Change Your Cookware. Change Your Life.™

Nutrition Loss & Retention in Cooked Foods

John Hopkins says:

“The combination of high heat, water and oxygen is disastrous to vitamins and minerals. Cook all foods below the boiling point at a very low temperature to retain the vitamins and minerals. Unless we eat food properly prepared, we suffer from inferior physical development, mental instability, low endurance and lack of resistance to infection”.

Cooking can rob food of anywhere from 25 to 70 percent of a given vitamins & minerals according to the: Self Nutrition Data website

Undoubtedly raw foods are highly nutritious for you to eat. Unfortunately though, most of us cook our food at high temperatures and in the process destroy much of the valuable vitamins and nutrients that mother nature has packed into it. Conventional cooking methods are clearly not very effective at preserving the goodness in the foods we prepare.

Heating, while brightening up your plate, can reduce a vegetable’s antioxidant content. Heat causes the breakdown of cell membrane structure in vegetables.

Most Water Soluble vitamins are lost through cooking in water. Also, cooking in water can decrease the amount of potassium, calcium, and sodium in foods, especially from overcooking or dicing foods into small bites. To avoid excessive loss, use less water when cooking or try moisture cooking.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25442619/

Vegetables are generally a great source of vitamin C, but a large amount of it is lost when they’re cooked in water. In fact, boiling reduces vitamin C content more than any other cooking method. Broccoli, spinach, and lettuce may lose up to 50% or more of their vitamin C when boiled.

Because vitamin C is Water Soluble and sensitive to heat, it can leach out of vegetables when they're immersed in hot water. B vitamins are similarly heat sensitive. Up to 60% of thiamine, niacin, and other B vitamins may be lost when meat is simmered and its juices run off.

Most researchers indicate at least a 50% loss of vitamin B in cooked foods. Some losses, such as thiamine, can be as high as 96% if food is boiled for a prolonged time. Biotin losses can be up to 72%, folic acid up to 97%, Inositol up to 95%, vitamin C up to 70 to 80%. Cooked proteins have only 50% bioavailability compared to uncooked proteins. As other food-quality factors decrease with time, foods also lose nutrients during storage and shipping. Exposure to light and heat breaks up the sensitive vitamin molecules; they are destroyed and cannot be regenerated. The antioxidant vitamins, especially vitamins E and C, are destroyed by oxygen in the air. Some nutrients are volatile and evaporate during normal drying.

The calculated intake of vitamins based on standard nutritional tables is inaccurate. Nutritionists normally take the values for raw foods and reduce them by 25%. This is not a true representation of the nutrient loss.

List of nutrients lost when cooking:

1.Enzymes

2.Water Soluble Vitamins

3.Fiber & Texture

4.Phyto-chemicals & Antioxidants

5.Loss of Pigmentation. Chlorophyll – green pigment, carotenoids –pigments ranging from yellow to deep red, and the flavonoids; anthocyanins – red, blue or purple pigments according to the pH, and anthoxanthin – white pigment.

6.Proteins During cooking, the heat causes the proteins to vibrate violently, which results in the breakage of the weak hydrogen bonds holding the amino acid strands in place. Ultimately, the protein unravels to re-take its initial form of amino acid strands.

7.Heat Sensitive Vitamins

8.Carbohydrates

9.Fats

10.Minerals

Several other compounds are considered as carcinogenic, such as acrylamide and heterocyclic amines, which are both formed as a result of the Maillard Reaction. What happens to food when it is cooked? Heating causes a complex series of physical and chemical changes to occur. These changes vary depending on the type of food being cooked and the method used to cook it. The changes may be advantageous e.g., improving the flavor, texture and color of the food, or they may be disadvantageous e.g., reducing the nutrient value of the food, or the generation of undesirable compounds.

Nutrients Damaged

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3704564/?_escaped_fragment_=po=5.55556

Fiber in Cooked Foods

In addition, heat damages the structure of vegetables. This renders varying amounts of their fiber useless to your body. For example, steaming or boiling carrots or broccoli destroys much of their soluble fiber. Deep-frying a potato breaks down both the insoluble and soluble fiber, leaving very little your body can utilize.

https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/pureed-vegetables-much-fiber-fresh-1295.html

Vitamins are organic and can be broken down by heat, air, or acid. Minerals are inorganic and can hold more of their chemical structure.

Water-soluble vitamins

B vitamins

Biotin (vitamin B7)
Folic acid (folate, vitamin B9)
Niacin (vitamin B3)
Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5
Riboflavin (vitamin B2)
Thiamin (vitamin B1)
Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine, pyridoxal, and pyridoxamine)
Vitamin B12 biotin, and pantothenic acid
Vitamin C Absorbic acid

Fat-soluble vitamins

Vitamin A
Vitamin D
Vitamin E
Vitamin K

Major minerals

Calcium
Chloride
Magnesium
Phosphorus
Potassium
Sodium
Sulfur
Trace minerals

Chromium, Copper, Fluoride
Iodine, Iron
Manganese
Molybdenum
Selenium
Zinc

Cooking Methods Can Affect Nutrients

Every time you steam, bake, boil, grill, stir-fry, sauté, microwave, pressure cook, broil, braise, fry poach & instant-pot, air-fry . We lose nutrition and break down fiber in our cooked foods.

