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Best Cooking Methods (From A Nutritionist) | Nutritionist Explains | Myprotein
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Jan 30, 2025
Expert nutritionist breaks down the best cooking methods for healthy eating. What's the healthiest way to cook our food? Dr Richie Kirwan breaks down in detail all the ways we can cook our food (boiling, grilling, baking and so on), and lets us know the pros and cons of each cooking method. It might surprise you which cooking method is the healthiest. Watch this video to find out. Let us know in the comments if you will switch up the way you cook. *** 00:00 - Introduction 00:35 - Cooking techniques 01:20 - Boiling 02:44 - Steaming 03:27 - Pressure cooking 05:05 - Grilling & barbecuing 06:45 - Frying 09:14 - Baking & air frying 10:35 - Microwaving 11:58 - Outro *********************************
View Video Transcript
0:00
are some cooking methods healthier than
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others let's talk about that how's it
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going guys my name is Richie Kerwin and
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today we're going to take a deep dive
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into the world of cooking techniques and
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how they can impact the nutritional
0:10
content of your food your body weight
0:11
and your health you know when it comes
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to nutrition we often focus on what we
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eat but we rarely talk about how we
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actually cook our food well today we're
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going to change that understanding
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different cooking methods and their
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effects on nutrients flavors and overall
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health is essential to make the best
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choices in our kitchens so let's get
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cooking
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[Music]
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before we start it's worth talking about
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why different cooking techniques might
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have an impact on health cooking isn't
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just about turning raw ingredients into
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mouthwatering culinary Creations it's
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also a process that can influence the
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nutritional profile of our meals
0:45
different cooking techniques can impact
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nutrient retention or the amount of
0:48
nutrients present in a food compared to
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before cooking it can affect
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bioavailability which is our ability to
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absorb certain nutrients from food it
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can affect calorie content which can
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increase or decrease based on the method
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used and cooking can even affect the
1:00
formation of potentially harmful
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compounds in the foods we eat cooking
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methods can all differ by temperature
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time and added ingredients all of which
1:07
can affect the food being cooked in
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different ways for example heat can
1:10
destroy some vitamins like B and C but
1:12
heat can also make food more digestible
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which improves the absorption of some
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minerals like iron and even polyphenols
1:18
like lopine and tomatoes so let's kick
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things off with one of the simplest
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methods of cooking that many of you will
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be familiar with boiling from your
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childhoods a lot of you will probably
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remember being served mushy overcooked
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vegetables that have been boiled almost
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to the point of disintegration boiling
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is super simple just add a food to
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boiling water and wait until it's cooked
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through in terms of temperature it's
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very low remember water boils at 100° C
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so your food and what's in it isn't
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going to get much hotter than that so
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boiling is considered a relatively
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gentle way of cooking as higher
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temperatures usually mean the
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destruction of some nutrients this is a
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good thing but the problem with boiling
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is that when food is being cooked some
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of the vitamins and minerals it contains
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particularly water soluble vitamins like
1:56
vitamin C and the B group leech out into
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the cooking water as that water is
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usually thrown away that means you're
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not getting the benefit of those
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vitamins and minerals now you could boil
2:06
your foods and then drink the cooking
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water after but that's just disgusting
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another option would be to use boiling
2:11
methods that allow you to hold onto the
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cooking water what are those I hear you
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asking well think of soups and stews
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this is basically boiling food and
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eating all the flavored cooking liquid
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together soups and stews and similar
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foods like curries chilies and casseres
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are a fantastic way to make sure that
2:24
you keep all the valuable vitamins
2:26
minerals and other nutrients from meat
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and vegetables these types of cooking
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methods can be used for a whole host of
2:32
different foods including Meats
2:33
vegetables grains and legumes the other
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Advantage they have is that you can cook
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them in bulk making them great for meal
2:39
prep next up is another water-based
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gentle cooking method steaming involves
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cooking food using the heat of vaporized
2:45
water and it's mostly used for cooking
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vegetables and some tubers like potatoes
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steaming vegetables probably preserves
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more water soluble vitamins like vitamin
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C and vitamin B compared to other
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cooking methods like boiling because the
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cooking water doesn't actually penetrate
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the vegetables and leave out another
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reason that steaming may be better than
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boiling is that people tend to steam
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vegetables for a short time so that they
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keep some of their crunch the shorter
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cooking time means fewer vitamins might
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be destroyed by the heat for the exact
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same reason steaming also helps maintain
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the vibrant colors of veggies making the
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milk even more appetizing which may
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encourage people to eat some more the
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main disadvantage of steaming is that
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you need a specific steamer basket to do
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it and it's not suitable for many foods
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there's a reason you don't see steamed
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steak on the menus of restaurants all
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that often another water-based cooking
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method is pressure cooking pressure
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cooker is a very well sealed pot that
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allows you to increase the pressure of
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the food increasing the pressure raises
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the temperature that water boils at
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meaning pressure cookers can get up to
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121° C this allows you to cook certain
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foods a lot quicker pressure cooking can
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be a great method for nutrient retention
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especially for legumes and Grains this
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is because the temperatures are still
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relatively low and the sealed
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environment of the pressure cooker helps
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keep those nutrients locked in another
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benefit of pressure cooking is that it
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can tenderize tough cuts of meat in a
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relatively short amount of time making
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it a great option for those hearty stud
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stews and roasts on the downside
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pressure cooking might not be suitable
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for more delicate ingredients like
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certain vegetables or fish as they can
