According to Consumer Reports, which vegetable below is healthier for you when it’s cooked, rather than raw?

A.

Speaking personally, I have always assumed that vegetables are healthier when they are eaten raw. Wrong, says Consumer Reports in their Oct 2022 issue. Among the vegetables that are healthier cooked: tomatoes, carrots, mushrooms, spinach, bell peppers, and asparagus. When tomatoes are baked, fried, or pureed and cooked as a sauce, the heat increases the phytochemical lycopene which has been linked to lower rates of cancer and heart disease. The magazine cites one study where absorbable lycopene was boosted 35% after tomatoes were heated for 30 minutes at 190 degrees F. Cooking tomatoes also concentrates their flavor. CR suggests quartering tomatoes, drizzling them with olive oil, sprinkling garlic and a little salt and pepper on them, then roasting them in the oven for half an hour at 200 degrees F.