How many vitamins are lost in cooking?

1. Which percent of the vitamins remain intact? I boil 5 liters of flavored water and throw in 3 ounces of very fresh vegetables. I let that boil for 5 to 10 minutes. I let that cool down and then freeze as soon as possible (per liter). Every day I defrost a liter and consume it with a whole grain bun. Have the vitamins stayed for 70 percent?

1. Linda Hogervorst, dietician

Vitamin loss

1. Vitamins are divided into the fat-soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, E and K) and the water-soluble vitamins (B vitamins and vitamin C). Vegetables contain water-soluble vitamins. Quite a few vitamins can be lost during cooking. This is roughly between five and fifty-five percent, but there are also outliers. One hundred percent of vitamin B11 (folic acid) and vitamin C can be lost during cooking. This is because these water-soluble vitamins dissolve in the cooking liquid (water). This cooking liquid is thrown away after cooking. In addition, these vitamins are (partially) broken down by heating.

Preparation method

1. How many vitamins are lost depends, among other things, on: the type of vegetable, the cooking temperature, the material of the pan in which it is cooked, the amount of cooking liquid and the exposure to oxygen.

Advice At this point, you use five liters of water to cook three ounces of vegetables. That is a lot of cooking liquid. The more cooking liquid you use, the more vitamins can dissolve in it and the more vitamins you wash away in the sink. Try to use less cooking water. Vegetables do not have to be completely submerged during cooking. Often a few centimeters of water in the pan is enough. Some vegetables, such as spinach, can even be cooked (with the lid on the pan) without cooking liquid. You can also choose a preparation method other than cooking. Steaming your vegetables instead of cooking them increases vitamin retention. Try to cut the vegetables into as few pieces as possible. The smaller the pieces, the larger the surface will be and the more vitamins will be lost during cooking. You don't necessarily have to throw away the cooking liquid that remains after cooking. You can also use this as a base for a sauce or gravy. Freezing is a good way to preserve vegetables (including nutritional values). However, it has been shown that thawing vegetables before cooking can lead to vitamin loss. Do not try to defrost the vegetables before cooking. Linda Hogervorst is a freelance dietician and has a master's degree in Nutrition and Health. She owns the sole proprietorship Into Food. She no longer answers expert questions for Health Net. Do you have a question about nutrition? Send an email to nutritionist Patricia Schutte Do you also have a question? Then ask one of our experts. Always go to your doctor with urgent questions, the experts are not the right person for that. They also don't make diagnoses. You can find the other conditions here. Don't miss anything anymore?

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