Finally, not all cooking methods are presented here--
Food |
Water Content (%) |
Vitamin Assay |
||||
C (mg) |
B1 (mg) |
B2 (mg) |
B3 (mg) |
B5 (mg) |
||
Broccoli, raw | 91% |
93 |
.065 |
.12 |
.64 |
.53 |
Broccoli, boiled | 91% |
75 |
.055 |
.11 |
.57 |
.51 |
Beef liver, raw | 69% |
22 |
.26 |
2.8 |
13 |
7.6 |
Beef liver, braised | 66% |
23 |
.20 |
4.1 |
11 |
4.6 |
Beef liver, pan-fried | 56% |
23 |
.21 |
4.1 |
14 |
5.9 |
Carrots, raw | 88% |
9.3 |
.097 |
.059 |
.93 |
.20 |
Carrots, boiled | 87% |
2.3 |
.034 |
.056 |
.51 |
.30 |
Almonds, dried | 4% |
.6 |
.21 |
.78 |
3.4 |
.47 |
Almonds, dry-roasted | 3% |
.7 |
.13 |
.60 |
2.8 |
.25 |
Mung bean sprouts, raw | 90% |
13 |
.084 |
.12 |
.75 |
.38 |
Mung bean sprouts, boiled | 94% |
11 |
.050 |
.10 |
.82 |
.24 |
Tomatoes, red, raw | 94% |
19 |
.059 |
.048 |
.63 |
.25 |
Tomatoes, boiled | 92% |
23 |
.07 |
.057 |
.75 |
.30 |
Mackerel, Atlantic, raw | 63% |
.4 |
.18 |
.31 |
9.1 |
.86 |
Mackerel, cooked, dry heat | 53% |
.4 |
.16 |
.41 |
6.8 |
.99 |
Food |
Water Content (%) |
Vitamin Assay |
||||
B6 (mg) |
Folate (mcg) |
B12 (mcg) |
A (IU) |
E (mg) |
||
Broccoli, raw | 91% |
.16 |
71 |
0 |
1,500 |
1.7 |
Broccoli, boiled | 91% |
.14 |
50 |
0 |
1,400 |
1.7 |
Beef liver, raw | 69% |
.95 |
250 |
69 |
35,000 |
.67 |
Beef liver, braised | 66% |
.91 |
220 |
71 |
35,000 |
? |
Beef liver, pan-fried | 56% |
1.4 |
220 |
112 |
36,000 |
.63 |
Carrots, raw | 88% |
.15 |
14 |
0 |
28,000 |
.46 |
Carrots, boiled | 87% |
.25 |
14 |
0 |
24,000 |
.42 |
Almonds, dried | 4% |
.11 |
59 |
0 |
0 |
24 |
Almonds, dry-roasted | 3% |
.07 |
64 |
0 |
0 |
5.5 |
Mung bean sprouts, raw | 90% |
.09 |
61 |
0 |
21 |
.01 |
Mung bean sprouts, boiled | 94% |
.05 |
29 |
0 |
14 |
.01 |
Tomatoes, red, raw | 94% |
.08 |
15 |
0 |
620 |
.38 |
Tomatoes, boiled | 92% |
.09 |
13 |
0 |
740 |
.38 |
Mackerel, Atlantic, raw | 63% |
.40 |
1.3 |
8.7 |
165 |
1.5 |
Mackerel, cooked, dry heat | 53% |
.46 |
1.5 |
19 |
180 |
? |
Here is the average vitamin loss, expressed in percentages, and corrected for the effect of
Food |
Water Content |
Vitamin Assay |
||||
C |
B1 |
B2 |
B3 |
B5 |
||
Average Losses (% lost compared to Raw value) |
||||||
Uncorrected for water loss | 8 |
8 |
18 |
-11 |
10 |
9 |
Corrected for water loss | -- |
16 |
26 |
-3 |
18 |
17 |
Food |
Water Content |
Vitamin Assay |
||||
B6 |
Folate |
B12 |
A |
E |
||
Average Losses (% lost compared to Raw value) |
||||||
Uncorrected for water loss | 8 |
-5 |
12 |
? |
3 |
3 |
Corrected for water loss | -- |
3 |
20 |
? |
11 |
11 |
Overall vitamin losses due to cooking are relatively modest. While there are a few inconsistencies in the above tables due likely to differing samples, globally we see that, on average, cooking does destroy vitamins, but the consequences are not catastrophic. Average vitamin losses after correction for water loss range from about 10 to 25% in most cases. Also, vitamin losses correlate with what our textbook by Kreutler
Table illustrates dietary variety is as significant to nutrition as cooking. Finally, given the extreme variability in vitamin content of different foods, there is a strong case to be made that variety is at least as important as cooking practices: someone eating 95% raw fruit is far more likely to be vitamin-
From Erdman
From Johnson [1991], heat treatment of raw carrot juice at temperatures comparable to those at pasteurization and boiling does not change the carotenes, while heating at temperatures used during sterilization results in rearrangement of the carotene molecules and a decrease in total available carotenes (by transforming the naturally occurring trans into cis form). Note: sterilization typically uses temperatures of 180°C (356°F) for a few seconds, and kills all germs, whereas pasteurization is done at temperatures below boiling, and only kills
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