
Grains and legumes should never be taken raw. There are toxic substances in both of them that are destroyed by heat. Sprouting may also eliminate most of these toxins. Many vegetables can be eaten raw and are palatable and tender. Others need to be cooked so that our digestive juices can absorb the nutrients locked inside the hard fibers and cell walls. Many Vegetables like carrot and tomatoes get many nutritional boosts upon cooking.
Cruciferous vegetables—such as broccoli, spinach, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts—are super-good for you. But if you eat raw These vegetables contain goitrogens, which can aggravate hypothyroidism. They will steal iodine from the body.
"Goitrogens are not as active when they're cooked, so eat them cooked," says Fiorella DiCarlo RDN, CDN, with both clinical and research experience in medical nutrition therapy in New York City.