steaming veggies=reduced fiber content?
 

some people say yes, some say no; who is correct?

I've never heard that. It would be impossible to reduce the fiber content of food by steaming it, unless perhaps you juiced if afterwards :dizzy: Who told you that?

Hmmmm, interesting. I'd never heard of that before. But heck, doesn't matter. Some vegetables I won't eat raw and I'm not going to force myself to eat them that way just because cooking them reduces the fiber content :)

in any case steaming is way better than boiling them to death or cooking them in butter, right? :)

If that's the only way to get your veggies in (steaming them) I say go for it, reduced fiber content or not!

from just reading the link posted, it says to steam until al dente, which is how I normally steam them anyway. do you (general) usually steam further?

I guess I've read before that heat can cause a chemical reaction in food that causes some indigestible carbohydrates, i.e. fiber, to become digestible, which would presumably both increase the calorie content and reduce the fiber content. In particular I remember reading that about white potatoes. I know that some compounds in food become more available after cooking, e.g. lycopene in tomatoes, and vitamins and such can break down, so the fiber theory seems at least plausible to me.

Personally, I need to get the junk out of my diet and the good stuff in before I worry about these kind of effects. I can't image it is a big enough effect to make a huge difference, or every nutritionist out there would be screaming about it.

Anne

On the other hand, lightly steaming some veggies (carrots for sure and I think broccoli) makes them more nutritious. The hard woody fiber (insoluble) makes the vitamins less accessible to the body. So in that case you may be talking a trade off. Raw = more fiber less vitamins, Steamed = less fiber more vitamins. Sounds like VARIETY is the way to go both in veggies and cooking methods

yadda yadda...however you get your veggies in is good, the differences are marginal compared to not eating them!

This won't affect how I prepare and eat my veggies. There are certain veggies I like raw, certain ones only cooked. I see no need to change it up. Sure I'd like to get the optimal nutrition/fiber from all the veggies I eat, but for me the enjoyment of the food must, must come into play as well.

"When appropriate, eat vegetables raw. Cooking vegetables may reduce fiber content by breaking down some fiber into its carbohydrate components. When you do cook vegetables, microwave or steam only until they are al dente--tender, but still firm to the bite."

It's doesn't say that it's an absolute, it's says it MAY break down some of the fiber. How vauge is that? Besides, for me to worry about this I need numbers on how much fiber is lost.

I would eat your veggies however you like them.