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Cooked zucchini slices

Zucchini, cooked

Checked by us One serving: 85 g · 13 kcal

Some vitamin C.

Worth knowing: cucurbitacins. Nothing else to watch so far.

Good for

How we counted this

What one serving (85 g) gives you.

Your body needs enough of each of these. Past enough, more doesn’t help. Amounts are what the food databases list, not what your body absorbs, unless a row says it was measured.

The words: “A lot” means one serving gives 20% or more of Health Canada’s daily amount, “Some” 10% to 19%, “A little” 2% to 9%, “Almost none” under 2%. Strongest word first; within a word, protein and fibre lead, then the biggest share.

A milligram (mg) is a thousandth of a gram, and a microgram (µg) a thousandth of a milligram: 1,000 µg make 1 mg.

21 more nutrients at a little or less

How to handle it

  • Flagged for a bitter-taste warning: Germany's BfR (Communication No. 027/2015) gives no concentration or threshold. Its rule is to taste a raw piece before cooking and discard the vegetable if it is bitter. Bitter courgettes and pumpkins contain cucurbitacins; symptoms are mostly gastrointestinal (vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain) and occasionally last several days. BfR says the ability to form cucurbitacins was bred out of cultivated varieties, drought is widely suspected to raise levels, and levels vary by plant, ripeness and site; the cases it cites came from home-grown fruit, and German poison centres log 60 to 70 consultations a year after zucchini. Bitterness is the only detector, and cooking is not stated to destroy cucurbitacins.

Watch out

How we counted this
Checked for cadmium, nickel and lead: fine at normal amounts.
  • Cadmium

    Nothing to watch

    You’d need about 12 servings a day, every day, of this food alone to use up what an average adult’s intake leaves under the limit.

    Learn more

    One serving carries 0.6 µg

    How we got this

    A serving a day adds 3.4% to what an average adult already takes in: a share of that intake, not of the limit. With that serving every day, an average adult would be at about 73% of the limit.

    An average adult already takes in about 71% of the limit. One serving a day fits in the room left.

    Counted from zero, with no allowance for what adults already take in from other food, 25,000 g a week would reach the limit.

    Why this rating: Eating it daily comes to 595 g a week, which stays within the 7,200 g of room left before the limit.

    The dataset’s rating: Nothing to watch: under the limit

    A daily serving adds 3.4% to an average adult's cadmium intake (EFSA 2012 adult median, 1.77 µg/kg body weight/week; Canadian adults in 2007: 1.2-1.75), far from doubling it, so no cap.

    US FDA. Total Diet Study elements FY2018-FY2020 summary (media159749). · grade A

    Every food with cadmium

  • Nickel

    Nothing to watch

    You’d need more than 100 servings in a day of this food alone to use up what the highest average adult intake we found leaves under the limit.

    Learn more

    One serving carries 5.87 µg

    How we got this

    The highest average adult intake we found already takes up about 26% of the limit. One serving a day fits in the room left.

    Counted from zero, with no allowance for what adults already take in from other food, 13,000 g a day would reach the limit.

    Why this rating: Eating it daily comes to 85 g a day, which stays within the 9,700 g of room left before the limit.

    The dataset’s rating: Nothing to watch: under the limit

    No cap: EFSA's 2020 tolerable daily intake (TDI) for nickel is 13 µg/kg body weight/day, 910 µg a day for 70 kg. Eaten alone, about 13,188 g of boiled zucchini a day would reach it, on the lower-bound FDA mean of 69 ppb (27 samples, 13 detects, maximum 450 ppb; a few samples carry the mean). One 85 g serving holds 5.9 µg, about 0.6% of the day's limit.

    US FDA. Total Diet Study elements FY2018-FY2020 summary (media159749). · grade A

    Every food with nickel

  • Lead

    Nothing to watch

    You’d need more than 100 servings a day, every day, of this food alone to double the lead an average adult already gets. No dose is known to be safe, so doubling is where we flag.

    Learn more

    A serving a day adds 0.2% to what an average adult already takes in. There is no limit to take a share of.

    One serving carries 0.06 µg

    How we got this

    The dataset’s rating: Nothing to watch: doesn’t double average intake

    No cap: no safe level is set for lead (EFSA 2010 benchmark dose lower limit (BMDL01) of 0.50 µg/kg body weight/day), so no grams figure is given. The FDA mean for boiled zucchini is 0.69 ppb across 27 samples (92.6% non-detects, 2 detects, reporting limit 4 ppb). A serving carries 0.059 µg, 0.17% of EFSA 2012's adult mean of 35 µg/day.

    US FDA. Total Diet Study elements FY2018-FY2020 summary (media159749). · grade A

    Every food with lead

Worth knowing

No limit applies, so none is rated.

  • Sugar

    1.5 g of sugar in a 85 g serving, natural and added together.

