Cooking and Food Preparation

There are a number of reasons why we cook food, but unfortunately with a few easy-to-make mistakes we can destroy much of the goodness. This article will outline a few simple tips to maintain the highest possible nutrient density of the foods you eat.

First of all, we will look at why we cook foods and what the benefits of this action are.

Reasons for Cooking

  • Kill bacteria. Many of the foods we eat contain bacteria that cause problems in the gut. These bacteria have to be killed in the cooking process otherwise we suffer terrible (even sometimes life threatening) effects.
  • Digestibility. Lots of the foods we eat need to be structurally altered before they can be digested by the body. Many fruits and vegetables have to go through a cooking process where tough membranes are broken down, causing the foodstuff to be more acceptable to the digestive system.
  • Palatability. The cooking process makes lots of foods far more palatable to our taste buds. Cooking caramelises natural sugars, softens membranes and forms flavour compounds that make overall make a food taste better.
  • Vitamin and Mineral liberation.Some foods such as tomatoes are actually better for us in a cooked state, as the vitamins and minerals contained in the cells are freed from the constraints of the cells. This occurs as the cooking breaks down the tough, indigestible membranes that make up these cells that otherwise would have kept the benefits of these foods locked up.

Whilst not an exhaustive list, these give us an outline of the reasons for cooking food. From here we need to discuss the preparation of foods to prevent a loss of nutrient goodness and maintain quality nutrition.

Advice on Food Preparation

  • Chopping. Where possible, keep the food as whole as you can. When cutting a fruit or vegetable into smaller pieces, we increase the surface area of it. This exposes more of the flesh to the outside air, which oxidises the flesh. This breaks down cell membranes, allowing the vitamins and minerals to escape. The less we chop our foods, the better.
  • Storage. Exposing foods to the open air will speed up the oxygenation of the surface area. By storing food in water, oil, air tight containers and in other fats, you prevent and/or slow down this oxidative process.
  • Consumption. It is important that we consume our foods as soon as possible post purchase. All foods contain measurable energy and enzymatic activity. As soon as the life force of a food is removed, this energy starts to slow down. Therefore, to gain the most benefit from our foods we need to consume them as soon as we can.

Cooking Advice

I am not giving cooking tips here! The purpose of this section is to provide advice that will maintain the biochemical integrity of the food and maintain the highest possible nutrient density in the foods we eat.

  • Cook meat at very high temperature to kill surface bacteria for a few seconds then reduce the temperature to as low as possible to maintain structural integrity of the proteins in the meat. Meat can be cooked as low as 50°C if it kept exposed to the temperature for long enough.
  • Keep the chopping of foods to a minimum. Reducing surface area of the food reduces the oxidation of the cell membranes and destruction of the foods vitamin and mineral content.
  • Don’t be afraid to cook foods in oils. Roast, fry and confit foods as they provide a protective seal around foods, preventing the loss of some vitamins and minerals.
  • Cook food for the least amount of time possible. The longer the cooking process goes on, the more likely the food will disintegrate structures, allowing the destruction of the vitamins and reducing the fibre content of vegetables.
  • Eat raw food where possible. It isn’t as difficult as you think – salads, fruit, sushi and smoked foods are example where little or no cooking has taken place.

Follow these steps to ensure the quality of the food you eat is maintained, and enjoy the health benefits that come with them. The aim is to use the food you eat as your first medicine – what feed ourselves determines how we look, feel and perform.