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become overcooked and pretty much fall
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apart very quickly another big
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disadvantage is that nobody has a
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pressure cooker anymore they were pretty
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popular in the 60s and 70s apparently
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although they are making a comeback in
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some combined all-in-one cooking
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appliances that include devices like air
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fryers roaster soup makers now along
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with all these moist cooking methods
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doesn't that sound delightful I can't
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leave out one of my favorite methods
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slow cooking this involves adding
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multiple ingredients like Meats tubers
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grains legumes and vegetables to a slow
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cooker or a crock pot which very slowly
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Cooks them at a low temperature over a
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few hours as the overall temperature in
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slow cooking is around 90° C it can help
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preserve more nutrients in certain foods
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like vegetables legumes tough Meats
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compared to very high temperature
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methods and assuming all the juices
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released from the food are not thrown
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out which is the case when you make
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stews curries or chilies in a slow
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cooker you won't lose any nutrients
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through leeching plus slow cooking can
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be a real timesaver since you can throw
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in all the ingredients and let the magic
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happen while you go about your day this
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makes it great for meal prep too moving
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on to something a little different
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grilling and barbecuing are pretty
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similar methods that use high heat from
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above in the case of grilling and
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directly from Below in the case of
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barbecuing they're really popular for
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cooking meat because the high
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temperature searing that gives the
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golden brown color to meat is the result
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of caramelization and the myard reaction
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where proteins react with carbs in the
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meat giving it a really delicious flavor
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in terms of vitamin and mineral loss the
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will be some vitamin loss due to the
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temperature which happens in all cooking
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but there isn't much loss of juices
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hopefully which means there isn't a huge
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loss of nutrients but there's a catch
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grilling at high temperatures
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particularly when that leads to Burnt or
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blackened foods like the grill lines on
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a steak can lead to the formation of
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potentially harmful compounds such as
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hetrocyclic amines hcas and polycyclic
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aromatic hydrocarbons or P hes these
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compounds have been linked to an
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increased risk of certain Cancers and
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are actually higher in barbecued food
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due to to both the direct contact of the
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food with the metal of the barbecue and
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because the charcoal used to heat
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barbecues releases its own carcinogenic
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compounds when burnt this isn't to say
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that you should never eat barbecued food
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once in a while is probably fine but
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having burnt food daily might be an
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issue and if you live in the UK or
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Island let's be honest how often is the
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weather going to be good enough for you
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to have a barbecue anyway one way to
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reduce the formation of the hcas and
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phes is to use marinades with
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ingredients high in antioxidants like
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herbs tomatoes and even fruit like
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blueberries the antioxidants have being
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shown to actually reduce the formation
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of some of the carcinogenic compounds
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produced when meat is grilled or
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barbecued on top of that indirect
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grilling where food doesn't touch the
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metal heating element or using foil
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packets around your food can dissipate
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some of the direct heat and prevent
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excessive Charing next up most people
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will admit that fried food is delicious
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because the fat used in frying is a
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flavor enhanc but we also know that it's
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probably not the healthiest option so
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let's talk about some common frying
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methods and see if some are maybe better
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than others frying again is pretty quick
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but but you're not going to lose many
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nutrients through leeching like with
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boiled foods which is good but the main
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disadvantage of frying is that some
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fried foods can absorb a lot of oil
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during cooking making them much more
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calorie dense and which is a problem for
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weight gain and related health issues if
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you consume them in excess some foods
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absorb more oil than others when fried
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too starchy foods like potatoes and
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breaded Foods absorb more oil than
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something like an egg or a piece of meat
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reducing the amount of oil you use can
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help to limit the amount of added fat in
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your food helping prevent you from
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eating too many calories but on the
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opposite end of the spectrum deep frying
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can lead to even more excessive oil
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absorption more than that deep frying
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oil is often reused which may lead to
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the formation of potentially harmful
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products like peroxides which some
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Studies have linked to health issues now
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stir frying is a quick and flavorful
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technique that's widely used in Asian
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Cuisines and uses a large hot walk to
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cook meat and vegetables quickly stir
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frying can be a great method for
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retaining antioxidants like carotenoids
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and vitamin E due to its short cooking
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time and The Limited exposure to direct
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high heat as the food is often tossed
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around really quickly this helps keep
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the veggies crisp and the colors nice
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and vibrant because it's easier to
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control the amount of oil used in stir
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frying and because it's so quick and
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because the food is often well seasoned
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stir frying can be a great method for
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controlling calories improving flavor
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and retaining nutrients the same can be
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said for sautéing meats and vegetables
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in a regular frying pan now when talking
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about frying everyone always wants to
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know what is the best oil to fry with we