    Learn more

    Shown, not rated. The food tables we read give total sugar, and few give added sugar, so the site can’t yet tell sugar added in making a food from the sugar in fruit or milk.

Also checked (nothing to act on) · 3

Noted for context, or not measured in this food yet.

  • Measured in this food, not rated yet. Context only: total arsenic has no reference value; inorganic arsenic is not reported. Not scored.

  • Not measured in this food yet. Not rated: EFSA's 2011 level of concern is 50 mg of histamine per meal, but histamine was not detected in any of 41 courgette samples (a Spanish market database, Sanchez-Perez 2018), so there is no grams figure. Preparation is not stated, presumably raw; this is not a cooked-form measurement.

  • Context only, never scored. No analyte line with a violation appears among the SUM lines read (71 further analyte lines were not read). No acceptable daily intake (ADI) arithmetic was done.

Better options

How we counted this

“Better” here always means better at something the row names: more of one nutrient, more nutrients per serving, or the goal you pick. It never means better in every way.

Every amount below is for the same weight, 85 g, the size of one serving of this food, so a swap compares like with like. A serving of another food can be bigger or smaller.

Compared with the other vegetables we’ve checked.

A food is listed only if it gives clearly more: at least a fifth more than this food, and at least 10% of the daily amount more.

More of what it’s good for

More vitamin C

Amounts as listed, not adjusted for how much gets in.

More nutrients per serving, counted together

The other vegetables we’ve checked with more nutrients per serving than this one, counting at most 100 kcal. One score ranks them all, so the same few often lead.

  • Turnip greens, cooked
    • More vitamin K1 (312 µg vs 3.57 µg)
    • More vitamin A (324 µg vs 47.6 µg)
    • More folate (100 µg vs 23.8 µg)
  • Kale, cooked
    • More vitamin K1 (355 µg vs 3.57 µg)
    • More omega-3: ALA (286 mg vs 79.9 mg)
    • More calcium (128 mg vs 15.3 mg)
  • Brussels sprouts, cooked
    • More vitamin K1 (119 µg vs 3.57 µg)
    • More vitamin C (52.7 mg vs 11 mg)

Where the calcium card measured that less calcium gets in than from milk, calcium counts for less; everything else is as listed.

Your goal

Your goal changes only this list, not what the food gives you or what to watch.

Losing weight: fewer calories, and more nutrients, protein and fibre for each calorie.

  • Asparagus, cooked
    • More vitamin K1 (43 µg vs 3.57 µg)
    • More folate (127 µg vs 23.8 µg)
  • Turnip greens, cooked
    • More vitamin K1 (312 µg vs 3.57 µg)
    • More vitamin A (324 µg vs 47.6 µg)
    • More folate (100 µg vs 23.8 µg)
  • Broccoli, cooked
    • More vitamin K1 (74.9 µg vs 3.57 µg)
    • More vitamin C (34.1 mg vs 11 mg)
Why some foods aren’t suggested

Left out: Spinach, cooked (Cadmium: go easy · lots of oxalate, more than its own calcium can bind).

Left out: Edamame, cooked (not tested for contaminants yet).

Bring a tracker export or describe your usual week. The same rules check all of it.

The numbers

Open every value

Name in the database: Zucchini (summer squash with skin), cooked, boiled, drained

How the serving was set: 85 g (Health Canada TRA V.1, vegetables without sauce, fresh or frozen)

Listed nutrients, per 100 g

For each nutrient, the value this page uses is marked “used”. A row marked “second database” is another database’s figure for a matching food, kept so you can see how far databases disagree (they can differ in the samples analysed, lab methods and rounding). Its own cells are worked out from it, but none of the page’s words or scores are.

