Is it better to eat raw and not fry or heat your food?

[Winston]

My doctor in the Philippines told me that I ought to stop frying my vegetables and instead steam them. Does that make a difference? If so, why?

Is frying vegetables ok as long as you use good oil, like olive oil or canola oil? Which oil is best to use?

What do you think?

[Think Different]

Here's your answer:

http://www.adoctorskitchen.com/about/building-blocks

Macadamia nut oil is the best (good luck finding it), and extra virgin olive oil is a close second. Looking at the chart, yellow is "good" for you and red is "bad" for you. Try to get as much Omega 3 in whatever you're eating, don't eat too much Omega 6 and stay away from the saturated fats (the ones Americans love to use so much). I do not recommend canola oil, except in baking. Olive oil doesn't taste good if you use it to bake cookies or whatever (believe me, my wife tried it...yuck). Although extra virgin (first pressing) olive oil is pricey, a little goes a long way and it's VERY good for you.

[The_Adventurer]

I agree about the Olive oil. I heard Soy oil is okay too. The key to vegetables is to fry that fast at high heat. The oil seals in the nutrients and they aren't lost to overcooking.

[momopi]

My doctor in the Philippines told me that I ought to stop frying my vegetables and instead steam them. Does that make a difference? If so, why?
Is frying vegetables ok as long as you use good oil, like olive oil or canola oil? Which oil is best to use?
What do you think?

Vitamins & nutrients in food are inherently unstable. After you pick veggies from the field, nutrients are lost over time, through exposure to light/heat, washing, cooking, etc. The most healthy way to consume vegetables is to pick it from the field and consume it raw immediately. Or, if you have to cook it, light steaming to below 118F/48C. The more you wash, peel, chop, and cook veggies, the more nutrients you destroy. But this isn't realistic for all types of food (i.e. grains) and dishes.

Frying is unhealthy in terms of destroying nutrients and increasing fat & calories. If you baked a potato, it'd contain est. 161 calories and 0.2g of fat. But if you turn the potato into french fries, assuming that 1 potato = large order of fries (?), it'd contain est. 610 calories and 29g of fat. Changing the oil will probably not reduce the calorie count. Frying your food is far worse than microwaving it.

So, look at all the fried foods that you're eating, add up the calories, and look at your belly.

[Think Different]

Fried food frankly gives me a stomach ache, makes me feel sick, and bloats my stomach. I can only eat it in small amounts. This is why I tend to avoid American-Chinese cooking, since it's fried. I didn't have this problem in China, by the way. I really prefer steamed Asian cooking, such as is common in Japan. And best of all, as momopi said, eat your veggies raw. I think they taste better anyhow. I get most of my veggies from eating fresh salads. Top off your salad with drizzled extra virgin olive oil and some balsamic vinegar like they do in the Mediterranean. Tastes great and is really healthy.

[BellaRuth]

There is some suspicion over the non-stick coating in frying pans (particularly Teflon) and the aluminium used. I believe Teflon vapours kill pet birds?

I'm very into health/healthy food, but I do fry food (eggs, salmon, chicken). I use organic extra virgin coconut oil which I HIGHLY recommend. It's gorgeous and doesn't change its structure with heat so retains its nutrition, unlike olive oil, etc.

Olive oil is great but gets rancid quickly so best to buy a small bottle and remember to put the cap on straight away. It's best for salads or as a bread dip rather than a fried oil as it changes with heat.

Also be careful not to burn your food. Burnt meat is carcinogenic. The odd bit won't do you harm but you want to make sure it's not a regular occurrence.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/artic ... t-one.aspx

I wouldn't fry veg personally apart from the odd stir-fry. You want to steam the veg that has to be cooked as it retains its nutrition more, and eat raw the majority of veg. Raw food is what your body needs, and raw vegetables are pretty much the perfect food. Try experimenting with raw salads and/or sprouting some plants yourself (sprouted peas, lentils, etc.).

The key for a good salad, both taste-wise and nutrition-wise, is to get as many colours in there as possible, and to balance out textures. For instance a salad made with rich-tasting tomatoes (for instance slow-roasted tomatoes) is really balanced with the coolness of feta cheese. Try out different cheeses, meat and fish to complement the raw vegetables. You'll grow to love them.

