{"id":4784,"date":"2023-06-13T19:25:21","date_gmt":"2023-06-13T12:25:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=4784"},"modified":"2023-06-13T19:25:21","modified_gmt":"2023-06-13T12:25:21","slug":"is-cauliflower-better-for-you-cooked-or-raw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=4784","title":{"rendered":"Is Cauliflower Better for You Cooked or Raw?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"drop-cap text-big text-gray\"> <span class=\"drop-cap__first text-dropcap \">T<\/span>here\u2019s no denying that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/cauliflower-benefits\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/cauliflower-benefits\/\">cauliflower<\/a> has overtaken <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/broccoli-vs-cauliflower\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/broccoli-vs-cauliflower\/\">broccoli<\/a> as the poster child for healthy veggies in recent years. And while it may often be disguised as a chip, pizza crust, or tater tot, grocery shoppers can find cauliflower near the top of the ingredient list of many plant-based foods as a result.<\/div>\n<p>But what does adding the bushy, cream-colored veggie to these products really do from a health standpoint\u2026 if anything at all? We spoke with two registered dietitians that looked into the health benefits of foods made with cooked cauliflower as a base. And spoiler: Although they both are strong advocates for eating more veggies whenever possible, how they&#8217;re being consumed (or prepared) can play a significant role in their nutritional value.\u00a0Ahead, a closer look at how cauliflower&#8217;s nutritional value can be impacted by cooking and processing\u2014and how to keep all of its health-promoting nutrients intact.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What\u2019s the best way to consume cauliflower to get the most benefits?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.roxanaehsani.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.roxanaehsani.com\">Roxana Ehsani<\/a>, MS, RD, CSSD, LDN, a registered dietitian nutritionist and board-certified sports dietitian based in Miami, there\u2019s no denying that cauliflower is packed with health perks. \u201cCauliflower contains about two grams of fiber and two of protein, and it&#8217;s high in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory properties,\u201d Ehsani says. What\u2019s more, the registered dietitian notes that while you may tend to associate vitamin C with foods like lemons and oranges, cauliflower is also a great source of this immune-boosting vitamin, with about <a href=\"https:\/\/fdc.nal.usda.gov\/fdc-app.html#\/food-details\/169986\/nutrients\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/fdc.nal.usda.gov\/fdc-app.html#\/food-details\/169986\/nutrients\">52 milligrams per cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"related-content \" style=\"\" data-module-init=\"related-content\" data-module-immediate=\"\" v-cloak=\"\">\n<div class=\"related-content__wrapper \" v-cloak=\"\" :class=\"{'is-loaded':isLoaded}\">\n<p> <span class=\"inline pr-6 text-seafoam-dark\">Related Stories<\/span> <\/p>\n<p> <related-content class=\"related-content__links\" parent-article-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/is-cauliflower-better-for-you-cooked-or-raw\/\" current-title=\"Do We Really Reap Any of Cauliflower\u2019s Nutritional Perks When Eating It in \u2018Potato\u2019 Chip or Pizza Crust Form?\" current-image=\"is-cauliflower-better-for-you-cooked-or-raw-mash-425x285.jpg\" v-on:parsely-posts-loaded=\"onPostsLoaded\" start-date=\"2022-12-13\" tag=\"div\" inline-template=\"\" url=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/is-cauliflower-better-for-you-cooked-or-raw\/\" secret=\"w5ztterVB03LGZJLfXS0hf3EvQBuFFIWew9hmVQxthU\" apikey=\"wellandgood.com\" limit=\"3\"> <\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"related-content__card mb-[10px] sm:mb-[20px]\" :class=\"{'related-content__card--full':posts.length === 1}\" v-for=\"(post, key) in posts\"> <a v-on:click.prevent=\"trackLinkGA($event, key)\" :href=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/is-cauliflower-better-for-you-cooked-or-raw\/post.url\" data-url-source=\"related-content\" class=\"related-content__link\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"\"> <\/p>\n<div class=\"related-content__card--image bg-tan\" :style=\"{ backgroundImage: 'url(' + post.image_url + ')' }\"> <img :src=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/is-cauliflower-better-for-you-cooked-or-raw\/post.image_url\" :alt=\"post.title\"\/> <\/div>\n<p> <\/a>  <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <\/related-content> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>That said, cooked cauliflower is a whole other story. Let\u2019s preface: Although you\u2019ll still get cauliflower benefits no matter how you eat it, the way it\u2019s prepared can drastically alter its nutrient profile. \u201cYou absolutely do get health benefits when eating cauliflower in different forms, whether eating it in rice, pizza, chip, or tater tot form,\u201d Ehsani says. However, cooking the veggie at higher temperatures can take a toll on some of its nutrients. \u201cWhen you cook cauliflower, such as baking cauliflower pizza crust, sauteing cauliflower rice, or air-frying cauliflower tots, heat will diminish some\u2014but not all\u2014of the heat-sensitive vitamins, including vitamin C.