NutrientPer servingPer 100 caloriesHowSourceGrade
Omega-3: ALA0.094 g0.08 g0.63 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Calcium18 mg15.3 mg120 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
18 mg15.3 mg120 mgcopy of USDA · not usedCanadian Nutrient File 2026 #2226C
Carbohydrate2.69 g2.29 g17.93 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Choline9.4 mg7.99 mg62.67 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Energy15 kcal12.75 kcal–FDC Energy (kcal) usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy)–
Omega-3: EPA + DHA0 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Fat0.36 g0.31 g2.4 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Cholesterol0 mg0 mg0 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Fatty acids, total saturated0.072 g0.06 g0.48 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Fibre1 g0.85 g6.67 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Folate28 µg23.8 µg186.67 µglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Iron0.37 mg0.31 mg2.47 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Magnesium19 mg16.15 mg126.67 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Niacin (B3, niacin equivalents)0.61 mg0.52 mg4.07 mglisted usedCanadian Nutrient File 2026 #2226C
Phosphorus37 mg31.45 mg246.67 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Potassium264 mg224.4 mg1,760 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Protein1.14 g0.97 g7.6 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Riboflavin (B2)0.024 mg0.02 mg0.16 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Selenium0.2 µg0.17 µg1.33 µglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Sodium3 mg2.55 mg20 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Sugars1.71 g1.45 g11.4 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Thiamin (B1)0.035 mg0.03 mg0.23 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Vitamin A56 µg47.6 µg373.33 µglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Vitamin B120 µg0 µg0 µglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Vitamin B60.08 mg0.07 mg0.53 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Vitamin C12.9 mg10.97 mg86 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Vitamin D0 µg0 µg0 µglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Vitamin E0.12 mg0.1 mg0.8 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Vitamin K14.2 µg3.57 µg28 µglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Water95.22 g80.94 g634.8 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Zinc0.33 mg0.28 mg2.2 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
NutrientPer 100 gPer servingPer 100 caloriesHowSourceGrade
Beta-carotene670 µg569.5 µg4,466.67 µglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Copper0.052 mg0.04 mg0.35 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Ash0.59 g0.5 g3.93 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Starch0 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Alcohol, ethyl0 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Caffeine0 mg0 mg0 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Theobromine0 mg0 mg0 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Energy64 kj54.4 kj426.67 kjlisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Vitamin A, IU1,117 iu949.45 iu7,446.67 iulisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Carotene, alpha0 µg0 µg0 µglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Vitamin D (D2 + D3), International Units0 iu0 iu0 iulisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Cryptoxanthin, beta0 µg0 µg0 µglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Lycopene0 µg0 µg0 µglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Folic acid0 µg0 µg0 µglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Folate, food28 µg23.8 µg186.67 µglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Folate, DFE28 µg23.8 µg186.67 µglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Betaine0.3 mg0.26 mg2 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Tryptophan0.006 g0.01 g0.04 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Threonine0.015 g0.01 g0.1 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Isoleucine0.023 g0.02 g0.15 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Leucine0.037 g0.03 g0.25 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Lysine0.035 g0.03 g0.23 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Methionine0.009 g0.01 g0.06 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Cystine0.007 g0.01 g0.05 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Phenylalanine0.022 g0.02 g0.15 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Tyrosine0.017 g0.01 g0.11 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Valine0.029 g0.02 g0.19 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Arginine0.027 g0.02 g0.18 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Histidine0.014 g0.01 g0.09 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Alanine0.033 g0.03 g0.22 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Aspartic acid0.078 g0.07 g0.52 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Glutamic acid0.068 g0.06 g0.45 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Glycine0.024 g0.02 g0.16 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Proline0.02 g0.02 g0.13 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Serine0.026 g0.02 g0.17 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Vitamin E, added0 mg0 mg0 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Vitamin B-12, added0 µg0 µg0 µglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Fatty acids, total trans0 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
SFA 4:00 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
SFA 6:00 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
SFA 8:00 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
SFA 10:00 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
SFA 12:00 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
SFA 14:00 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
SFA 16:00.065 g0.06 g0.43 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
SFA 18:00.007 g0.01 g0.05 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
MUFA 18:10.029 g0.02 g0.19 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
PUFA 18:20.058 g0.05 g0.39 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
PUFA 18:30.094 g0.08 g0.63 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
PUFA 20:40 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
PUFA 22:6 n-3 (DHA)0 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
MUFA 16:10 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
PUFA 18:40 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
MUFA 20:10 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
PUFA 20:5 n-3 (EPA)0 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
MUFA 22:10 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
PUFA 22:5 n-3 (DPA)0 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Fatty acids, total monounsaturated0.029 g0.02 g0.19 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Fatty acids, total polyunsaturated0.151 g0.13 g1.01 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Lutein + zeaxanthin1,150 µg977.5 µg7,666.67 µglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Manganese0.173 mg0.15 mg1.15 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Niacin (B3, preformed)0.51 mg0.43 mg3.4 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Pantothenic acid (B5)0.288 mg0.24 mg1.92 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C
Retinol0 µg0 µg0 µglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #169292C

Change the amount to rescale the first column. Nutrients a database doesn't list are missing, not zero.