Colors are Antioxidants & Vitamins

https://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/110308p34.shtml

Color from phenols/antioxidants-

Vitamins and flavor from Minerals and natural sugars

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf000595h

https://nutritiondata.self.com/topics/processing

www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/retn5/retn5_tbl.pdf

The University of Wisconsin, Food & Science department at the Hazelton Laboratory conducted extensive research on the nutritional retention within food using the unique Saladmaster Healthy Cooking System.

Their research found that cooking vegetables in Saladmaster retained on average 93% nutrition in the food by cooking without peeling, with no water, below 90°C, in a semi-vacuum thus protecting the key

nutrients in the food.

https://www.times-series.co.uk/news/9189852.healthy-happy-all-in-one-pot/

Good sources of specific antioxidants include:

allium sulfur compounds – leeks, onions and garlic
anthocyanins – eggplant, grapes and berries
beta-carotene – pumpkin, mangoes, apricots, carrots, spinach and parsley
catechins – red wine and tea
copper – seafood, lean meat, milk and nuts
cryptoxanthin – red capsicum, pumpkin and mangoes
flavonoids – tea, green tea, citrus fruits, red wine, onion and apples
indoles – cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower
isoflavonoids – soybeans, tofu, lentils, peas and milk
lignans – sesame seeds, bran, whole grains and vegetables
lutein – green, leafy vegetables like spinach, and corn
lycopene – tomatoes, pink grapefruit and watermelon
manganese – seafood, lean meat, milk and nuts
polyphenols – thyme and oregano
selenium – seafood, offal, lean meat and whole grains
vitamin A – liver, sweet potatoes, carrots, milk, and egg yolks
vitamin C – oranges, blackcurrants, kiwifruit, mangoes, broccoli, spinach, capsicum and strawberries
vitamin E – vegetable oils (such as wheat germ oil), avocados, nuts, seeds and whole grains
zinc – seafood, lean meat, milk and nuts
zoochemicals – red meat, offal and fish. Also derived from the plants that animals eat.

ORGANOLEPTIC SALADMASTER TEST

Organoleptic meaning: (being, affecting, or relating to qualities (such as taste, color, odor, and feel) of a substance, such as a food).

Saladmaster partners with independent laboratories that provide qualified testing and auditing services to hundreds of manufacturers, organizations and individuals. Members include highly qualified chemists, microbiologists and technicians that are experienced in conducting microbiological, chemical, nutritional and physical analysis - on an array of food, water, cosmetic and pharmaceutical products and services - using

procedures that comply with official methodologies.

Laboratory Accredits: The American Association for Laboratory Accreditations for ISO 17025 (certificate

#2088-01) USDA #44884 for proximate analysis, and participates in numerous external validation programs such as American Association of cereal Chemists, American Proficiency Institute, Associations of Official

Analytical Chemists, and the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service

Preliminary studies show favorable results of flavor protecting benefits when foods are prepared in Saladmaster Titanium Vapo Value Cookware and method of cooking.

How cooking foods affects AGING

https://www.kron4.com/news/why-cooking-methods-affect-aging/

https://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/030314p10.shtml

Cooking Food at Lower Temperature

How we process and cook our food may be equally as important as the sourcing of our food, and the nutrition in our food—now more than ever–due to the consistent processing and over-cooking of meat and other foods in the American diet, along with the popularity of paleo and ketogenic diets. So this begs the question:

How Important is Cooking Food at Lower Temperatures?

We know that cooking foods at higher temperatures destroys nutrients, and cooking foods at lower temperatures preserves nutrients. For example, raw cooking involves cooking foods more slowly, at low temperatures (between 105-118 degrees).

But what about cooking meat?

AGEs:

It has long been known that heavily cooked foods, and foods cooked at high temperatures, inflict massive damage to our genes by generating dangerous byproducts. Certainly you have heard that grilling along with char-boiled meats causes cancer? What are heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and how are they formed in cooked meats?

https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/diet/cooked-meats-fact-sheet

Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are chemicals formed when muscle meat, including beef, pork, fish, or poultry, is cooked using high-temperature methods, such as pan frying or grilling directly over an open flame (1). In laboratory experiments, HCAs and PAHs have been found to be mutagenic—that is, they cause changes in DNA that may increase the risk of cancer.

