Is Raw Food Healthier Than Cooked Food?

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Many of you would have guessed that cooked food is healthier than raw food when reading the title. However, this might not always be the case! When we cook our food, we tend to season them to enhance their taste, but by cooking them, it also affects the nutritional content as some vitamins are lost in the process of cooking. So, which is better? Cooking your meals or eating them raw? Let us find out!

It May Depend on the Food

Whether you should cook or eat the food raw, it all depends on what food it is! Some foods that are healthier when eating them raw would be broccoli, cabbage, onions, and garlic. While foods like mushrooms, spinach, meat, fish, poultry, and carrots are healthier when cooked.

A Portion of Water-Soluble Vitamins Are Lost When Cooking

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Certain nutrients are lost in the process of cooking, some of which include water-soluble vitamins such as vitamin C and B vitamins. When you boil your vegetables, you are affecting the contents of the water-soluble vitamins in the vegetables by 50 - 60%. Other minerals and vitamin A are also lost when cooking but to a certain extend. On the other hand, fat-soluble vitamins such as D, E, and K are almost unaffected by cooking. The best way to retain the nutrients in the food is to use cooking methods other than boiling, as boiling results in the greatest loss of nutrients as compared to other cooking methods. Some of the best methods to retain nutrients in vegetables when cooking would be steaming, roasting, and stir-frying.

Cooked Food Helps to Make It Easier to Chew and Digest

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As we all know, raw food is often more difficult to chew as compared to cooked food. It's important to chew your food well as it's the first step of digestion of the human body. By breaking the food down into small pieces, it can be easily digested and absorbed by the body. The process of cooking helps to break down some of the food's fiber and plant cell walls, making it easier to chew and digest.

Cooking Kills off Harmful Bacteria and Microorganisms

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Cooking also has another benefit of helping to kill off bacteria that resides on the surface or in the food itself. In most cases, it's often safer to consume cooked food as raw food may contain harmful bacteria. However, fruits and vegetables are generally safe to consume raw, as long as they are not contaminated. Certain fruits and vegetables that you should cook are lettuce, tomatoes, spinach, and raw sprouts as they are likely to be contaminated by bacteria. In summary, cooking helps to kill off bacteria and reduces the risk of food-borne illnesses.

In conclusion, some foods are more nutritious when eaten raw, while others are better when cooked. To get the most out of the food that you consume, you might want to have a mix of raw and cooked food in your diet!

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