Hazard rows as the dataset rates them

  • Arsenic, all forms · Not rated yet · Context only: total arsenic has no reference value; inorganic arsenic is not reported. Not scored. · US FDA Total Diet Study (2018–2020) · A
  • Cadmium · Nothing to watch: under the limit · A daily serving adds 3.4% to an average adult's cadmium intake (EFSA 2012 adult median, 1.77 µg/kg body weight/week; Canadian adults in 2007: 1.2-1.75), far from doubling it, so no cap. · US FDA Total Diet Study (2018–2020) · A
  • Cucurbitacins (bitter squash) · Worth knowing · Flagged for a bitter-taste warning: Germany's BfR (Communication No. 027/2015) gives no concentration or threshold. Its rule is to taste a raw piece before cooking and discard the vegetable if it is bitter. Bitter courgettes and pumpkins contain cucurbitacins; symptoms are mostly gastrointestinal (vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain) and occasionally last several days. BfR says the ability to form cucurbitacins was bred out of cultivated varieties, drought is widely suspected to raise levels, and levels vary by plant, ripeness and site; the cases it cites came from home-grown fruit, and German poison centres log 60 to 70 consultations a year after zucchini. Bitterness is the only detector, and cooking is not stated to destroy cucurbitacins. · BfR 2015 · A
  • Histamine · Not rated yet · Not rated: EFSA's 2011 level of concern is 50 mg of histamine per meal, but histamine was not detected in any of 41 courgette samples (a Spanish market database, Sanchez-Perez 2018), so there is no grams figure. Preparation is not stated, presumably raw; this is not a cooked-form measurement. · DOI 10.3390/foods7120205 · A
  • Lead · Nothing to watch: doesn’t double average intake · No cap: no safe level is set for lead (EFSA 2010 benchmark dose lower limit (BMDL01) of 0.50 µg/kg body weight/day), so no grams figure is given. The FDA mean for boiled zucchini is 0.69 ppb across 27 samples (92.6% non-detects, 2 detects, reporting limit 4 ppb). A serving carries 0.059 µg, 0.17% of EFSA 2012's adult mean of 35 µg/day. · US FDA Total Diet Study (2018–2020) · A
  • Nickel · Nothing to watch: under the limit · No cap: EFSA's 2020 tolerable daily intake (TDI) for nickel is 13 µg/kg body weight/day, 910 µg a day for 70 kg. Eaten alone, about 13,188 g of boiled zucchini a day would reach it, on the lower-bound FDA mean of 69 ppb (27 samples, 13 detects, maximum 450 ppb; a few samples carry the mean). One 85 g serving holds 5.9 µg, about 0.6% of the day's limit. · US FDA Total Diet Study (2018–2020) · A
  • Pesticide residues · Context · Context only, never scored. No analyte line with a violation appears among the SUM lines read (71 further analyte lines were not read). No acceptable daily intake (ADI) arithmetic was done. · CFIA chemical residue monitoring (2016–2023) · A

Oxalate, phytate and gut-tolerance measurements

  • fodmap excess fructose: derived on the RAW listing: SR 169291 fructose 1.38 minus glucose 1.07 = 0.31 g/100 g. Per 85 g serving 0.26 g: above Varney 2017's 0.15 g general line, below the 0.40 g line for fresh produce where excess fructose is the only FODMAP (fructan adds 0.01 g). The boiled listing (SR 169292) carries no sugars, so the value is for raw zucchini. g/100 g · fresh weight · raw (the boiled listing has no sugar values) · grade B · US food database (USDA SR Legacy)
  • fodmap fructan: 0.16 +/- 0.07 % dry weight; 0.01 g/100 g fresh weight; 0.01 g per 90 g portion; water 95% g/100 g fresh weight · fresh weight · not stated · grade A · Ferjancic 2024
  • histamine: not detected (nd), n 41 mg/kg fresh weight · fresh weight · not stated, Spanish market · grade A · DOI 10.3390/foods7120205
  • tyramine: not detected (nd), n 41 mg/kg fresh weight · fresh weight · not stated, Spanish market · grade A · DOI 10.3390/foods7120205

Sources

Body map 2026-10-25.1: each nutrient’s job comes from an agency fact sheet, linked beside it under Good for.

The plain words: “a lot” means one serving (100 g when the food has no serving size) gives at least 20% of the daily amount (the reference intake), “some” at least 10%, “a little” at least 2% (the cut-offs are ours, one set for every page: 20% and 10% are borrowed from the US labelling terms “high” and “good source” and applied to Health Canada’s daily amount, whereas Health Canada’s own shopper rule says 15%; provisional: they may change in a later method version). The daily amount is Health Canada’s Dietary Reference Intake for adults 19–30; where men and women need different amounts we use the higher one (protein: 56 g for men, 46 g for women). The percentage printed under each nutrient is the printed amount as a share of that daily amount, rounded to the nearest whole number, and the word is read from that percentage, so the amount, the percentage and the word always agree. Calcium with a measured absorption is scaled by how well it gets in compared with milk.

The scale: “Nothing to watch” means a serving a day stays under the limit at ordinary amounts; “Go easy” means a serving a day can push past the limit for adults who already take in the most, or fewer than 2 servings reach it; “Limit it” means once a week or less. The dataset’s own rating is under “How we got this”. Provisional: the scale may change in a later method version.

Measured absorption under Good for: grade-A studies in adults that tested this preparation of this food, as a share of the listed amount (the share digested, for protein), quoted once each source has passed our evidence check; animal studies and other variants stay in the table above. Provisional: this screen may change in a later method version.