[Think Different]

There is some suspicion over the non-stick coating in frying pans (particularly Teflon) and the aluminium used. I believe Teflon vapours kill pet birds?

I'm very into health/healthy food, but I do fry food (eggs, salmon, chicken). I use organic extra virgin coconut oil which I HIGHLY recommend. It's gorgeous and doesn't change its structure with heat so retains its nutrition, unlike olive oil, etc.

Olive oil is great but gets rancid quickly so best to buy a small bottle and remember to put the cap on straight away. It's best for salads or as a bread dip rather than a fried oil as it changes with heat.

Also be careful not to burn your food. Burnt meat is carcinogenic. The odd bit won't do you harm but you want to make sure it's not a regular occurrence.

Everything in moderation. Steaming vegetables retains more nutritional value and has less fat, but if you have a healthy diet, a bit of fried meat won't kill you.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/artic ... t-one.aspx

Bella, good to see you back. I agree that olive oil shouldn't be used to cook or fry EVERYTHING, since it's structure does certainly change. However, just to play devil's advocate there are things that taste wonderful sauteed (not necessarily fried) with olive oil and garlic, such as veggies. My favorite is broccoli, but try with bell peppers, cauliflower, cabbage, carrots, and so on. My wife is from Italy and she does this sort of thing all the time, and it tastes divine. Instead of writing off olive oil wholesale for cooking I recommend a good quality (make sure the chef is the real deal) Italian/Greek/Lebanese, etc cookbook and see how far cooking with olive oil can take you. OK yes, I'm biased.

[BellaRuth]

There is some suspicion over the non-stick coating in frying pans (particularly Teflon) and the aluminium used. I believe Teflon vapours kill pet birds?

I'm very into health/healthy food, but I do fry food (eggs, salmon, chicken). I use organic extra virgin coconut oil which I HIGHLY recommend. It's gorgeous and doesn't change its structure with heat so retains its nutrition, unlike olive oil, etc.

Olive oil is great but gets rancid quickly so best to buy a small bottle and remember to put the cap on straight away. It's best for salads or as a bread dip rather than a fried oil as it changes with heat.

Also be careful not to burn your food. Burnt meat is carcinogenic. The odd bit won't do you harm but you want to make sure it's not a regular occurrence.

Everything in moderation. Steaming vegetables retains more nutritional value and has less fat, but if you have a healthy diet, a bit of fried meat won't kill you.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/artic ... t-one.aspx

Bella, good to see you back. I agree that olive oil shouldn't be used to cook or fry EVERYTHING, since it's structure does certainly change. However, just to play devil's advocate there are things that taste wonderful sauteed (not necessarily fried) with olive oil and garlic, such as veggies. My favorite is broccoli, but try with bell peppers, cauliflower, cabbage, carrots, and so on. My wife is from Italy and she does this sort of thing all the time, and it tastes divine. Instead of writing off olive oil wholesale for cooking I recommend a good quality (make sure the chef is the real deal) Italian/Greek/Lebanese, etc cookbook and see how far cooking with olive oil can take you. OK yes, I'm biased.

Olive oil is great and I love it, but I rarely cook things apart from meat and eggs now, as I'm trying to crank up my ratio of raw food! I use olive oil (extra virgin) a LOT but on raw salads. I like to use coconut oil for cooking meat and eggs. It's antiviral and antifungal too, it seems to have so many amazing properties.

I also use extra virgin olive oil for a make-up remover and moisturiser. Works out really cheap, is more effective than anything else I've used, and my skin has never been better.

There's a soup I love that starts with leeks and olive oil sauteed... it's delicious. I see your point It does taste divine. And, of course, olive oil is much better than using vegetable or sunflower oil.

[Think Different]

"I also use extra virgin olive oil for a make-up remover and moisturiser. Works out really cheap, is more effective than anything else I've used, and my skin has never been better. "

I read somewhere that Sophia Loren bathes in olive oil to keep her skin so nice, despite her age. Of course, she's a multimillionaire and can afford it. But, she does look great for her age! I imagine using it as a skin lotion would be just as good, healthy, and more affordable, though. I've seen it sold as "sweet oil" in the skin care section of supermarkets, and it was cheap. My wife likes to use it for that, too.

