Will microwave heating destroy the nutrition of vegetables?
The researchers cooked two cups of broccoli and 10 tablespoon of water by four methods: steaming, pressure cooker stewing, boiling and microwave oven, and then compared the flavonoid content in vegetables cooked by different methods. Flavonoids are antioxidants widely distributed in vegetables and fruits, which can reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and some cancers. The results showed that the loss rate of flavonoids in steamed broccoli was 1 1%, that in pressure cooker was 53%, that in boiled broccoli was 8 1%, and that in microwave oven was very high, reaching 97%.
Any kind of cooking heating will reduce the content of some vitamins, but food contact with water is another major factor causing nutrient loss.
Many nutrients are soluble in water, so when we wash vegetables, some healthy nutrients are soluble in water and thrown away with the washing water. The loss of flavonoids in steamed broccoli is the least, probably because they are not in direct contact with water.
But you don't need to add 10 tablespoon of water when cooking broccoli in the microwave like researchers do. You only need two tablespoons, and you don't need extra water to cook frozen vegetables in the microwave. Pay attention to the water consumption for cooking, so that you can continue to use your microwave oven and get most of the nutrients in vegetables.