Author Topic: Veg: cooked or raw? (Read 3004 times)

Marlelar · « **on:** November 09, 2015, 09:48:48 PM »

In another thread a poster recommended cooked veg over raw. I have consistently read that raw was best as cooking destroyed most nutrients. Is there research to support cooked over raw?

Nadir · « **Reply #1 on:** November 09, 2015, 11:30:29 PM »

Yes, I noiced that too and was surprised with such a claim, which said the more you cook the vegies the more nutritious they are!

It depends on the vegetable. I eat about half cooked, half raw.

Just did a search:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/raw-veggies-are-healthier/
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/raw-vs-cooked

Stubborn · « **Reply #2 on:** November 10, 2015, 05:10:21 AM »

Quote from: Marlelar

In another thread a poster recommended cooked veg over raw. I have consistently read that raw was best as cooking destroyed most nutrients. Is there research to support cooked over raw?

I saw that too. He also did not recommend vegetable juicing.

Cooking vegetables kills all the enzymes - which are what does the healing. Juicing vegetables is probably the healthiest thing anyone can do for themselves since they cannot eat 10 carrots, but juicing will provide the vitamins, mineral, enzymes, and other benefits of eating 10 carrots - less the fiber - but you can always put some of the fiber back in your glass before drinking or use it in some other way if you feel the need.

But cooking vegetables is up there with pasteurizing milk - it kills all the good vitamins, minerals and enzymes so not sure why he made that suggestion either.

Graham · « **Reply #3 on:** November 10, 2015, 06:19:52 AM »

The idea is that raw vegetables are too hard to digest, especially today with an epidemic of weak digestion, so though the cooking process diminishes the absolute nutrition it increases the bioavailable nutrition.

wallflower · « **Reply #4 on:** November 10, 2015, 08:37:18 AM »

We need both. Like Graham said the digestive epidemic we have today makes raw very difficult for many to digest. They have to work up to being able to eat raw and do well with it. In addition to that there are some veg that are actually more nutritious cooked. Tomatoes come to mind. http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/2002/04/cooking-tomatoes-boosts-disease-fighting-power

Another example is lentils, it depends on what you want. If you need iron, eat them cooked. If you want more C & B's, sprout them.

But cooking veg as long as possible is not the answer either. With most veg I believe it is best to steam them lightly. I like to use the World's Healthiest Foods website for reference because they will tell you the studies that show cooking such-and-such food for this long reduces such-and-such nutrients by this percent, therefore this or that length of steam/cook is optimal. They use a lot of scientific information and don't tend to subscribe to extreme food philosophies. WHF and Weston Price are my favorites for the fact that they don't follow fads that condemn whole food groups.

Ideally our habits should include a large mix of raw and cooked vegetables and we shouldn't really have to worry about it. But we start with so little nutrition heritage these days that we end up having to go through a learning curve to get there.

PG · « **Reply #5 on:** November 10, 2015, 02:20:59 PM »

If you think raw vegis are the way to go, then you have to be thinking juicing. But, I don't recommend juicing for a number of reasons. I won't go into all of them, I do not have the time.

I am not the raw food "fruitician" type, although a fruit diet does look fun. But, here is a good raw food/fruit blogger/author/health coach who recommends against juicing and some of the other dumb things I have found those same types(juicers) as a whole to do/endorse. He has many good educational videos. I recommending browsing his channel. His videos are short and sweet, and I think you are likely to find them worthwhile. I also recommend dr. john mcdougall; he has common sense and a sparkling reputation with real results to back it up.

- a short video(8 mins) about why to stop juicing.

