Raw Versus Cooked: Which Is Better For You? by Jane Thurnell-Read

Most people think that raw vegetables are always better for you than cooked vegetables, but this is not always true. It is true that some of the water soluble vitamins (such as vitamin C) are destroyed by heating, so there will be less vitamin C in a cooked carrot than in a similar raw carrot.

But for some nutrients, cooking (and juicing) is more nutritious, because it makes the nutrients more easily assimilated. Cooking and juicing breaks down tough fibres and allows the digestive juices to work more effectively on the vegetable.

This is particularly important for someone who is elderly, ill or who has impaired digestion. For example, research has shown that we absorb approximately 3-4% of carotenoids from raw carrots and 15-20% from cooked carrots. Carotenoids are plant pigments that give yellow, orange and red fruit and vegetables their colour. Carotenoids are powerful antioxidants, so have a role in helping us fight old age and cancer. Click here for a delicious soup recipe using carrots. Click here for information on juicers.

Juicing probably offers the best of both worlds: it gives access to nutrients that have not been damaged by heat, but it is much easier to drink several oranges as juice than eat them as fruit.

Commercially prepared juices are not always 100% juice. Some manufacturers have arranged for their sugary drinks with a small amount of juice to be displayed in the chiller cabinet next to 100% juice drinks, giving the impression to the unwary that they too are 100% juice.

Even 100% fruit juices are often not what they seem. They may be made from reconstituted juice. This means that some of the water has been removed; the remaining juice has been transported elsewhere and water has been re-added. Chemical solvents may also be used in the extraction process to break down the cell walls in order to extract the maximum amount of juice. Traces of these and silicone anti-foam (used to control unwanted foam during the production process) may remain in the finished product, but do not have to be declared on the label.

The solution is to buy good quality, preferably organic, juice, or even better to juice your own fruit. The cheapest juicers are called centrifugal juicers, and the more expensive ones are called masticating juicers. Masticating juicers make the most delicious juice because they break down the cell walls of the fruit or vegetables and extract the maximum amount of juice and flavour.

Copyright 2007 Jane Thurnell-Read Online Wellness Products