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Originally Posted by Matthew Shea  That's very interesting reading, Doc. Thanks for sharing.
One question for you, though. It's my impression that with many foods, cooking allows your body to pull out much more of the nutrients they contain. I've heard that broccoli, for instance, is basically just that much fiber when eaten raw. Is that your understanding, too, and how do you deal with it so you're not deficient in anything? |
A very interesting question, and one I was curious about too. Though I'm afraid that neither of us will find a definitive answer for some years yet, I can tell you what my research has shown.
First off, let me make the point that every living creature on earth eats its food raw except humans, so to say that raw food isn't nutritious enough for health seems a bit strange to me. The rhino and the elephant survives off of raw plant matter, and it seems to have no problem building muscle or bone and thriving.
The idea of nutrient availability in food (available for use in the body) is usually referred to as bioavailability. Lycopene, I think, is the most commonly cited example of this. It becomes more bioavailable after heat has been applied to a tomato, for instance.
But you have to look at it in the grand scheme of things. How many nutrients are becoming more bioavailable, and how many are becoming damaged by the heat. From what I've been reading, heat may bring out perhaps a dozen nutrients at most in any given food, but there is significant reason to believe that perhaps hundreds of the other elements in the food are being damaged.
I would recommend that you read Dr. Doug Graham's
80/10/10 diet, which discusses this, though there are certainly other takes on the situation. Graham's diet is the one that I'm following.
Overall though, I think the concern is unwarranted. How many people eating a SAD diet are kept up nights worrying about the bioavailability of the nutrients present in those cheeseburgers they're scarfing down?
I intend to keep looking into the matter, though. Best of luck.
-Andrew