Supplying your body with vitamins coming straight from nature is the best practice which is definitely a way better than relying on artificial food supplements. There are many positive sides of having vitamins from nutritional products, however, it might be challenging to preserve them. This article will teach you about a proper consumption of natural vitamins and it advantages.
Why should you eat natural products for vitamins in the first place?
Certainly, you have come across advertisements teaching people to rely on artificial vitamins as they are more potent than natural sources of vitamins. Indeed, no one will eat kilograms of lemons at a time for meeting a daily norm for vitamin C.
Yet, for the same reason natural products are a better source of vitamins as it is very difficult to overdose them while having these substances from whole products. Unfortunately, this issue is not discussed enough but it is crucial to understand that vitamins can be overdosed. While for vitamin C the side effects might not be serious, for some other vitamins an excessive amount in the body can cause a serious health condition.
Another positive side of having your vitamins directly from food is the fact your body is constantly working on their extraction from products or synthesising ones based on the food you have consumed. This is necessary for keeping the natural functions of your body running properly. Otherwise your body gradually can become too much used to having ready-to-use substances and will not be able to work on its own.
Finally, natural products are also filled with a variety of other crucial substances which are not available for purchase separately.
What should you do to preserve the vitamins in products?
First of all, it is crucial to understand that vitamins tend to get destroyed by high temperatures and for some product the critical temperature might not be thus high at all. For instance, vitamin C has the lowest temperature of degradation which is as small as 40 degrees Celsius.
For that reason it is better to eat as much vegetables in a raw form as possible. Yet, there is a crucial thing about such food. Do not neglect natural oils and add them to your salads or even smoothies since without them many vitamins will not even be absorbed by your body. Actually, many crucial substances are soluble in fat, so it is so important to prepare food with an addition of oils. Of course, it does not mean frying anything you can, but you certainly do not have to go crazy over fat-free products and dishes.
Certainly, it will be better to reduce the time of cooking for vegetables and fruits. For example, it is recommended to add vegetables in hot water before boiling rather than in the cold at the very beginning of cooking. This is of course a good practice if you do not want to make absolutely boiled vegetables.
Note what type of cutlery you are using. For example, popular metal bowls without a special layer of protection can destroy vitamins. It is also highly recommended not to store vegetables and fruits in water even though you might find some tips like that for the people who want to keep these products fresh for a longer time. This might work, however, the vitamins soluble in water can remain there after you finally take your vegetables or fruits from water.
Another useful recommendation is not to peel potatoes before boiling. In such a way, all of the nutrients will remain inside. Otherwise, they will also get into the water which, in all likelihood, will be poured away after cooking.
Remember to always use a lid while cooking vegetables. Note that a layer of fat one a sauce or soup will also protect your dish.