Is raw food necessarily better than cooked?

[Polywotsit]

Here's an interesting article that challenges the assumption that nutritional value is lost in cooking. In fact, cooking can make more of the nutrients available for the body to take up..... Fascinating stuff.

theguardian.com/lifeandstyl...

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Hi,

Very interesting.

Where do some if these 'experts' get their ideas from! As for us having a shorter lifespan and more diseases than the caveman - well really.

We've probably got more diseases because of the airplane not the cooking pot.

I love salads, fresh fruit and sushi come to that, but don't think I could live without a nice piece of roast chicken or the occasional fish and chips!

A dinosaur burger anyone?

[Polywotsit PMRGCAuk team member in reply to DorsetLady]

For me the thing about cooking breaking down cell walls so that you can get at the good stuff really made sense.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Polywotsit]

Yes - my answer was a bit flippant but that's me when some of these people come out with their odd ideas.

But I quite agree we probably ate lots of thing raw originally and then tried cooking them and decided it tasted better.

[GOOD_GRIEF in reply to Polywotsit]

And just mentioning that cooking to the proper temperatures helps kill bacteria and parasites that can piggy back on our food. None of us needs any of that piggy backing on PMR/GCA.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to GOOD_GRIEF]

Not to mention inactivating the poisons in some foods...

[nuigini]

Personally, this article came at a good time for me. I’ve had a mild form of IBS with diarrhea for decades. I’ve always eaten a diet including a fair about of fiber, including whole grain foods, raw fruit and vegetables. While I cooked veggies, I enjoyed them al dente. And, I thought the fiber would help as a binding agent.

A few weeks ago, I decided to look up the benefits of a low fiber diet for my situation. Low and behold, it can be helpful. Although I really didn’t like the idea of dropping certain fruits from my diet, and cooking veggies longer. I decided to give it a try. Things are improving.

I know you can find arguments pro and con for any topic. For now, I find this article very reassuring,

Thanks for sharing.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to nuigini]

It has been known for some time that the "high fibre" approach is not always a good idea with IBS. But it takes GPs a long time to catch up sometimes...