Ugly Foods with Surprising Health Benefits

Although cooking vegetables does reduce the amount of certain vitamins, it can also liberate other nutrients, like antioxidants, allowing for greater absorption by the body. Research from the University of Oslo found that microwaving or steaming carrots, spinach, mushrooms, asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, green and red peppers, and tomatoes led to an increase in the antioxidant content of the foods (in that the antioxidants become more available for absorption). And still more research shows that lycopene, the powerful antioxidant that gives tomatoes and watermelon their red color, is better absorbed by the body when it's consumed in cooked or processed tomato products-salsa, spaghetti sauce, ketchup, etc.-rather than fresh tomatoes. 

Eating cooked vegetables has its pros and cons, but the bottom line is that it's important to eat your food in a variety of ways. Enjoy raw spinach in salads and go for wilted or steamed as a side dish with dinner.