Pros and Cons of Cooked Food

Arthur Baker writes in Awakening Our Self-Healing Body, overly cooked foods literally wreck our body. They deny needed nutrients to the system since heat alters foodstuffs such that they are partially, mostly, or wholly destroyed. Nutrients are coagulated, deaminized, caramelized and rendered inorganic and become toxic and pathogenic in the body.

The indigestible end products of cooked foods can linger in the gut, clogging the intestines and interfering with healthy elimination. They can cause a build-up of toxins, mutagens and carcinogens. Carbohydrates ferment, proteins putrefy and fats become rancid, creating free radicals that enter the blood stream.

Lipufuscin, the “aging pigment”, is an example of a waste product created from damaged proteins and fats. It accumulates in the skin and nervous system and is visible as brown “liver spots” on the skin and eyes. Certain foods are proven to be healthier when cooked. For example, lycopene is an antioxidant found in tomatoes and watermelon. However, lycopene content is highest and most bioavailable when tomatoes are cooked. Many vegetables, such as kale, spinach, onions and garlic are also more nutritious when cooked because light cooking unlocks many of their compounds, making them more easily absorbed.

However, science has also shown that over-cooking many foods -- especially meats -- is unhealthy, as foods that are overcooked can produce chemicals such as acrylamide and others that contribute to inflammation and more serious health problems over time. The best cooking methods are light steaming or sauteing, without over-cooking at high temperatures. These methods can help to make nutrients in the food more available and easier to absorb, without causing the harmful chemical reactions found in foods cooked for long periods at high temperatures.