cooked food

Question
Thanks again for your thorough answers previously.  I've learnt a tremendous amount.

I'd like to know what your take is on cooked foods, especially vegetables.  Do you find any benefit in any cooked foods? There is a lot of controversy on this subject as you've mentioned.

I will try high meat to deal with constipation problem, but I still feel roughage in the form of vegetables may be beneficial in this regard. Your thoughts?

I know you don't utilize veggy juices very much, and I am wondering too how important they might be on this diet.  Following some of the links you provided, I see that there are many people that seem to do very well on just meat, and fat with no vegetable matter whatsoever.  This is very intriguing but difficult for someone who has eaten vegges and fruit most of his life to embrace.

thanks again for your help!

Answer
I believe there is only very little benefit, if any, re eating cooked-foods. Cooking certainly does make it easier to eat grains/tubers/certain species of mushrooms etc., as it reduces otherwise high levels of antinutrients in them - on the other hand the very process of cooking itself introduces toxins such as AGEs etc. However, on a more natural, healthier  diet free of grains etc., cooking is largely unnecessary.

As for cooking vegetables, I would say that if one is eating very large amounts of vegetables, then the trace of antinutrients in them becomes a problem, unless they are cooked. It's been suggested by some that the reason for people eventually encountering side-effects if they overdo the consumption of veggie-juice, is that their bodies eventually build up excessive levels of antinutrients(and, of course, since the process of juicing allows one to absorb far more daily nutrients than would be possible if one just ate solid, raw vegetables, this means that antinutrients are also absorbed in excessive amounts).

That said, I see no problem with eating small amounts of raw vegetables. I think it's clear that minor amounts of raw veg would have been  eaten by Palaeo peoples, from time to time, especially during times animal-food was scarce. Having eaten raw, solid veg, I  can safely state that it's virtually impossible to eat it in large amounts - the taste is often way too bland, often foul with regard to some types, and isn't that nutritious(per kilo).I think it would be highly unlikely indeed, therefore, that Palaeo peoples could ever eat enough raw, solid veg, given the scarcity of (wild) vegetation etc./lack of juicers, for it to be harmful.

Also, while issues such as the high levels of antinutrients in grains etc. have been addressed, there are a number of scientists who've pointed out that some so-called antinutrients should be renamed phytonutrients, as in small, trace amounts, they can actually be beneficial to human health. (I can't remember but I think proanthocyanin, an "antinutrient" found in blueberries/bilberries, has been shown to have produced anti-aging benefits).

Re cooked-food in general:- Two semi-raw  diet-gurus, Vinny Pinto  and Sally Fallon repeatedly claim that one must eat a significant portion of  cooked-foods in order to be healthy. This statement is not borne out by my own experience, let alone manyother  RPDers. Also, it's illogical as cooking merely makes some nutrients more absorbable, reducing the levels of other nutrients such as vitamins, and producing harmful AGEs(advanced glycation endproducts) in the process. In other words, there is no specific substance, unique to all cooked-foods, as opposed to raw,  that has been shown to be beneficial re health.


Generally speaking, those who eat mostly raw, sooner or later develop unpleasant minor to major side-effects if they go back to  eating  sizeable amounts of cooked-foods. The result is that they either eventually go all-raw or they  go in for various practices such as taking enzyme-supplements before eating cooked-food and/or eating "high-meat" before or after( I do the latter, usually), both of which tend to minimise (or even remove)side-effects.

When I first started out, I would get very painful stomach-aches from eating any cooked-animal food. Now that I've long since regained my health, my stomach can still get a little sensitive on those social occasions when I eat cooked-foods, and I tend to feel more tired after eating them - with some heated-foods such as pasteurised dairy, I get worse symptoms such as constipation or worse .So, as a result, I don't eat cooked-food for health-reasons. However, I think it's very important to occasionally eat cooked-food with others  for purely social reasons.

Re vegetables:- I don't really see the need for fibre on a raw diet. But I reckon fibre is (probably) useful when eating cooked-food as part of a partially-raw diet. I suggest you experiment with the high-meat, clay and the fibre etc. to see what works best for you.

Re veggie-juices:- I don't think veggie-juice is really necessary. If you do go in for veggie-juice, you should certainly greatly minimise its use(a couple of glasses a week, no more?), to avoid potential issues with excessive levels of antinutrients. Also, on a practical level, juicers are a major hassle to maintain and clean,which is why I far prefer eating the occasional seaweed or herb such as raw samphire etc., instead of juicing.

Re all-meat diet:- The trouble with such extreme diets is that they  require one to be much more careful re ensuring that high enough levels of fats in the diet/sufficient amounts of organ-meats etc  etc. are maintained, among many, many  other issues. In short, I would definitely not recommend this kind of diet, unless you're sure of  having regular supplies of high-quality grassfed/organic meats/organ-meats from suppliers. It's better to play safe and go in for an omnivorous diet, for now, especially as you're still in a state of ill-health.

The other issue is that, judging from the composition of our teeth, we humans are really omnivores, so I'm not totally convinced of an all-meat diet - though a diet high or very high in meat appears to be  a given, judging from the Palaeolithic-era evidence.

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