Monday, January 10, 2011

Why Some Foods Must be Cooked

Here’s some very important information you need if you plan to eat just raw food.
 . . .Some foods are only able to be properly digested when cooked. Legumes contain an inhibitor that counters trypsin, a protein-digesting enzyme in the small intestines. Heating destroys that inhibitor and thus increases the protein quality of the legumes. Legumes also contain phytic acid, which can bind minerals and make them less available. There are many ways to stop the actions of phytic acid: soaking, germination, fermentation and cooking.

Also, only cooking has the added advantage of gelatinizing the starch, which makes it more digestible. We obtain far more energy from starches (grains, beans, and potatoes) when they’re heated and allowed to gelatinize.

The inability to fully access the calories in starch makes it difficult for raw foodists to hold body weight and strength. That’s one reason for the weight loss in an all-raw diet. A “raw only” eater is also at risk for muscle loss, because it’s difficult to store muscle glycogen effectively on such a diet. . .
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