The Many Health Benefits for Slow Cooking

Sharon Palmer RD

Published on October 29, 2024

Grab your slow cooker and learn about the many health benefits of slow cooking in this expert nutrition guide with slow cooker tips and top 10 healthy slow cooker recipes.

Slow cooking has been a red-hot trend since forever. In fact, slow cooking dates back to the beginning of time. As soon as our early human ancestors learned how to cook foods as opposed to eating them raw—thanks to the advent of fire—they prepared their meals with simple ingredients cooked in a vessel over an open fire. The slow cooking method has only seemed to gain momentum, thanks in large part to the introduction of the easy-to-use electric Crock Pot in 1971. I recall this handy appliance all too well in my own childhood home. My mother used her flowered crockpot to cook up stews, soups, and bean dishes for our weeknight dinners and church potluck luncheons. She loved to exchange favorite crockpot recipes amongst her friends in our local community. It was so convenient to just pour all the ingredients into a pot, push the button, and voila—a hot, delicious meal awaited you. You could even tote along the crockpot to a gathering, and then plug it on and set it to low so the food stayed warm. No wonder slow cooking became woven into our culinary fabric throughout history. It’s hard to argue against this method of food preparation, as it enhances flavor and texture, treats your wallet well, requires minimal time and effort, and even enriches nutrition.

*Try this recipe for Red Lentil Stew with Root Vegetables cooked in a slow cooker.*

Cooking Perks

While you might have been taught that “fresh is best,” numerous studies have challenged this age-old mindset with some very revealing findings that suggest cooking some fruits and vegetables may actually increase the bioavailability of certain nutrients. That’s because cooking may disrupt the cell walls in the plant matrix, releasing the nutrients into the dish, ultimately making them more available in your body. Slow cooking with a tight-fitting lid to capture nutrients lost to evaporation is a good method of accessing these benefits.

While some nutrients, such as vitamin C and B vitamins, may be slightly reduced during cooking, the following nutrients may be more bioavailable to your body when they are in their cooked form:

Vitamin A in yellow and orange produce like carrots, sweet potatoes, and winter squash
Vitamin D, such as in mushrooms exposed to light
Vitamin K in leafy greens, broccoli, and onions
Vitamin E in leafy greens, red bell pepper, and asparagus
Carotenoids, compounds in yellow, orange, and red produce, including tomatoes, carrots, and winter squash.
Protein in foods like beans, soy, and grains

*Slow cooking certain foods may even increase the availability of nutrients. Try this recipe for Curried Vegetable Leek Soup.*

Additionally, foods like beans and grains require cooking, as they inactivate antinutrients that may inhibit absorption of nutrients. In addition, thorough cooking may make many foods, including beans and grains, easier to tolerate with fewer gastrointestinal symptoms, such as gas, bloating, and stomach upset.

Tomatoes are a good example of foods that may be more nutritious in their cooked form. Check out this recipe for Black Eyed Peas with Tomatoes and Onions.

Hot Antioxidants

One example of produce that benefits from cooking is tomatoes. The superstar ingredient in a variety of soups, stews, casseroles, and pasta dishes, slow-cooking tomatoes may offer even more nutritional perks than its fresh counterpart. When tomatoes are heated, the powerful antioxidant and carotenoid lycopene—linked to heart protection, cancer prevention, and even improved mood—becomes more available to your body. Similarly, the antioxidants most well-known to protect your eyes against disease, such as the carotenoid lutein found in corn and spinach, also respond to heat during cooking. A study that compared carotenoid content—mainly zeaxanthin and lutein—of fresh, canned, and frozen corn found that frozen and canned varieties, both of which were processed with heat, contained more lutein than the fresh version. Legumes also seem to like the heat. Boiling peanuts has been shown to increase their antioxidant concentration up to four times for those that are raw and roasted, which ramps up their antioxidant action by exhibiting heat-related benefits in their skins.

*Slow cookers offer benefits beyond nutrition. Check out my favorite slow cooker here.*

Benefits Beyond Nutrients

What’s more, the perks of slow cooking extend beyond increasing the bioavailability of nutrients in plant foods. If you cook foods in a liquid at low heat—such as in slow cooking—you can help reduce the number of cell-damaging compounds known as AGEs (advanced glycation end products) that are produced in certain foods by 50%, compared with broiling or grilling. This is mostly applicable to animal proteins, such as meats. Indeed, AGEs typically found in charred and grilled meats have been linked with inflammation, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Other compounds produced during the grilling of meats include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heterocyclic amines (HCAs), which can cause changes in the DNA that may lead to cancer. The American Institute for Cancer Research recommends being cautious with grilling meats to avoid charring in order to reduce these compounds. That’s one reason why scientists believe that plant-based diets—low in animal proteins overall—may lower one’s cancer risk.

So, go ahead and take full advantage of your slow cooker! You can create delicious, savory, moist meals in no time, while reducing the amount of fat and sodium needed in the mix, as foods don’t stick or burn. Plus, you can save on money by turning to more delicious, whole plant foods, such as pulses (beans, lentils, peas), whole grains (oats, millet, wheatberries), veggies and even fruits. Check out my video on how to make the most of your slow cooker here.