SOME VEGEABLES ARE MORE HEALTHY
COOKED THAN RAW
Some people try and maintain a raw diet as it is believed that delicate
enzymes and vitamins, particularly vitamin C, can be destroyed when blasted
with heat or boiling water. So it may
surprise many to learn that some vegetables are actually improved and better
for our digestive systems if they are cooked.
Mushrooms
We all know that if picking mushrooms in the wild you have to know
exactly what you’re doing so as not to inadvertently ingest something deadly
poisonous. However, all mushrooms, even
the safe and instantly recognisable ones that we see on the supermarket shelves,
contain a potentially cancer inducing chemical.
This chemical to give it its proper name is called Hydrazines and
although it is potentially hazardous the good news is that the chemical Hydrazines will be eliminated in the cooking process. Eating raw mushrooms is therefore not ever recommended.
Potatoes
Do you know not to store potatoes in the light? Most people wouldn’t think about eating a raw
potato as it’s fairly unpalatable, which is good because they contain
Glycoalkaloids that are harmful. All
potato production contains a certain level of this compound but the more time they
are exposed to light the more the glycoalkaloids build up, so it’s best to keep
them out of the vegetable rack and inside the fridge. Cooking doesn’t entirely eliminate this
chemical compound but it certainly aids in reducing its toxicity.
Sweet Potatoes
You may think that the same compound would be found in sweet potatoes
and so the same rules apply as to normal potatoes, but it’s a different enzyme here that
reacts badly within our stomach and inhibits digestion if eaten raw. It's unlikely anyway that anyone would want to eat a raw sweet potato. This occurring enzyme is not poisonous and the sweet potato doesn't react in the same way as ordinary potatoes as although similar in appearance it's actually a different
family (Convolvulaceae). You can also eat the leaves of sweet potatoes, which
are highly nutritious and are eaten in some other societies. Sweet potatoes
also contain levels of beta carotene which is found in carrots and other orange or red vegetables, (see below).
Tomatoes
This salad favourite, often grown at home by many and eaten raw almost
daily in salads, contains an antioxidant called Lycopene which you may have
noticed receiving a lot of press attention recently for its much lauded health
benefits. These encouraging findings
reveal that Lycopene can be helpful to reduce heart disease and even goes so
far as to suggest it’s a weapon in the fight against cancer. However, when you eat tomatoes raw you do not
consume the antioxidant levels to the same degree as you’ll derive from a
cooked tomato. As research proves that
cooking the tomato actually unlocks the Lycopene thereby releasing it in a
higher dose for use within the body. Ketchup
for instance has highly beneficial quantities of useful antioxidants, but if
you want to enjoy ketchups and chutneys why not experiment with making your own,
that way you can better control the ingredients and reduce any negative
elements such as high proportions of sugar and salt.
Carrots
Do carrots help you see in the dark?
Well apparently so. There is some
truth to this urban myth as carrots contain an antioxidant, beta-carotene, a
hydrocarbon, that does aid vision and which our bodies use to convert into
vitamin A. Beta-carotene also supports a
healthy immune system and again has shown to be an effective deterrent against
breast cancer. Like the Lycopene in
tomatoes, heat applied through cooking will release a higher dose than that
available in its raw state.
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