10 Ways to Get More Nutrients Out of Your Food

We know our bodies need 4-5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day in order to maintain peak performance. But is the way we’re preparing those fruits and vegetables working against us?

You can get more out of your fruits and vegetables by learning the proper way to cook and store them. Here’s some great advice to help you get more out of the food you eat.

10 Ways to Get More Nutrition Out of Your Food

1. This is a tough one, but try to buy your produce on an as-needed basis. The longer fruits and vegetable sit in the fridge or on the counter, the more nutrients they lose. Broccoli, for example, loses 62% of its lutein within 10 days.

2. Don’t keep food in transparent containers. Storing rice, pasta, cereals, and even milk in clear containers causes photo-oxidation, which creates bad-for-you free radicals and causes the breakdown of nutrients.

3. Wait to cook garlic. After you chop, crush, or slice garlic, a healthy cancer-fighting compound called allyll sulfur forms on the surface. If you wait at least 10 minutes before sauteing the garlic you’ll get the full benefits of this disease-eradicating nutrient.

4. Eat more avocados. A nutritional powerhouse, avocados aren’t just for guacamole anymore. Slice one up and put it on salads or sandwiches. You can also use an avocado as an oil or butter substitute in baking. For cookies or bread, replace half the butter with pureed avocado.

5. Don’t skip the spices. Adding herbs and spices when you cook is a great way to increase your nutritional count. They contain antioxidants and can even inhibit bacteria in food.

6. Leave the skin on. Most of the nutrients in everything from bell peppers to apples are found in the skin or just under the surface. When you peel the skin off, you’re losing most of the antioxidants.

7. Don’t boil your vegetables — steam or stir fry them instead. When you boil veggies, up to 90% of the nutrients are lost in the water. Steaming and stir frying both keep nutrients locked in. Plus, when you stir fry vegetables, the oil helps you to absorb more of the antioxidants.

8. Wash everything — even the fruits and vegetables you peel. Harmful bacteria lingers on the skins of bananas, oranges, and cantaloupes and can be transferred to the flesh when you peel them.

9. Partner your foods properly. Pair foods like whole-grains, beans, and tofu with foods rich in Vitamin C to absorb the most iron. Match tomatoes with avocados or olive oil to absorb the most lycopene.

10. Wait until after you eat to have coffee or tea. The polyphenols in coffee and tea bind to the iron in foods and can inhibit absorption by up to 60%. Give those nutrients a chance to stick to you instead of your coffee.