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Subject:
From:
Jean-Louis Tu <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Raw Food Diet Support List <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 13 Nov 1998 13:00:42 +0100
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Wes:

> Have a look at "the hidden hazards of microwave cooking"
> http://chetday.com/microwave.html

I've already read the article. Everything that is said is based on a
single study (Hertel) that has never been published in any scientific
journal. I am still not convinced that microwaving a potato at 350 watts
for 4 minutes is harmful. Perhaps the conventional use of microwaves
is bad, since people tend to use too much power in order to decrease
cooking times, and their food is cooked too quickly.

There is IMO nothing mysterious with microwaves. They are just
electromagnetic waves, such as radiowaves and visible
light. Radiowaves are about 100 kHz - 100 MHz. Visible light is about
1E14 Hertz (or 100000 GHz). Microwaves are intermediate, about 1GHz, I
think.

> > Wrong. Riboflavin, Niacin and Biotin are not affected by heat, for
> > instance.
>
> Dr. Cousens mentions that "although there is some variation in research
> findings, most agree that over 50% of the B vitamins are destroyed by
> cooking". and "Thiamine losses have been recorded up to 96%, folic acid
> losses up to 97%, and biotin losses up to 72%. Vitamin C losses are up
> to 70-80%."
>
Then, Dr. Cousens is wrong. What I said above is from a textbook in
nutrition.

According to http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/cgi-bin/nut_search.pl
(USDA nutrient database),

100 grams of raw potatoes contain .088 mg thiamin (for 79% water
content). 100 grams of boiled potatoes contain .106 mg thiamin (for 77% water
content). Of course, these are averages, but you can see that boiling
doesn't destroy thiamine.

I won't discuss further, but you'll have something more detailed soon
on the website I mentioned.

> > Side note: B-12 deficiency is not uncommon in raw vegetarians/vegans.
>
> Even raw egg and honey, etc. eating vegetarians? Got any references for
> the above claim?

For raw vegans, I have a reference:

Rauma AL et al., Vitamin B-12 status of long-term adherents of a strict
uncooked vegan diet ("living food diet") is compromised, J Nutr 1995
Oct;125(10):2511-5

There is also plenty of anecdotal evidence (read the archives of the
present list). Now, for raw vegetarians, obviously it depends how much
animal food you eat: if that's one egg every month, it won't be enough
to prevent B-12 deficiency.

Remark: are you sure honey contains B-12? According to vitamin tables
I have, honey has no B-12 at all.

> If you're so intent on showing people they should be cooking their food,
> then why do you even bother eating raw?

Didn't I tell you I cook part of my food?

> Haven't the article(s) you've
> read or participated in convinced you that you should be eating (more)
> cooked food?

Yes, what I've read convinced me that I should be eating more than 0% cooked.

> Why are you eating mostly raw then?

Because I am convinced the best % of cooked food (for me, now) is
about 10%.

I am not against raw food, I am against black-and-white thinking. A
potato is not "raw or cooked". It can be raw, boiled 4 minutes, boiled
20 minutes, baked, fried, mashed, salted. It can be in the form of
potato chips. A diet is not "raw or cooked". It can be 100% raw, 90%,
70%, 50%, 10%, 0%.

> I'll buy you a new car if you can prove to me that my body would be
> better off if I ate my fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, eggs, honey, etc.
> cooked instead of raw.

Man, I don't want to prove anything, even if you bought me a car (I
don't drive very often, since I don't need any here in Paris). And
when did I say that you should cook fruit and honey?


--Jean-Louis Tu <[log in to unmask]>

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