Diet guru Professor Tim Spector says leaving chopped vegetables on the counter for 10 minutes before cooking may reduce your risk of heart disease.
The scientist, co-founder of popular diet app ZOE, urged Britons to let their chopped onions and garlic sit before adding them to the pot. This increases levels of chemicals that reduce cholesterol and stabilize blood sugar levels.
In an article offering diet tips for 2025, Professor Spector writes: ‘Onions and garlic, cabbage and broccoli are high in sulforaphane, a chemical proven to improve glucose control and cholesterol levels. It is an excellent source of supply.”
he said. I Cooking destroys an enzyme in vegetables called myrosinase. Sulforaphane is induced.
“But if you let the vegetables sit for 5 to 10 minutes before cooking, the sulforaphane will be activated and survive during the cooking process.”
Cholesterol is a fatty substance that is essential for the normal functioning of the body.
But too much of it can build up in your arteries, restricting blood flow to your heart, brain, and other parts of your body, increasing your risk of angina, heart attack, stroke, and blood clots.
High cholesterol is a major risk factor for heart disease and one of the biggest causes of death in the UK and US.
Professor Tim Spector explained that his hack helps protect natural chemicals that are good for controlling cholesterol and blood sugar levels
High levels are mainly caused by a fatty diet, not getting enough exercise, being overweight, smoking, and drinking alcohol, but they can also occur in families.
Professor Spector has previously spoken about the dangers of frequent spikes in blood sugar levels, which are linked to obesity as they have a destabilizing effect on hunger levels.
Vegetable tricks aren’t the only tips Professor Spector highlights in his summary of dietary advice.
He also suggests cooking tomatoes in extra virgin olive oil to extract more nutrients from them, and swapping out ultra-processed stock cubes for miso paste made from fermented soybeans. I did. This is said to benefit the trillions of healthy microorganisms in our gut.
He also urged Britons to incorporate more fermented foods into their diets, such as kimchi, a Korean dish made from fermented cabbage.
Experts in genetic epidemiology at King’s College London also touted the benefits of using vinegar in salad dressings.
She says the acidity of this liquid has been shown to help stabilize blood sugar levels, reducing hunger and the likelihood of snacking.
Another good tip is to start each meal with a small salad.
“Eating a salad or other vegetable starter about 10 minutes before a carbohydrate-rich meal can help you feel fuller longer and reduce the spike in blood sugar levels caused by starchy foods, new evidence suggests. “is being achieved,” Professor Spector wrote.
Heart and circulatory diseases cause 160,000 deaths in the UK each year, on average 460 people a day.
The death toll in the United States is even higher, with 659,000 people dying from heart disease each year.