Stubborn · « **Reply #6 on:** November 11, 2015, 11:29:33 AM »

Norman Wardhaugh Walker was a British businessman and pioneer in the field of vegetable juicing and nutritional health. He advocated the drinking of fresh raw vegetable and fruit juices, both to regain and to maintain one's health. Wikipedia
Born: January 4, 1886, Genoa, Italy
Died: June 6, 1985, Cottonwood, AZ

Nix the blog, take the word of a Dr. who lived 99 years practicing what he preached. Raw vegetable juicing has got to be one of the healthiest things you can possibly do for your own health, but certain conditions is probably best to avoid or dilute the juice. And forget about cooking the nutrients out of vegetables for the sake of wimpy digestive tracts, makes zero sense if you're eating them for your health.

Raw Vegetable Juices: What's Missing in Your Body?
Book by Norman W. Walker is a small but amazing little book.

wallflower · « **Reply #7 on:** November 11, 2015, 11:49:00 AM »

I think juicing has its rightful place in health. I have seen websites where people lose their common sense over it but in moderation it can do a lot of good for people with weak digestion or those who need to replenish nutrients quickly. I'd recommend a juice over a multi-vitamin any day. I think it is generally much better absorbed that way.

PG · « **Reply #8 on:** November 11, 2015, 12:14:45 PM »

stubborn - you make this easy for me. I have to say I appreciate it. Because, he is a perfect example of all the religious qacks in the health field. And, I don't think I need to go much further than saying that your guy norman also recommends pumping water up ones butt 6 times a year for the rest of ones life. But, he also recommends against eating starches as well. The guy is an idiot. And, it is no surprise he is dogmatic about colon hydrotherapy, because juices leads to constipation, just like what was said in my video.

In comparison now, see what my guy also has to say about colon cleansing(which is a twin sister of juicing).

BTW - dr. john mcdougall also recommends well cooked vegetables as a must. And, he has criticized the raw vegi trend, admitting that one has to juice if raw. He has a huge following, is in great health, and it is all common sense. He surely has the best diet/healing advice out there.

PG · « **Reply #9 on:** November 11, 2015, 12:18:33 PM »

wallflower - you must not have watched my first video link. Juicing is bad if you have poor digestion. It is a common misconception. It leads to constipation, which is why all juicers recommend colon therapy of some sort(often hydro). And, these colon therapy methods are dangerous. One popular guy I saw recommended eating clay.

Marlelar · « **Reply #10 on:** November 11, 2015, 01:04:43 PM »

Quote from: PG

If you think raw vegis are the way to go, then you have to be thinking juicing.

No, actually I was thinking in terms of side dishes with a meal. Salads, raw veg strips, cucuмbers, things like that.

wallflower · « **Reply #11 on:** November 11, 2015, 01:08:11 PM »

I actually did watch it but I think "poor digestion" is a very broad term that can mean a multitude of things, and many of them with opposing remedies. He mentions too much sugar (not likely if one is juicing a lot of greens) or too little fiber (also unlikely if one is not overdoing it). If a person is not breaking down their food and absorbing the nutrients, juicing can provide it quickly and with impact since it is liquid and doesn't take much to digest. There is a reason why a lot of people feel better when juicing. It is a quick, though (imo) short term, aid to many nutritional deficiencies.

But I believe it is good in moderation only in general, because what it takes to solve one digestive problem can be the exact thing that makes another worse. That's why, inevitably, others have difficulties with juicing. Each has to do their own trial and error. If I have learned anything through my own illnesses and what I have seen and heard of others, it's that the whole question of healthy food and digestion is complex and individual, there is truly no one size fits all. I have come to take all gurus with a large grain of salt if that is not their most basic philosophy.

Stubborn · « **Reply #12 on:** November 11, 2015, 01:11:26 PM »

Quote from: PG

stubborn - you make this easy for me. I have to say I appreciate it. Because, he is a perfect example of all the religious qacks in the health field. And, I don't think I need to go much further than saying that your guy norman also recommends pumping water up ones butt 6 times a year for the rest of ones life. But, he also recommends against eating starches as well. The guy is an idiot. And, it is no surprise he is dogmatic about colon hydrotherapy, because juices leads to constipation, just like what was said in my video.

