Eating vegetables-- Raw or cooked

VEGETABLES, RAW OR COOKED

WHAT ARE VEGETABLES

Vegetables,we talk here, are any part of plants that people eat as their food such as leaves, roots,bulbs,tubers,stems, buds,flowers,seeds and fruits. Nuts and cereal grains are not considered vegetables.Vegetables grown in tropical countries cannot be grown in cold countries. Therefore countries have to import vegetables for their consumption.But the new trend is to cultivate vegetables in protected environments such as greenhouses and hothouses. Vegetables that require cool climatic conditions to grow, are grown in greenhouses and vegetables that require warm climatic conditions to grow, are grown in hothouses.However vegetables are a great source of nutrition  without which human life is impossible on this planet.

NUTRIENTS IN VEGETABLES

Vegetables are a wealth of nutrients.They contain main nutrients such as,vitamins, carbohydrates , minerals ,protein , fat and fiber. Dietary fiber gives you a lot of advantages in the digestive system easing defecation. When soluble fiber is fermented in the colon, it produces healthful compounds. Insoluble fiber has the ability to increase the bulk, soften stool and it shortens the transit time of the food through the intestinal tract. On the other hand vegetables contain essential vitamins such as vitamin A, K and B 6.When the vegetables containing these vitamins and other nutrients are included in your diet,you can reduce the risk of having cancer, stroke, heart diseases and other chronic diseases.Next nutrient contained in the vegetable is dietary minerals.Some of them are calcium, potassium, sulfur, sodium, chlorine, phosphorus and magnesium. There are some other minor dietary minerals too.some of them are iron, iodine, zinc and etc.The functions of minerals vary from one mineral to another.for example calcium is important for healthy bones, teeth, blood clotting, and blood pressure regulation.Potassium helps proper fluid balance, phosphorus for healthy bones, teeth and etc.  


EATING RAW VEGETABLES

A lot of people  prefer eating raw vegetables.Some green leafy vegetables and some tubers, can be eaten raw.The most important thing when eating raw vegetables is hygiene.To limit contamination,   vegetables should be cleaned , washed and stored well.If not you will get gastrointestinal infections such as diarrhea and vomiting by eating them.It is better to eat vegetables containing vitamin C without cooking because heat destroys it. You can get high levels of beta carotene by eating vegetables raw. Your body is capable of converting it into vitamin A. Vitamin A is important for your vision,reproduction, bone growth and regulating the immune system
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EATING COOKED VEGETABLES

Cooking and eating are interrelated.Therefore cooking is very important to our diets. When food is softened by cooking digestive  process becomes easy for the system and your body doesn't have to use much energy to digest.Cooking boosts up lycopene in tomatoes. Lycopene is considered, (though not still proved) , to have the cancer healing properties, Cooked vegetables such as carrot spinach cabbage have more antioxidant than eaten raw which is also considered (though still not proved) to have cancerous cells killing properties.
In conclusion what I can say from what I have studied is that both eating vegetables raw and cooked have their own health benefits and disadvantages.When cooked, while one property of the vegetable is lost , another is boosted up.When eaten raw while you have a chance to get the natural properties directly,you have the risk of contamination,Therefore the most important thing is to eat a considerable amount of vegetables in your diets daily and not the way you eat whether  cooked or raw.
The best person to know about your food is your medical doctor. So don't hesitate to consult him for your nutrition problems.