Is Raw Food Healthier Than Cooked Food?

Did you know that the first people in Europe ate a raw food diet?

Dental plaque from 1.2-million-year-old human bones revealed evidence of uncooked meat, grasses, pollen grains, and insect pieces, according to research.

Despite the fact that the use of fire by early humans is highly disputed, microfossils discovered in Europe indicate that fire was used to prepare food 800,000 years ago.

The argument is that our forefathers ate a raw food diet before introducing prepared meals after fire technology was found.

What does this imply for people today?

Raw and prepared meals are both essential components of a balanced diet. We'll concentrate on the advantages of consuming raw foods.

What Are Raw Foods?

Raw foods are entire foods that have not been treated or cooked in any way. A meal must not be cooked beyond a certain temperature to be deemed raw, which is typically between 92oF and 118oF.

Fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds are examples of raw foods.

What is the difference between raw and cooked foods?

Identicalities:

Fiber is abundant in both raw and cooked fruits and vegetables, which is excellent for the microbiome.

Differences:

• Certain micronutrients, such as vitamins and phytochemicals, may be reduced in bioavailability when fruits and vegetables are cooked.
• Applying heat to some meals, on the other hand, may increase the bioavailability of certain nutrients, such as lycopene in tomatoes.
• Cooking breaks down plant cell walls and fiber, making the meal more digestible. *Note: the more raw foods you consume, the better you'll be able to digest them—start slowly and gradually increase your raw food intake. For additional information, see our blog on plant variety.

Cooking & Vitamins

Vitamins in food may be unstable, and processing and heat can cause losses. Heat is readily damaged by water-soluble vitamins like C and B, while fat-soluble vitamins are less sensitive. The number of vitamins lost varies based on the cooking technique and the kind of food.

Heat-degraded vitamins include:

• When heated in the presence of oxygen, Vitamin A or Retinol (a fat-soluble vitamin) loses its action quickly, particularly at higher temperatures.
• Skin and eyesight are two functions of the skin.
• Vitamin C (an antioxidant and a water-soluble vitamin) is easily destroyed during cooking. Cooking at higher temperatures and for longer periods of time results in larger losses.
• Produces collagen and helps with wound healing and iron absorption.
• Folate (a water-soluble B vitamin) is lost when food is cooked at high temperatures. Vitamins may leach into the boiling water.
• Function: aids in the formation of red blood cells and protects against neural tube abnormalities.
• Even under somewhat acidic circumstances, thiamin (B vitamin; water-soluble) is degraded while cooking. Cooking or processing at an alkaline pH causes considerably more losses.
• Function: plays an important function in glucose metabolism.

The Benefits of Raw Foods

Raw foods provide a wide range of health advantages.

The Advantages of Eating Raw Foods:

• It's possible that raw meals are healthier for mental wellness. Higher raw fruit and vegetable consumption in young people was linked to significantly better mental health outcomes than cooked or canned fruit and vegetables, according to research.
• Depressive symptoms are lessened.
• Higher life satisfaction with a better mood
• Only eating prepared and canned fruits and vegetables were linked to a boost in good mood.

• Phytochemicals are preserved so you may get the advantages of their preventive health properties. Phytochemicals (compounds found in plants that contribute to color, taste, and fragrance) are considerably more abundant in raw roods than they are in cooked roods. This is dependent on the kind of food and the cooking techniques employed.
• Eating raw implies consuming more natural, uncooked foods. This means consuming more nutrient-dense plant-based meals and less processed foods, which are often high in sugar, bad fats, artificial chemicals, and other additives. Other potential advantages include:
• Loss of weight. Raw foods have fewer calories than processed ones, therefore eating more raw foods may help you lose weight.
• Chronic illness risk is reduced. Plant foods include phytochemicals that aid in the prevention of inflammation, which is a major factor in the progression of chronic illness. Furthermore, a plant-based diet is expected to lower blood pressure, blood sugar, and lipid profiles, all of which contribute to chronic disease development.
• The price is low. Raw plant meals are often less expensive than meat, fish, or other animal goods. Purchasing fruit in season and at local farmers’ markets can save you even more money!
• It's possible that it'll be beneficial for the environment. A plant-based diet may benefit the environment by decreasing water and land usage while also cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

Overnight Oats vs. Cooked Oats (Raw)

We discussed why oats are a no-brainer when it comes to enjoying a delicious, healthy breakfast in our previous blog on oats. We didn't go through the advantages of using overnight oats instead of regular boiled oatmeal.

Oats are steeped overnight in a liquid (we recommend plant-based milk) for a few hours. The beauty of overnight oats is that they soften in the same way that cooked oats do but without the nutrient-degrading impacts of heat. Other advantages of overnight oats include:

It's easier to take in. Soaking oats break down starch molecules and lower antinutrient levels, which may interfere with digestion and the absorption of other nutrients.

More resistant starch is present. Although resistant starch is not technically fiber, it has many of the same health benefits as fiber, most notably, it has a substantial favorable influence on the health of our microbiota. Non-cooked starchy meals may have more resistant starch than their cooked counterparts.

The raw version tastes better than the cooked version. I'm sure I'm not alone in believing that overnight oats are much superior to their cooked counterparts. They have a little sweeter taste than cooked oats and are just as simple to prepare.

Conclusion

So, let's be clear: we're not advising you to stop eating everything you're eating right now and replace it with 100 percent raw foods. We do, however, recommend that you consume more raw plant-based meals. The benefit is that you'll be eating more healthy, fiber-rich foods, which may help you lose weight, protect you from chronic illnesses, and improve your mental health.

The disadvantage is that, unless you include potential digestive problems, there is no disadvantage to eating more raw foods. The good news is that you can repair your stomach and make these meals simpler to digest. Check out our blog on plant diversity for more information.

What more could you want if raw foods may aid in the healing of our bodies, minds, and spirits?