Contents:
- Medical Video: Nutritional Health : How to Eat a Raw Food Diet
- Cooking food can increase the nutritional value of a food
- However, some foods can lose their nutrients when cooked
- What foods are better cooked or eaten raw?
- Vegetables that are better eaten raw
- Better food cooked first
Medical Video: Nutritional Health : How to Eat a Raw Food Diet
Cooking food aims to make the food more easily eaten and digested by the body and to have a more delicious taste and aroma. However, it is undeniable that some of the ingredients in food can be lost during the cooking process, especially those that cannot stand the heat. This makes many people think that raw vegetables are healthier than cooked foods (because there is not much nutrient content lost). Is this true?
Cooking food can increase the nutritional value of a food
Some of the ingredients in food can be more easily digested by the body after going through the cooking process. So, cooked food may be better than raw food. Some studies have also shown that cooking vegetables can increase the levels of antioxidants they contain, such as beta-carotene and lutein.
Like research published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry in 2002. This study showed that cooked carrots had higher levels of beta-carotene than raw carrots.
Antioxidants of lycopene which are contained in tomatoes are also more easily absorbed by the body if the tomatoes are cooked first, instead of eating them in raw conditions. Research shows that tomatoes cooked for 30 minutes have twice the lycopene content compared to raw tomatoes.
This is because heat can destroy thick cell walls in tomatoes, making it easier for the body to absorb nutrients that are bound to the cell wall. In addition, the total antioxidant content in tomatoes increased by more than 60% after the cooking process.
However, some foods can lose their nutrients when cooked
Although cooking food provides its own benefits to food, cooking can also reduce some of the nutritional value in food. This is what makes some raw vegetables better than cooked vegetables.
Some of the ingredients in food are more sensitive to heat received during the cooking process.Generally, enzymes are sensitive to heat and will turn off when exposed to heat. In addition, some nutrients, such as vitamin C and vitamin B, are also very susceptible to heat and easily dissolve in water when boiled.
Some studies even show that boiling vegetables can reduce the content of vitamins C and B to 50-60%. Not only vitamins B and C, vitamin A and some minerals can also be lost during cooking at high temperatures, although it may be in lower amounts.
But don't worry, with the right cooking method, the amount of nutrients lost can be reduced. Cooking and steaming methods may be better than boiling to maintain vitamins B and C in vegetables or other foods. Also pay attention to the time you cook. The longer you cook, the longer the food is exposed to heat, the greater the amount of nutrients lost.
What foods are better cooked or eaten raw?
As explained above, there are some foods that are better eaten raw and some are better eaten. This depends on the content contained in these foods.
Vegetables that are better eaten raw
Some vegetables that are better eaten raw are:
- Broccoli. Heat can reduce the sulforaphane content in broccoli. In fact, these compounds can inhibit the growth of cancer cells.
- Cabbage. Cooking can destroy the myrosinase enzyme, which can also prevent cancer.
- Garlic. Also contains sulfur compounds (ie allicin) which can prevent cancer growth. This allicin compound is susceptible to heat.
- Onion. Eating raw onions can help you prevent heart disease because of its antiplatelet content. Heat can reduce this content.
Better food cooked first
Some foods that are better eaten ripe are:
- Tomato. Cooking tomatoes can increase lycopene content, where lycopene is associated with a reduced risk of cancer and heart attack.
- Carrot. The cooking process can increase the beta-carotene it contains.
- Spinach. Nutrients in spinach, such as iron, magnesium, calcium, and zinc are more easily absorbed by the body when spinach is cooked.
- Asparagus. Ferulic acid, folate, vitamins A, C, and E, are more easily absorbed by the body if the asparagus is cooked.
- Potato. Cooking makes it easy for the body to eat and digest the potatoes.
- Mushrooms. Cooking can reduce levels of agaritine (a dangerous substance in the fungus) and ergothioneine (antioxidants in strong fungi).
- Meat, chicken and fish. The cooking process can kill bacteria in meat, chicken and fish. As well as making meat, chicken, and fish easier to eat.
