How does cooking affect food?

Cooking food has an effect on its nutritional value, making it better or worse. Find out what is the best way to cook your dishes!

Getting the most out of the nutrients in the ingredients we eat is a widespread concern and awareness of healthy food is increasing in the population.

We continuously search the internet or social networks for recipes, nutritional information and patterns of physical activity that we can carry out to improve the health conditions of our own and ourselves.

However, have you ever considered that the same food, depending on the way it is cooked , is better or worse nutritionally speaking?

Advantages when cooking food

When we cook food, we subject it to certain temperatures, which, as a general rule, is very beneficial in two aspects:

Sterilization of food

Food, especially those that are fresh, can have certain types of microorganisms, such as salmonella in the case of eggs, or products derived from it. Once the egg is subjected to high temperatures , it dies and therefore reduces the risk that by consuming it we can become infected.

Like the egg, there are numerous bacteria and microorganisms that can cause health problems, so the temperature favors the food safety of the food we eat.

Better digestion and assimilation of nutrients

Heat is a form of "food digestion", that is, high temperatures simplify and break down the structures that make up the food matrix. Therefore, eating cooked food improves intestinal digestion and the assimilation of nutrients.

Do you know the effect of cooking on food? Find out!

Other effects of cooking on food

However, some nutrients are lost due to these high temperatures. What are the nutrients that are affected by high temperatures?

Vitamins

They are very susceptible to high temperatures , which is why they are diminished in foods that are cooked.

Some vitamins are more susceptible to heat than others, including:

Water-soluble vitamins: vitamin C and group B vitamins (thiamine B1, riboflavin B2, niacin B3 and folic acid B7, among others.

Fat-soluble vitamins: vitamins such as A (mainly responsible for the sense of sight), vitamin D (responsible for good bone condition), vitamin E (antioxidant) and vitamin K (mainly responsible for blood clotting).

Nutrition experts recommend that the cooking broth of vegetables, meat and fish be used since it is in this where all the vitamins and minerals that the food have lost due to the high cooking temperatures are found.

Protein

They are very vulnerable to heat, since temperatures above 50-60 ºC generate a process of denaturation of proteins , which causes changes in their native structure.

High temperatures cause a decrease in its nutritional value, but it also provides great advantages when consuming them:

Improvement in the texture of food.
Inactivation of certain enzymes that cause organoleptic characteristics. These are unpleasant in food, either when smelling it or eating it.
Improved digestibility of proteins. Heat breaks down certain structures in protein foods that, if eaten raw, would be much more difficult to digest. An example of these are meats and legumes. In this case, the effect of cooking on food would be positive.

Fats

They are partially stable when subjected to high temperatures. However, when fats or foods containing them are subjected to heat, certain unpleasant compounds can be created that enhance flavors and odors that are not very appetizing, toxic or unhealthy, as is the case of trans fats in industrial foods.

Carbohydrates

They are the most stable against heat, however, certain chemical reactions can be caused that cause the caramelization of some simple sugars.

But on the other hand, the starches in foods, when subjected to water and heat treatments, cause gelatinization and retrogradation of their fibers, improving their digestibility.

An example of this is the hydration of the oats with water or milk in a container that is subsequently heated in the microwave or on the glass-ceramic, improves the digestion of the oats and favors the gastrointestinal transit and its digestion.

Minerals

They are very stable at temperature and do not undergo harmful modifications. However, when dissolved in water at high temperatures, part of the food is lost, so its bioavailability decreases .

The effect of cooking on foods that are boiled is that they lose more vitamins and minerals than those that are cooked or cooked in the microwave or oven.

As you can see, to eat healthily it is important to eat fresh and raw foods in the diet . For example, take vegetables cooked, but raw in salads or as crudités for our food supply us all kinds of vitamins and minerals and other nutrients that our diet is not deficient in any of them.

Do you need help or advice on how to eat a balanced diet? Well, we invite you to contact us through our Free Online Nutrition Service in which we will help you in a personalized way to carry out healthy habits.

Didn't you find this information very useful and interesting? Well, do not hesitate to share it on your social networks so that everyone knows the effect that cooking has on food.

We have started to prepare our weekly menu choosing the best cooked food, because I Choose to Take Care of Myself, and you?

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How does cooking affect food?

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