Best Preparation Methods

Raw/Unpeeled

• Many of the bioactive compounds that connect with our genes are found in the peels of fruit and vegetables. This is why you should never juice an orange without zesting it first! In many cases, you can simply add the zest right into the recipe you’re preparing – and, if not, just store it in an airtight refrigerated container for later use.

Fermentation

• The natural fermentation process is long, slow and gradually increases the acidity and associated earthiness of a fermented product. This long slow process causes a gradual change in acidity which allows bioactives to survive. If you buy fermented products, try to purchase the freshest available and from a local source, if possible, so you know how and when the product was produced.

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Best Cooking Methods to Preserve Bioactives and Nutrients

Generally, low-heat slow-cooking methods retain the most nutrients and preserve bioactive compounds:

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• Low-heat dehydration

• Sous vide

• Light steam

• Sauté

• Microwave (this is a dry, low-heat cooking method)

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Applying heat and acid can denature certain bioactives and inhibit potential signals to your genes, so we recommend mixing up the way you eat fruits and vegetables and pouring items like soups and dressings at the time of consumption to avoid “cooking” what’s in your dish.

Which Foods to Serve Raw

Cruciferous Vegetables

Examples include kale, broccoli, radishes, arugula, Brussels sprouts and cabbage. When chopped or chewed, cruciferous vegetables produce a powerful bioactive: sulforaphane. However, the enzyme is destroyed in most cooking processes.

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Here's a tip: If you want to cook your crucifers and get your sulforaphane too, cut or slice the vegetables and hold for 40 to 90 minutes to maximize sulforaphane production before cooking. Sulforaphane, once formed, is more heat-resistant so give your crucifers a chance to produce their bioactive before throwing them in the pan.

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Foods Containing Vitamin C

Vitamin C-rich foods include pink grapefruit, blackberries, elderberries, raspberries, bilberries, strawberries, pomegranate, watermelon and tomatoes. Because heat partially destroys vitamin C, these are best consumed raw.

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Raw tomatoes are an exception: They retain Vitamin C in antioxidant form, but cooking tomatoes converts  lycopene into its nutrigenomic form. What's a person to do?  Mix up how you prepare and consume them – some raw, some cooked. Get the best of both nutrition worlds.

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