In comparison now, see what my guy also has to say about colon cleansing(which is a twin sister of juicing).

BTW - dr. john mcdougall also recommends well cooked vegetables as a must. And, he has criticized the raw vegi trend, admitting that one has to juice if raw. He has a huge following, is in great health, and it is all common sense. He surely has the best diet/healing advice out there.

The idiot is the guy who recommends well cooked vegetables as a must. Why even bother when the whole world knows that cooking veggies kills all the enzymes and most, if not all of the other nutrients?

When I was younger, I actually healed myself thanks to doing what Dr. Walker said - which was to my Doctors' amazement. I did it by living off some specific juices for about 3 months. It was my last resort, it was either that of go under the knife to have major reconstruction surgery. Even I was dumbfounded when I saw the before and after x-rays after so short a time. Plainly, it works. Besides nothing, I'd hate to think what eating well cooked vegetables (yuk, btw) would have accomplished for me. I cannot believe anyone believes such a thing.

After watching that video, he says a lot of the same things Dr. Walker and other naturalist doctors say, namely, Eat raw fruits and vegetables. Dr. Walker advocates the same, he adds juices because they are even more healthy and can be used therapeutically to completely heal specific ailments - whoever disputes this needs to actually try it before they knock it.......then I highly doubt they would ever knock it again.

PG · « **Reply #13 on:** November 11, 2015, 02:40:33 PM »

stubborn - Did you use colon hydrotherapy when you following norman?

As for perlot, he recommends raw fruits and vegetables. But, probably 70-80% of his intake are raw fruits. His vegis consist usually of light leafy greens that don't need to be cooked topped with fruity sauces. And, I am not recommending his diet, but he is correct on one of the points raised against me(juicing). And, colon cleansing is related, so it is relevant. That is why I linked him.

marlemar - Most people don't eat salad without adding all sorts of fat oily sauces to in it order to get it down. It really cancels out the health effect, and probably does the opposite for health. Fat is not a food for health and healing. And, that was the context of my post(healing).

Light greens really are not that nutritional anyways. And, they do not taste good by themselves at all. They are a minority when it comes to the vegetable category. They are something that I would probably eat raw with the right additions, but for the sake of simplicity, I absolutely recommend and word it as I have. Because, the majority of "vegetables" either must or should be well cooked. And, I have cooked lettuce, and I recall it being better and edible by itself. There is also a whole other category of vegetables too that contain starch. And, they absolutely have to be cooked. All of those vegetables that either should or must be cooked taste so much better than raw lettuce. That is important. Because, people don't eat enough of them, and it is a result of the taste.

Stubborn · « **Reply #14 on:** November 11, 2015, 03:34:05 PM »

I never did colonics of any kind. I don't know what Dr. Walker actually said about them but I suspect if he recommended them, he would have only done so when the situation was desperate - I could be wrong here.

I know for positive if everyone did what he says, there would never be any need for anything like that..........I pretty much did what he said, so I never had any need for it. I know that they should never be used, we are not designed to have anything go in us that way, yet there are times and there are certain people who benefit from them.

I'm no nutritionist by any stretch and don't claim to be, but I can tell you (as I sip a glass of fresh carrot/apple/ginger juice MMMmmmmm, my favorite! lol) the things he says in his one book; Raw Vegetable Juices: What's Missing in Your Body? are explained very simply and actually work - at least for me and some others it sure worked. For example, when/if I had a cold, I would go much heavier on the ginger -it's a natural expectorant that really works great, but for now, I go for the taste combination, which is awesome.

And the best part is that to me, the juices are like a delicacy. They are not only super healthy, they taste absolutely awesome. It's especially crazy when you consider that I have never been able to eat most vegetables because I hate the taste, when I was younger, the taste literally made me gag so my whole life and even till now, I've avoided eating most vegetables - but I can juice those very same vegetables and enjoy the taste immensely. Go figure.