title: grandprix du brésil  romain grosjean obtient le meilleur temps dans la ligne droite des stands  le gorafi
text: cook these six vegetables for even greater health benefits 
    raw food  cooking  vegetables naturalnews to cook or not to cook has been a topic of heated debate among some health food advocates raw food junkies claim that eating foods in their most natural state is the answer to all our issues and diseases cancer included they believe that cooking destroys essential vitamins live enzymes and antioxidants vital to our healthwhile nobody will dispute the fact that adding more raw organic fruits and vegetables to our diet is essential for overall health and wellbeing going raw all the way isnt always the best option either a study published in the british journal of nutrition found that people who followed a strictly raw food diet had normal levels of vitamin a and betacarotene but low levels of the antioxidant lycopene as reported by scientific american  high lycopene levels have been associated with a lower risk of cancer and heart attacks according to rui hai liu an associate professor of food science at cornell university lycopene may be an even more potent antioxidant than vitamin c it seems that some vegetables need a little heat to release their plant goodness most plants have a tough cellular structure lightly cooking these food makes it easier for the body to break down the plants thick cell walls making nutrients more available for absorption read on to discover six foods that are healthier cooked  asparagus lightly cooking asparagus spears makes it easier for the body to absorb cancerfighting vitamins such as vitamin a c and e as well as folate furthermore higher levels of antioxidants ferulic acid in particular have been reported when this vegetable is cooked  carrots betacarotene is the compound that gives carrots their vibrant orange color the body converts betacarotene to vitamin a which is vital for vision reproduction bone growth and immune healthcarrots however are sturdy vegetables and dont give up their nutrients that quickly to get the most out of your carrots researchers at the university of arkansas advise that higher levels of betacarotene are obtained when carrots are cooked  mushrooms according to andrew weil md mushrooms are indigestible when they are uncooked he said that thoroughly heating them releases the nutrients they contain including b vitamins proteins and minerals as well as compounds not found in other foods  pumpkin and other winter squash not many people will eat raw pumpkin unless it is put through a juicer  and that is just fine since cooked pumpkin has been shown to be more nutritious just like carrots pumpkins need a little heat to break down tougher cell walls and release their plant goodness  spinach folate vitamin c niacin riboflavin and potassium are more available in raw spinach however slightly cooking spinach increases the levels of vitamin a and e fiber zinc thiamin calcium iron and protein  as well as essential carotenoids such as betacarotene lutein and zeaxanthin  tomatoes while cooking tomatoes reduces vitamin c levels it also makes lycopene more available to the body as mentioned earlier lycopene has been linked to a lower risk of cancer and heart attacks vitamin c is an abundant vitamin so it is well worth the lossas you can see raw isnt necessarily always best however if you love tomato or spinach salads and cant stand them cooked that doesnt mean you should stop eating them raw whether you enjoy your veggies raw or cooked the most important thing is that you are eating them in the first place