Tag: Heat and vitamins

According to research on broccoli, significant losses of vitamin C and other health-promoting compounds can occur from certain cooking methods, while steaming appears to cause minimal loss. Maximizing the nutritional value of food depends on understanding how these vital micronutrients can degrade.

According to research from the USDA, while fresh, raw meat contains small amounts of vitamin C, the cooking process significantly reduces or eliminates this delicate nutrient. This happens because ascorbic acid is sensitive to both heat and water.

According to studies, boiling vegetables like broccoli can cause the loss of over 50% of its vitamin C. Understanding **what destroys vitamins** is a crucial first step toward maximizing the nutritional value of the foods you eat every day.

Approximately 50-60% of Vitamin C can be lost when boiling vegetables like broccoli or spinach, depending on the cooking time. So, the answer to whether heat will destroy vitamins is yes, but the extent of the loss varies greatly depending on the specific vitamin and cooking method.

According to food science, most vitamins begin to degrade at temperatures far lower than their ultimate destruction point, which is why a single temperature cannot destroy all vitamins. The specific temperature and rate of destruction depend heavily on the type of vitamin, the cooking method, and the cooking time.