes lessens vitamin C, but the total antioxidant levels remain high. Source: Mario Ferruzzi, PhD, a professor of food and nutrition at Purdue University MORE: When Pineapples Grow In Canada
