Cooking is not harmless in respect to the destruction of vitamins, the elimination of minerals, and the fabrication of carcinogenic substances. Raw foodists advocate eating everything uncooked, in order to preserve the most nutrition possible, as well as enzymes within food, and to avoid the toxins that come about from cooking.

While it is indisputable that cooking alters a food’s structure and much of its chemistry, the value of cooking should not be ignored. Arguably as one of the things that defined modern humans, cooking is indispensable for the ingestion of many different foods, and it is not always as destructive as it is portrayed.

It is well established that the consumption of many fruits and vegetables correlates highly with the prevention of disease. Research by LB Link, et al., by compiling the data of 49 studies, investigated the difference between raw vegetables and cooked vegetables and their correlations with cancer. The difference, in favor of raw vegetables, was only marginal.¹

There are other threats beyond cancer (such as age and fatigue induced by excessive digestive effort) and raw foodists argue on behalf of the enzymes within food—the very same which will make an apple ripen with time—which, theoretically, help digest a food for you. They are destroyed when food is cooked beyond a temperature of 118 degrees Farenheit. It is still being debated whether these food enzymes contribute significantly to digestion, or if they are destroyed immediately by stomach acid.

Anyone passionate about cooking, but still unsure about whether they are consuming adequate living enzymes will benefit from eating germinated seeds and grains, and fermented products, which provide more enzymes and nutrition than their non-germinated and non-fermented original counterparts.

There are a number of foods which should not be eaten raw, notably potatoes and yams, and non-germinated cereals and legumes. Cooking modifies the nature of these starchy foods, destroying toxic parts (such as an alkaloid named solanine in potatoes) and making others palatable.

For vegetables, cooking often improves flavor, and in some, unlocks the availability of certain nutrients otherwise hindered by the food’s raw form (cooking enhances to availability of vitamins A and E in broccoli). While unlocking the availability of some nutrients, cooking contributes to losses of some others, especially Vitamin C.

One line commonly used in the raw food community is that cooking “completely destroys nutrients,” or that your food will be “completely devoid of nutrition.” This is false.

The destruction of vitamins is highly variable, depending on the mode and duration of cooking; additionally, the amount of destruction varies with each vitamin. Only a few vitamins—Vitamin A, Thiamine, Pantothenic Acid, Folate, and Vitamin C—are particularly affected by heat.² Minerals are stable under heat (but cooking can still induce losses).

Indeed, some nutrients can be lost (as opposed to bastardized or destroyed) by cooking, but if you have a reasonably varied diet, with an emphasis on plant-based foods to begin with, you can easily account for losses.

The fat soluble vitamins—A, D, E, and K—are actually well conserved in hot water (when steaming or boiling) and can be ingested so long as the cooking water is saved (such as in a soup, or stock, or tea). Though brocolli is often referenced as an example of a vegetable whose fat-soluble vitamin availability increases as a result of cooking, this is not the case for all vegetables (red pepper, as a contrary example, loses up to 15% of Vitamins A and E).

The destruction of the aforementioned water soluble vitamins is of much greater concern. For Vitamin C, losses range from 10-50% (highest losses in boiled vegetables, from which the water is thrown away). For Thiamine, 10-35%; Riboflavin, 10-35%, Pyridoxine, <10-40%; Folate, up to 55%³ Deficiency in most of these vitamins is rare, so don’t worry too much.

All plant foods, particularly fruits and vegetabls, have constituents that are not directly involved with nutrition, but do confer health benefits—namely antioxidants, of which cartenoids and polyphenols are the most well-known. Many antioxidants are quite fragile against heat and can be destoyed; yet equally, cooking enhances the availability of others (such as lycopene in tomatoes). It simply depends on the antioxidant.

For cereals, the most common method of cooking is to boil. We know that boiling causes either destruction or losses of vitamins; hence, when cooking grains, be sure that all the water has been absorbed by the grain or evaporated to maximize nutrient retention. Cereals are richest in B vitamins which are, with the exception of Thiamine, stable under heat.

For legumes, with the exception of lentils, be sure to soak them overnight before cooking. Throw out the soak water and re-cover the legumes with cold water and place over the stove to ensure a gradual climb in temperature. Allow them to simmer—not to boil—until the water is absorbed. This will ensure the highest nutrient retention.

For meat and fish, vitamin losses also occur, but it is more important to cook with caution in order to avoid the formation of carcinogenic substances. If meat and fish are cooked in hot water or steamed, or cooked in a crock pot, there is a good conservation of vitamins and minerals, and not much risk of forming carcinogenic substances. Frying causes greater losses and a risk of the formation of carcinogenic substances, especially with high temperatures and prolonged cooking. Grilling is particularly destructive, and it carries a much higher potential for toxic byproducts.

In summary, in order to retain as much nutrition as possible through cooking, avoid prolonged cooking times, especially for produce. Avoid high temperatures (slow-cooking is preferable, and keep pots and dishes covered to conserve energy). Also, save cooking water whenever possible.

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