What foods can be eaten raw and what is better to cook?

In general, it can be stated that cooking is beneficial for foods of animal origin, cereals and legumesand that it presents more disadvantages than advantages for fruits, nuts and some vegetables.

When is it preferable to cook food?

Although raw foods should predominate in the diet, cooking them helps in some cases to make them more digestible. In addition, it removes the danger of ingesting pathogenic germs or toxic substances. Finally, cooking makes some foods with unappetizing flavors, smells, or textures more appealing.

Legumes and cereals

constitute the basis of the diet (they should provide 50-60% of the daily energy).

being starchy foods require cooking to be digested.

The dried vegetables (lentils, beans, chickpeas, soybeans, etc.) it is better to eat them cooked. Thus, the toxic substances that they may contain are eliminated and they become more digestible. tender legumeslike beans and peas, they can be eaten raw in moderate amounts.

The alternative is to take germinatedwhich it also breaks down starch.

The majority of towns that are in the habit of taking these sprouts are lightly scalded. This is what, for example, Chinese cuisine does with bean sprouts. a brief warm up destroys anti-thyroid substances and makes them more assimilable and healthy.

dental or stomach problems

Cooked foods are somewhat softenedWith which they are easier to eat For people who have dental problems.

The warm-up also makes food predigestedwhich is useful for sensitive stomachs.

germs and toxic

Cooking destroys pathogens that could be found in the food, with what their ingestion becomes Safer from a microbiological point of view.

Heating the food for a few minutes until it reaches 65-70 ºC in its center, parasitic risks can also be eliminated.

Cooking also inhibits certain toxic substances that contain some foods, such as:

The proteases, lectins and hemagglutinins found in legumes such as soybeans, which intervene by preventing the absorption of vitamins A, B12, D and E. solanine of potatoes or eggplants not quite ripe. linamarina (cyanogenic glycoside) from cassava.

What is the healthiest method of cooking food? Advantages and disadvantages

Steam

It is the healthiest cooking method, as it does not need fat and foods retain most of their vitamins and minerals by not being diluted with water. The flavor, aroma and color of food is preserved also better. The leftover broth can be used to make soup, rice dishes, etc.

boil and blanch

The temperature that is reached is lower than that of roasting or frying, since while the water is boiling at ambient pressure does not exceed 100 °C. This way vitamins and other nutrients are less altered.

Some are lost in the cooking water, especially the mineral saltsbut this water can be reserved for later uses.

The food is not impregnated with oil, so it is more digestive than if it is fried. Besides, the fat that the food may contain is not decomposed due to the high temperatures as occurs in roasting.

It’s recommended add oil or fat coldwhich also contributes to boiled foods being more digestive.

roast and gratin

When broiling, baking or grilling It is not essential to use fat, so the caloric intake is reduced. As they are not submerged in water, food does not lose nutrients by dilution. In addition, its flavor is enhanced.

But in general they are reached very high temperatureswhich destroys a good part of the vitamins and active principles of the vegetables.

Burning or roasting food produces carcinogenic substances, especially in meat and fish. In the crust of roasting a part of the proteins and carbohydrates are broken downthus reducing its nutritional value.

Sauté and Fry

Food takes on a more intense flavorbut due to the high temperature (160-200 °C, or more) there is a loss of nutrients (especially vitamins).

In addition, they are given unfavorable changes in oil. can form carcinogenic substancesespecially when frying meat.

Food is impregnated with it, It increases your caloric intake. that’s why it is better put them in the pan with the oil already hot: a crust is thus formed on the surface that isolates the interior of the food.

Stir-frying has fewer inconveniences than frying since it is fast and food absorbs less oil.

Stew, stew, sauté and fry

Is about mixed cooking methods.

In it stewfood is cooked in a medium fat to which some water has been added. In the stewsare cooked in a medium both aqueous and fatty but have received a previous sauté or they receive it at the end of the process. sauteedthe food they are fully or partially cooked without actually taking on color, over low heat with very little fat and the water from the food itself. stir fry it is very similar but food does brown.

The advantages and disadvantages of these cooking methods they combine those of roasts, fried and boiled.

Microwave heating

microwaves make the molecules of water, sugars and certain fats vibrate at a speed of about 2.4 billion times per second.

Of all the substances that make up a food, the most active is water. Microwaves shake your molecules back and forth, which when they collide with those around them, they communicate energy to thembut messy, with which temperature rises. This heat is not produced on the surface, as in conventional ovens, but rather inside the food.

Drawbacks

Research on Microwaved Broccoli and Carrots Reveals the deformation of the molecular structure of nutrients.Cause significant variations in feed protein and, in particular, of milk for babies.In the pre-cooked foodthe carcinogenic substance diethylexiladepate from plastic wrappers get into food in an amount between 200 and 500 ppm (the Food and Drug Administration limit is 0.05 ppm). Between the migrated substances xenoestrogens are found, substances linked to the decrease in spermatozoa and breast cancer.

Pasteurize

Pasteurization is a mild treatment, at temperatures typically below 100ºC, used to prolong the shelf life of food several days, as in the case of milk or bottled fruit.

Inactivates enzymes and destroys microorganisms sensitive to high temperatures (non-sporulating bacteria, such as yeasts and molds). causes minimal changes in nutritional value and the characteristics of the food.

What materials are best for cooking?

The materials with which it is cooked produce heat reactionsry They can interfere with health.

Glass. It is the most inert material used in the kitchen, together with the ceramics. It does not interact with food and does not release any substance that could pass into it.iron and copper. They release small amounts of these metals that could be toxic. To reduce them, you have to avoid direct contact with highly acidic productssuch as citrus juice, tomato, or vinegar.Aluminum. It is quite unstable and passes in certain amounts to food. is discouraged as kitchen material, because although there is no conclusive evidence, it is suspected that excess aluminum in food can be toxic to the nervous system.Stainless steel. It is one of the most stable materials, although highly acidic foods can cause you to release small amounts of nickelone of the metals that make up the alloy.Mud. Clay utensils internally covered with glossy enamel unless it is guaranteed not to contains leadsince it is easily released and can cause chronic poisoning.Teflon. It is used to coat the inside of non-stick pans. It is safe as long as 300ºC is not exceeded and scratches are avoided. of the protective layer. Substances released from Teflon when it is scratched with a hard scouring pad or metal object may be carcinogenic.