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cWhen you cook cauliflower, such as baking cauliflower pizza crust, sauteing cauliflower rice, or air-frying cauliflower tots, heat will diminish some\u2014but not all\u2014of the heat-sensitive vitamins, including vitamin C.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>But the impact heat can have on the nutritional value of cauliflower can vary depending on two main factors: How hot and for how long you cook it. \u201cIf it\u2019s at very high heat for a long time, more of the vitamin-soluble nutrients will be lost,\u201d Ehsani says.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.christinamanian.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.christinamanian.com\/\">Christina Manian<\/a>, RDN, a Boulder-based registered dietitian and sustainable food systems professional, notes that a few specific cooking methods tend to have the most effect. \u201cCooking cauliflower will alter its nutrition when compared to raw, as you might imagine. One study found that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC3793502\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC3793502\/\">steaming and boiling cauliflower resulted in a loss of antioxidant activity<\/a> due to the reduction in active plant compound content, with boiling having the most severe impact,\u201d Manian says.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>How different cooking methods can affect the nutritional value of cauliflower<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>In short: Raw cauliflower = no alteration in nutritional value. That said, not all cooking methods will have the same impact on cauliflower\u2019s nutrient levels. To that end, Manian shares some general guidelines on how this may be the case. \u201cMicrowaving usually results in the lowest amount of nutrient losses, steaming is middle of the road, and boiling tends to be the highest,\u201d she says. And even then, not every nutrient will be affected in the same way. \u201cSome foods or nutrients are more stable than others,\u201d Manian adds.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s hone in on two prime examples: water-soluble and fat-soluble vitamins. \u201cWater-soluble vitamins are, of course, water-soluble; when foods high in these micronutrients are cooked in water, some of those vitamins will leach into the water,\u201d which Manian says isn\u2019t too much of a concern if you intend on consuming the cooking water. (Like in a soup or using it to make a broth.) \u201cBut when you&#8217;re boiling and draining cauliflower to shred into cauliflower rice or making a cauliflower crust and then discarding that cooking liquid, you\u2019re sending some nutrients down the drain, literally,\u201d she says. Manian explains that the same applies to fat-soluble vitamins when cooked in fat.<\/p>\n<p>On the bright side, Ehsani points out that vitamin K, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/carotenoids\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/carotenoids\/\">carotenoid<\/a> found in cauliflower, will typically remain largely unaffected by exposure to heat. \u201cThe one nutrient we don\u2019t have to worry about being damaged by heat is vitamin K, which is important for bone and blood health. Although Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin, it won\u2019t get destroyed by cooking or heat,\u201d Ehsani says.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>So, is consuming cauliflower products worthwhile, according to RDs?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>\u201cUltimately, this boils down to\u2014no pun intended\u2014how the cauliflower product was created,\u201d Manian says. She encourages folks to ask questions like: Was the cauliflower cooked beforehand? If so, did it likely entail a cooking method that may have resulted in nutrient loss? And, most importantly, what else was used to make the product? \u201cAre there any mystery additives or excessive amounts of added sugar or sodium on the label?\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Rather than dissecting the &#8220;cauliflower&#8221; of it all, it&#8217;s more about the bigger picture. Nutrition-wise, eating cauliflower is any form is fab\u2014what&#8217;s more impactful in terms of your health is whatever you&#8217;re eating along with it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>TL;DR? Rather than dissecting the &#8220;cauliflower&#8221; of it all, it&#8217;s more about the bigger picture. Nutrition-wise, eating cauliflower is any form is fab\u2014what&#8217;s more impactful in terms of your health is whatever you&#8217;re eating along with it. When in doubt, opt for cauliflower that\u2019s as minimally processed as possible, whenever possible.<\/p>\n<p><em>Get the cauliflower ready. We&#8217;re making fried rice tonight:<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"How To Make Your Own Cauliflower Fried Rice | Well Done | Well+Good\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PGz_mIvsyzs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1675549\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There\u2019s no denying that cauliflower has overtaken broccoli as the poster child for healthy veggies in recent years. And while it may often be disguised as a chip, pizza crust, or tater tot, grocery shoppers can find cauliflower near the top of the ingredient list of many plant-based foods as a result. But what does &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4786,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4784"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4784\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}