Stefan:
> >The tertiary structure of molecules is essential for recognition
> >by our digestive enzymes. If it is changed by denaturation, recognition
> >will not take place.

Peter:
> It sounds compelling but as many people thrive on diets consisting mainly
> of cooked foods into ripe old ages, I think that it must be more complex
> than so.

I agree. Obviously, our salivary amylase can digest starch, whether raw or
cooked, our lactase can digest lactose (raw or cooked), etc.

> >Additionally cooking creates new chemical combinations - the maillard
> >products. Judy posted an interesting article about them (AGEs). It seems
> >that they are highly toxic to the human body.

Peter:
> From the article that Judy posted it seems clear that we are talking of high
> temperature heating especially when combined with certain carbohydrates.
> I do not believe that a gentler, lower temperature cooking will produce the
> same toxic compounds.

Certain kinds of AGEs only form at high temperatures, others below ebullition
point. The quantity of AGEs which are formed depend on cooking time, temperature
and other factors. My opinion is that at gentle temperatures, the quantity of
AGEs is low enough so that the body can handle it without serious side-effects.

> In times of scarcity cooking foods would broaden the range of foods eaten
> thereby increasing the chance of survival.

Cooking certainly makes many vegetables, tubers and beans more edible. I also
think that cooking meat has been useful in the past too, despite the fact that
aged meat is perfectly edible. Indeed, our ancestors didn't have any
refrigerator or fan, and their scavenged or hunted meat wasn't always in an
ideal state.


Jean-Louis