The Risks of Overcooking Food

[Guest guest]

From Well Being Journal Vol. 9, No. 2 ~ March/April 2000

 

The Risks of Overcooking Food

By Nancy Appleton, Ph.D.

--

 

 

There is enough evidence to show that the more a food is cooked, the more

difficult it is to digest and metabolize. This is true of any food. The higher

the temperature at which a food is cooked, the longer it stays in the gut and

the more difficult it becomes for our digestive mechanisms to digest it.

 

This makes it more difficult for the food to absorb and work on a cellular level

where it needs to work.

 

When the food cannot work on the cellular level, the cells can become deficient

and/or toxic, which leads to deficiency and toxicity of the whole body, making

it less able to function optimally.

 

Every food has a heat labile point. The heat labile point is the temperature at

which food changes its chemical configuration.

 

All foods are made up of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen in different

chemical configurations with minerals added. We have descended from early man

eating foods with certain chemical configurations.

 

We have the digestive enzymes to digest foods with those chemical

configurations.

 

When food is heated past the heat labile point, its chemical configuration

changes. Pasteurization, deep frying and barbecuing are all forms of cooking

where food is heated past the heat labile point.

 

The body does not understand these new chemical configurations and does not have

the enzymes to digest the food easily.

 

When the food does not digest properly, it can sit in the gut, unable to be

assimilated completely, and it can start to become toxic.

 

The carbohydrates start to ferment, the proteins begin to putrefy and the fats

become rancid. These toxins irritate the lining of the gastrointestinal tract

mucosa. This can poison the gut bacteria, causing the ecology of the gut to

become upset.

 

Three hundred to 400 of the bacteria species can become upset, causing

overgrowth of candida and other pathogens. The irritation also makes the cells

on the lining of the gastrointestinal tract enlarge.

 

When the cells become larger, the putrefied, undigested food slips into the

bloodstream, a condition sometimes called leaky gut syndrome.

 

This also creates free radicals with such formidable names as cadaverines,

endols, putricine and phenol.

 

Since it is the liver's job to detoxify toxins, the liver becomes overloaded and

unable to perform its task.

 

In the bloodstream, the undigested or partially digested food (in the form of

macromolecules) is in too large a particle to get into the cell to function.

 

This undigested or partially digested food moves through the bloodstream,

causing havoc in the body. This is a form of food allergy.

 

The macromolecules can go to the head and cause the classic symptoms of allergy,

such as runny eyes, scratchy throat, itchy ears, sinusitis and sneezing.

 

They can go to the brain and cause headaches, anger, fatigue, schizophrenia and

perspiration.

 

They can go to the joints or tissues and cause arthritis, or to the nerves and

cause multiple sclerosis.

 

The macromolecules can also go to the skin and cause acne, edema, psoriasis or

rashes. They can lodge anywhere in the soft tissues in the body and cause

problems, straining whatever a person's weak link may be.

 

Finally, the immune system comes to the defense of the body and converts these

undigested particles back into substances that the body can use or escorts them

out of the body.

 

The immune system is asked to do the job that our digestive system did not do.

The immune system was not designed to do this on a daily basis, every time we

overcook or overprocess foods.

 

Over a period of time, the immune system becomes exhausted and the door is

opened to infectious and degenerative diseases.

 

Unfortunately, it is not only foods that have been heated past the heat labile

point, such as potato chips, fried foods, barbecued foods, cake mixes and such,

that cause this reaction.

 

Consuming sugar, caffeine and alcohol, and taking corticosteroids, antibiotics,

aspirin and many other prescription, over-the-counter and street drugs can also

upset body chemistry, causing undigested food to get into the bloodstream with

all of the consequences.

 

The University of California at Davis examined how volunteers digested bread

that had been cooked to varying degrees: first, very mildly; second, normally;

and third, overcooked.

 

The slightly cooked bread went through the stomach quite rapidly and caused no

problems in digestion. But the longer the bread was cooked, the longer it stayed

in the stomach.

 

In fact, the dark, overcooked bread caused an immune response in the

bloodstream.

 

An immune response can be triggered by undigested food that gets into the

bloodstream and must be treated as a foreign invader by the immune system.

 

There is evidence that shows that if you cook food past 112º Fahrenheit, you

will make the enzymes in the food unavailable; therefore, you will need to use

your own enzymes to digest the food.

 

Our pancreas makes enzymes that help digest food, but we do not want to overtax

this system.

 

There is also research that shows that the immune system can become activated

when fried, pressure cooked or barbecued food is eaten.

 

We want our immune system working on bacteria, viruses and other foreign

material. We do not want our immune system working on food. We want it strong

for foreign invaders.

 

From this research and the principle of the heat labile point, it seems that the

best way to cook food is the least way. The more food that you can eat raw, the

better. If you do cook your food, the best way to cook is to lightly steam,

bake, stew or stir fry, or use a slow crock cooker.

 

Eat as few overprocessed and overcooked foods as possible. The body has a

difficult time digesting fried, barbecued, pasteurized, dried and other

overprocessed and overcooked foods, such as cake mixes, dried milk, dried eggs,

pizza mixes and dairy products. Bon apetite au natural.

 

http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/overcook.htm

--

 

Nancy Appleton, Ph.D., is a nutritional consultant working is Santa Monica,

California. She is author of Lick The Sugar Habit, Healthy Bones, and The Curse

Of Louis Pasteur. For more information, see www.nancyappleton.com.

_________________

 

JoAnn Guest

mrsjoguest

DietaryTipsForHBP

http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The complete " Whole Body " Health line consists of the " AIM GARDEN TRIO "

Ask About Health Professional Support Series: AIM Barleygreen

 

" Wisdom of the Past, Food of the Future "

 

http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/AIM.html

 

PLEASE READ THIS IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER

We have made every effort to ensure that the information included in these pages

is accurate. However, we make no guarantees nor can we assume any responsibility

for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, product, or

process discussed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Win a $20,000 Career Makeover at HotJobs