You may remember when I compared the effects of different cooking methods on different

phytonutrients and bell peppers, mushrooms, and a few other veggies.

Well, food scientists have outdone themselves in this study.

They looked at six different cooking methods on 20 different vegetables.

Comparing three distinct measures of antioxidant activity, that's more than 300 separate

experiments to figure out the best way to cook our vegetables.

First, though, let's figure out the worst in terms of loss of antioxidant content.

Consider boiling, microwaving, pressure cooking in water, griddling, like cooking

in a frying pan without oil, frying in a frying pan, and baking at about 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

What's your guess for the worst?

The worst is boiling when it comes to losing antioxidants.

The second worst, boiling under pressure. When we

use wet cooking methods, some of the nutrition is lost in the cooking water. When it comes

to preparing vegetables with their antioxidants in mind, water is not a cook's best friend, but

how bad is bad? It may be less than you think. Averaging over those 20 vegetables, boiling only removes about 14% of the antoxin.

So if you really like boiled broccoli, fine.

Just eat one more florett.

Seven florets of boiled broccoli has all the antioxidant power of six florets of raw broccoli.

So the best way to eat your veggies is really whichever way we'll get you to eat the most

of them, with the exception of frying, which not only adds empty calories, but also

toxic byproducts that are produced when oils are heated to frying temperatures.

What's the gentlest cooking method?

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