[odbo]

How about you stop eating cakes and sweets first you fat bastard! And try to eat raw vegetables once in a while. Not everything has to be coated in sugar or fat to taste good.

DO NOT HEAT UP Olive or Canola oil, it turns rancid. Only use organic and the most untainted (as in not mixed in with Sunflower Oil to save money) Olive oil you can find, to pour over salad and such things. And go nowhere near anything soy based. You probably get more than enough of that horrible stuff already.

Instead of writing off olive oil wholesale for cooking I recommend a good quality (make sure the chef is the real deal) Italian/Greek/Lebanese, etc cookbook and see how far cooking with olive oil can take you. OK yes, I'm biased.

Get real, you know Winston will f**k it up!

Use (real) butter or coconut oil for cooking, and look for more alternatives. There's also ghee, and some really rare ones from sources we're not used to. I'm not sure about peanuts and corn, but corn isn't exactly a health food being the most manipulated living thing of all time, and on top of that it will probably be genetically modified like soy. Animal fats are very healthy. If you're a vegetarian for moral reasons, it doesn't change that fact. Remember that everything that you were taught was a lie, and we're basically 3 year olds learning everything from scratch, with the added burden of un-learning all the horseshit we were fed and made to memorize just to get through life (get passing grades in school,etc).

[The_Adventurer]

I totally forgot about coconut oil Winston! It's everywhere and very cheap in Philippines. My gf used it for pretty much all frying. It survives well at higher heat (unlike corn oil) and you can cook quick and healthy.

I'm just not anti-frying. Unless you're frying foods in a ton of bacon grease, you can still create some very healthy dishes with the right oil and the right pan (stainless steel non coated).

[Think Different]

As tasty as cooking with coconut oil is, Winston's original question was about which oil was healthy to fry with, or if he should steam his vegetables. If you look at the list of oils that I posted, you'll see that coconut oil is the most unhealthy of all oils listed there (there may be others more unhealthy but not listed). Just keeping things in perspective here.

[keius]

Sometimes you just can't avoid the oil, especially eating out. So, use whatever's convenient. With Winston's lifestyle, it won't matter what kind of oil he uses. Just avoid it as much as possible. The reduction of fried foods will do more for his health than anything else.... so steam your veggies, microwave your veggies, boil your veggies. The more you cook them, the more nutrients you will lose. I prefer my veggies crunchy, half raw. These are all better alternatives to frying them.

I personally stock extra virgin olive oil. Me and the wife like the flavor. I do keep some vegetable oil as well but it's been sitting in my cabinet for 2 years unused.

[swincor]

LOL The Great Cake and Cookie Eater himself is asking a question about cooking oil!

Oh God, this is too much!

Winston, you lazy, fat, glutinous, lecherous fornicator of bar girls -- I swear, you should start a second career as a stand-up comedian!

How about you stop eating cakes and sweets first you fat bastard! And try to eat raw vegetables once in a while. Not everything has to be coated in sugar or fat to taste good.

I concur. hehehe

[Winston]

Since Dianne is not around due to her alleged stupid singing practice everyday, I've been experimenting with cooking. Here is what I've found.

Some vegetables taste terrible raw or steamed. For example, cabbage tastes gross if you steam it. It only tastes good if you fry it. Carrots though, taste good raw or steamed or fried. I love carrots. Broccoli tastes good steamed or fried, but not raw. String beans are tasteless if you just steam them. But they are very delicious and one of my favorite dishes, if you fry them with black bean garlic sauce. That is a really delicious Chinese dish.

So some veggies taste much better fried. If steaming is healthier, then why does it taste so much better fried?

Tofu also tastes better fried than raw.

Picture of string beans cooked with black bean sauce.



Ma po tofu, another favorite Chinese dish of mine.



Question: When I eat carrots or potatoes, do I need to skin them first? Isn't it unnecessary, as long as you wash them first? And aren't most of the nutrients in the skin of the vegetable or fruit?