Steaming and boiling is worse than a microwave?!

I've been trying to boil potatoes whenever possible for health reasons, so I was a bit perplexed to read this. The theory makes sense to me, or maybe I'm just gullible. What are your thoughts?

Myth: Microwaves destroy essential nutrients in foods
You've probably heard that microwaves rob food of its nutritional value, but that's just not true. Research reviews that compare microwaving food to traditional cooking methods reveal minimal differences. And, in some cases, microwaving may help retain more of specific nutrients, such as water-soluble nutrients that are generally lost when steaming.

When food is heated--whether from an oven, stovetop, grill, or microwave--there will be some level of nutrient degradation. The losses generally stem from nutrients that aren't heat-stable, like vitamin C and some phytonutrients. In addition, many nutrients are water-soluble, which means that they will leach into any cooking liquid that you may use. To retain the most nutrition in your foods (regardless of the method used) avoid using extremely high temperatures, don't over-cook food, and use as little water or liquid as possible.

As much as I want to drink potato water to get lost nutrients, can I just go back to my oven and microwave lol?

You need to be a member of The Frugivore Diet to add comments!

Join The Frugivore Diet

Email me when people reply –

Replies

  • Just steam them! I steam potatoes and root veggies all the time, it's way faster than baking, retains more nutrients than boiling, and doesn't require you to put your food in a radiation box!
    • Haha okay I'll start steaming, but ONLY because you have a cool username.

      • Yeah looks like the best of all worlds. Still. Baking if you have time. ;-)

  • I just don't trust microwaves.  Study "microwave side effects" to see the potential negatives.  There's a reason it's called nuking food.  Plus it always tastes a little funny.  

    Perhaps other than solar cooking, I think steaming is the best option.  Just get a little steamer basket, pop it in a big pot with some water not exceeding the basket grate, get the water boiling quickly, then turn it down as low as you like depending on how long you want it to take.  BTW, taters cook faster if you at least cut them in half rather than keep them whole.  

    Speaking of funny, did you know cooking can boost your romantic life?  

    Yeah, it's a case of boil meets grill...

    • I'll check it out.

      I'll try steaming. Surprisingly, I've never tried it.

      Lol forget Colbert, you need to be Letterman's replacement!

      • Baking with the skin on!

  • I tend to be way more concerned with the deformation of my foods' molecules via "the microwave effect" than its nutrient loss. Plus, I really don't want to be exposed to radiation leaks, even if they're minuscule. If what the quoted person says is true, and there is extensive nutrient loss from my steaming, I'd prefer to just eat more of whatever steamed starch or fresh fruit and veggies to try to make up for the loss. Can you please provide a link or citation to the passage that you quoted? I'm interested in reading the rest of that essay.

    • Lol it's hardly an essay, but here you go.

      • Wouldn't trust that article as far as I could throw it brah. Which is 0 (since it's digital). Everyone's debunking something. If you hit something with microwave radiation so much that it gets cooked, I don't know if you should eat that just common sense. Secondly the other items in the article are pathetic nonsense, like Myth: "eating a vegetarian diet will alkalise your body". How about eating meat and cheese will acidify your body. But no. :)

This reply was deleted.