Disease Proof

Anahad O’Connor of The New York Times investigates the concern that microwave ovens destroy the nutrients in food and vegetables. Studies contend that microwaves actually do less damage than conventional ovens because microwaves use less heat and require shorter cooking times:

In studies at Cornell University, scientists looked at the effects of cooking on water-soluble vitamins in vegetables and found that spinach retained nearly all its folate when cooked in a microwave, but lost about 77 percent when cooked on a stove.

O’Connor does mention in the piece that not all cooking compromises the nutrients in veggies. He points out that a study published in The Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture determined broccoli when steamed retained most of its nutrients.

Dr. Fuhrman has tackled this topic on DiseaseProof before. In a previous post, The Cold Truth About Raw Food Diets, he examines the question, “Are cooked foods really dead foods?” Here’s an excerpt:

It is true that when food is baked at high temperatures—and especially when it is fried or barbecued—toxic compounds are formed and important nutrients are lost. Many vitamins are water-soluble, and a significant percent can be lost with cooking, especially overcooking. Similarly, many plant enzymes function as phytochemical nutrients in our body and can be useful to maximize health. They, too, can be destroyed by overcooking…


…In many cases, cooking destroys some of the harmful anti-nutrients that bind minerals in the gut and interfere with the utilization of nutrients. Destruction of these anti-nutrients increases absorption. Steaming vegetables and making vegetable soups breaks down cellulose and alters the plants’ cell structures so that fewer of your own enzymes are needed to digest the food, not more. The point is that this “cooked food is dead food” enzyme argument does not hold water. On the other hand, the roasting of nuts and the baking of cereals does reduce availability and absorbability of protein.