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do know that some oils are a little more
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stable than others when it comes to
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being heated when oils get heated it can
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lead to the production of compounds like
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peroxides which some people believe
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might be damaging to health saturated
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fats like coconut oil for example are
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usually more stable which means they're
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less likely to form peroxides than
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monounsaturated fats like olive oil or
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avocado oil which are more stable than
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polyunsaturated oils like soybean or
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sunflower oil here's the thing though we
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still don't have enough evidence to say
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with certainty what the effects of
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heating different oils are on Health on
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top of that if you only use a small
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amount of oil for cooking which from a
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calorie perspective is probably a good
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idea and you're not deep frying your
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food in oil like that gets reused
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multiple times then it probably doesn't
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matter all that much what oil you use
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for cooking as long as you're not using
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loads and reusing reheated oil you're
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probably absolutely fine next up I'm
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going to talk about two very similar
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cooking methods together baking and air
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frying baking uses hot air in an oven to
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cook foods like Breads and meats and
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vegetables and air frying does the exact
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same thing except the air is usually
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circulated at higher speeds in a much
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smaller space for faster cooking neither
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of these methods lose a lot of nutrients
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through leeching or loss of juices which
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is great but one thing to be aware of is
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the high heat used just like in grilling
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or barbecuing baking and air frying
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Foods at high temperatures especially
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starchy Foods leads to the development
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of flavor compounds on food but can also
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lead to the production of a compound
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called acrylamide acrylamide is actually
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found in a lot of common foods like
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roasted potatoes and vegetables crisps
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chips toast cakes biscuits cereals and
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even coffee which is roasted before
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Brewing acrylamide has been shown to
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cause issues in animal studies but what
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happens in animals doesn't necessarily
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happen in humans at the moment there is
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no conclusive evidence to suggest that
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normal levels of acramite produced in
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baked foods are a major health concern
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for humans that said avoiding overly
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browned or even burnt food is a good
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idea because these burnt portions do
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contain a much wider variety of
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potentially carcinogenic compounds so as
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long as you're not burning your food
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baking and air frying can be great
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methods for cooking a wide variety of
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foods which develops flavor retains
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nutrients and doesn't add a load of
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added fat now finally I want to touch on
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a method of cooking that gets a huge
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amount of bad press due to a lot of
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misinformation the microwave has become
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a kitchen staple for many but there's an
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ongoing debate about its impact on
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nutrient retention microwaves cook food
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by using electromagnetic radiation to
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cause water molecules in the food to
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vibrate and heat the food up from the
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inside out so it's technically a
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water-based cooking method that means it
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doesn't achieve the high temperatures
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reached with methods like grilling or
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barbecuing the big fear around
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microwaves is that people think it
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radiates food to cook it which makes the
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food Radioactive the type of
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electromagnetic radiation that a
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microwave uses is low energy much lower
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energy than visible light and even lower
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energy than Ultra Viet light and nothing
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like the energy someone would get from
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an x-ray what this means is that
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microwaving does not make your food
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radioactive and has pretty similar
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effects on the food as other water-based
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cooking methods microwaving is actually
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a great method for preserving nutrients
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in vegetables especially when compared
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to Boiling the quick cooking time and
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minimal use of water help retain more of
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those essential vitamins and minerals
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and it's also very very energy efficient
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the only problem is that it doesn't
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improve the flavor of food like frying
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or grilling which brings me to an
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important Point while each cooking
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method has its advantages and
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disadvantages you don't need to stick to
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one single method combining cooking
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techniques can actually help maximize
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nutrient retention and enhance the
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overall flavor of your dishes so for
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example you could quickly cook some slow
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cooking vegetables like carrots in the
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microwave to tenderize them and make
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them more digestible and then quickly
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stir fry them together with some quick
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cooking vegetables like Peppers or
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spring onions to improve the flavor
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remember folks it's all about balance
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and cooking in line with your goals
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while some cooking methods may be better
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at preserving nutrients others can
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improve flavor and may make a diet more
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enjoyable and that is damn important for
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helping you to stick to a diet long term
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as always the key is to get creative in
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the kitchen experiment with different
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methods and most importantly enjoy what
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you're doing as long as you're not
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boiling all the nutrients out of your
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food burning into a crisp or adding
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ridiculous amounts of added fat you're
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probably doing okay in terms of health
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don't overthink it I really hope this
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has helped you understand the pros and
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cons of different cooking methods as
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always if you have any more questions
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let me know in the comments below and
12:35
remember to like And subscribe to my
12:36
protein YouTube channel for more
12:38
evidence-based nutrition
12:41
[Music]
12:44
information
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