As the raw food diet surged in popularity in these recent years, people are so confused about is cook food healthier than raw food. It’s not wrong to say that two cooked meal teams and the raw food team promote their dish. But the truth is that both foods had some benefits and some disadvantages.

Advocates of health often favor raw fruits and vegetables that are more nutritious than healthier than cooked meals because enzymes and some nutrients are killed in the cooking method. Some believe that cooked food is toxic and unhealthy. It is acceptable that raw food does contain minerals and nutrition and people often go for a raw meal diet for better health, but it contains many potential disadvantages.

Whereas, in cooked meals, some enzymes and water-soluble minerals are eliminated. This is the primary argument favoring raw foodies, but this doesn’t mean that it is unhealthy. Cooking meals saves a lot of people from various diseases and malfunctioning of the body. However, many people report gas, bloating, and disturbed bowls after eating raw food.

On a Facebook group, once I heard an experience of a lady who was very worried and concerned about her health and wanted some suggestions. She usually buys lunch every day and, up until a few months ago, her go-to option was usually one of those build-your-own salad stations, where I’d fill up on avocado, kale, and other raw salads topped with an olive oil stuffing. But from some days, she was facing some signs of bloating and a visible difference of 10 pounds. I recommended that she ditch her salads, go for a cooked meal, and guess what helped her regain her health. Her bloating issue has just disappeared. She found that by forcing herself to rely on home-cooked meals, she can control portion size, and the cooked vegetables are noticeably much more accessible to digest than her usual fiber-rich salads.

Which is better for digestion, cooked or raw food?

Our body is not adaptive for every raw and Improperly chewed food. Thus such food is a more significant task for our body to digest and can lead to several digestive problems like gas and bloating. The cooking method breaks down some of its fibers and plant cell walls; this means the cooking procedure is much likely to be a digestive procedure, making it easier for the body to digest and utilize the nutrients for better health. As we know, Cooking also generally improves the taste and aroma of our meals, making it much more pleasurable to eat.

Although the quantity of raw foodists who consume raw meat is small, it is more comfortable to chew and digest when cooked. Accurately cooking grains and legumes not only enhances their digestibility but also decreases the number of anti-nutrients they contain. Anti-nutrients are mixtures that inhibit the body’s ability to absorb nutrients in plant foods.

Does Cooking destroy antioxidants?

Some nutrients in food are lost during cooking, but it is better digestible and more beneficial after boiling or steaming. This is true for several antioxidants: ferulic acid that is found in asparagus, lycopene, and beta-carotene that is found in orange and red-colored vegetables, e.g., sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and squash.

Is cook food as healthy as raw food concerning the hygiene:

for hygiene concerns of food, it is wise to decide that if one looks where the food has come from and cooks it correctly according to its geographical area. This made the bacterias of that region be killed and could consume clean and hygienic food. Also, this will not only rule out getting sick but also increases the shelf life of food.

Is cooked food healthier than raw food concerning the harmful bacteria:

it’s better to eat several foods cooked, as preliminary versions may contain harmful bacteria. Cooking food efficiently kills bacteria that may cause food-borne illness. However, fruits and vegetables are usually harmless to consume raw if they have not been contaminated. Spinach, tomatoes, lettuce, and raw sprouts are fruits and vegetables most commonly infected by bacteria. Some foodstuffs like Raw meat, fish, eggs, and dairy often contain bacteria that make you sick.

Concerning the enzymes, Is cooked food healthier than raw food?

The food you consume also contains enzymes that support digestion. Enzymes are temperature sensitive and deactivate easily when presented to high temperatures. Nearly every enzyme is deactivated at temperatures over 117°F. This is one of the principal arguments in favor of raw-food diets. When a food’s enzymes are developed during the cooking process, more enzymes are required from your body to absorb it.

Defenders of raw-food diets claim that this puts pressure on your body and can begin enzyme deficiency. However, there are no scientific studies to aid this claim.

 

Which food you better off not cook:

Heating with foods to make them more flavorful looks like a delicious way to make your dinner tonight. Sometimes though, there are foods that are healthy if served raw. But why? Because if you want to acquire the nutritional advantages of some of your favorite foods, you demand to eat them without heat so that the nutritional benefits are depleted.

Olive oil

It is used in many foodstuffs, raw and cooked. Still, Olive oil is famously utilized uncooked because it has maximum quantities of vitamin E and antioxidants, depleting the oil when overheating.

Beetroot

Beets are recognized for having one of the most beautiful pigments when it comes to food. That rich pinky-red color is remarkable and is a visual depiction of how nutritious beets are.

Beetroots are an exceptional source of Folate, which helps with brain development and cell reproduction, but they lose about 25% of their nutrients when heated up!

Broccoli

Raw broccoli includes three times the amount of sulforaphane, a cancer-fighting plant aggregate that cooked broccoli produces.

Nuts

Cooked nut’s nutrition differs from raw nuts like roasted cashew. It is proved that roasting ups calories and fat while lowering magnesium and iron.

Kale

Kale contains an abundant amount of vitamins A, C, K, and Folate, which help with brain development and growth. Cooking kale can reduce and often eliminate these benefits. Instead of cooking, one should use it in fresh salads.

Onions

Raw onions are best to treat heart disease, and cooked onion reduces this property.

Berries

We all know that bright food is often good food, and berries are no exception. The difficulty is that berries have piles of raw benefits, but those benefits are significantly decreased when heated up. You can add raw berries to your greek yogurt or eat a handful of them if you need a quick snack.

Red bell

Medium pepper is only about 32 calories and packs a ton of vitamin C, nearly 150% of your recommended daily value, which breaks down if cooked above 375°.

Coconut

Instead of loading up on high sugar electrolyte drinks, a natural source of electrolytes is coconut water. Not only does coconut water offer tons of electrolytes, but it also provides your body with magnesium, potassium, and sodium. When coconuts go through the drying process, many of these benefits no longer exist, making coconut water your best choice.

Seaweed

It’s also one of the most prominent sources of chlorophyll available. Edible algae, particularly nori, are incredibly high in water-soluble vitamins and minerals, which are easily absorbed into the bloodstream; they’re also a good source of iron, calcium, and iodine.

Balance is the key:

Food is an indispensable part of one’s life, but which food? Is cooked food healthier than raw food? In my opinion, both are necessary to maintain a healthy life as we know that humans are by nature not meat-eaters. It is claimed that we do not have the jaw and teeth structure of carnivores. Our jaws have evolved to eat cooked meat, which is considerably softer and much easier to chew.

Moreover, if in the raw meat there are bacteria that can be proved fatal for us. So from these points, cooked food is best for us. But it is also true there are various water-soluble minerals present in food that are destroyed if cooked. So to consume them, it is also necessary to have something in raw form. I have seen a woman who was 31 and recently diagnosed with breast cancer. She loved meat and dairy food and drinking. It was difficult for her to hear that she had this disease. She said, “it is a difficult time, but I came to understand that not only my lifestyle was killing me, but I had to cleanse my body.” The important thing is eating what makes you feel good and best fuels your body.

Final verdict:

Some foods are extra nutritious when eaten raw, while others are more nutritious after staying cooked. So if you are still asking, is cooked food healthier than raw food? It’s necessary to follow a completely balanced diet for good health. Eat various nutritious raw and cooked foods for the most health benefits and let your body decide whether both are healthy in a balanced proportion of cooked food is as healthy as raw food.