HCAs are formed when amino acids (the building blocks of proteins), sugars, and creatine or creatinine (substances found in muscle) react at high temperatures. PAHs are formed when fat and juices from meat grilled directly over a heated surface or open fire drip onto the surface or fire, causing flames and smoke. The smoke contains PAHs that then adhere to the surface of the meat. PAHs can also be formed during other food preparation processes, such as smoking of meats (1).

HCAs are not found in significant amounts in foods other than meat cooked at high temperatures. PAHs can be found in other smoked foods

This is because cooking foods at high temperatures, and with low moisture, generates the formation of gene-mutating byproducts called AGEs

(Advanced Glycation End-Products).

AGEs damage DNA and are associated with high levels of oxidation, inflammation, and diseases such as insulin resistance, kidney disease, diabetes, atherosclerosis, heart disease, obesity, and a variety of cancers.

The higher the level of AGEs generated from a food, the more DNA damage and disease. Conversely, the lower the AGE of a food, the less oxidative stress, less disease, and a longer lifespan as the avoidance of AGEs reduces chronic disease risk.

Grilling, broiling, roasting, searing, and frying accelerate AGEs generation in food. Most “junk” and snack foods are cooked, processed, or preserved at extremely high temperatures, and dry-processed. Because of this process, snack foods have measurably high levels of AGEs as well.

While a safe range of AGE consumption hasn’t been established, it is estimated that the average American consumes AGEs at 15,000 kU/day (1)—and the average American isn’t that healthy, with heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and cancer on the rise—so it is quite possible from my understanding that consuming AGEs at 15,000kU/day is too high since we already see rising disease at this number?

And: the amount of AGE consumption is much higher in those who consume grilled, fried, roasted meats, fats, and highly processed foods at more than 20,000 kU/day (1).

How Food is Prepared Matters

As I mentioned: Dry heat processing promotes AGE formation by more than 10- to 100 times above the AGE of uncooked foods (3), so this includes your dry, packaged goods like snacks: chips, crackers, cookies, etc. that are preserved using dry heat processing.

Also, Grilling is often used by health conscious people, or by restaurants to imply a healthy cooking method, but grilled salmon has the same AGE levels as microwaved cooked salmon.

Risks Associated with AGEs

Those with high insulin, high blood sugar, diabetes, high triglycerides, kidney disease, and who are obese are the groups of people most in need of protection from AGEs. High glucose levels increase glycation reactions, and further increase AGE generation.

AGEs have been linked to prostate, breast, colorectal, esophageal, lung, liver, and other cancers.

A study at the University of Minnesota reported that women who ate overcooked hamburgers had a 50% greater risk of breast cancer than women who ate rare or medium hamburgers. (5)

The famous Iowa Women’s Health Study found that women who consistently eat well-done steak, hamburgers, and bacon have a 4.62-fold increased risk of breast cancer than women who consumed these meats rare or medium done (3).

A Danish study showed that overweight women who ate foods cooked at high temperatures had much higher biological markers of insulin resistance compared with those who ate foods prepared by boiling or steaming (4).

Foods High in AGEs

Sugary items such as candy, cookies, cakes, soda, and pastries (dry heat processed)
Processed foods, including packaged meats and cheese, high-fat dairy, homogenized dairy
High-fat (especially red) meats
Cooking Fats, including butter, margarine, and oils (coconut oil is the only oil safe for use a high temps)
Fried foods

Foods Low in AGEs (when prepared properly)

Fruits and vegetables
Seafood and other meats–poaching, steaming, stewing, and boiling
Whole grains
Vegetarian “burgers”

How to Reduce AGEs, Suggested Guidelines: Changing the way foods are prepared and cooked.

NEVER USE A MICROWAVE OVEN, even for defrosting.
Cook your food at 180-187 degrees.
Use Saladmaster low temp minimum moisture method of cooking
This method of low temperature cooking will conserve more of the naturally occurring moisture of your food, plus, your food will not stick to the cookware.
Keep food moist while cooking (drying food out creates more AGEs)
Marinade food, especially meats, in vinegar or lemon (or other acidic marinade) for one hour before cooking limits AGE generating.
Reduce the intake of AGEs by limiting grilling, broiling, roasting, searing, and frying – all methods generate new AGE formation.
Consuming lower-heat meals prepared with moist heat (such as soups and stews).
Avoid deep fried foods, french fries, hamburgers, and potato chips. Limit most snack foods, they are dry-heat processed foods, such as crackers, chips, and cookies.
Limit high animal fat foods cooked at high temperatures.
Limit using butter for cooking at high temperatures.
A diet rich in plant foods could realistically consume half the daily intake of AGEs. Increase the consumption of properly prepared legumes, vegetables, and fruits. Especially cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli.
Eat raw vegetables, and fruits. When cooking these, keep the temperatures low at 180 degrees or (raw).
Buy organic meats, free of genetic modification, antibiotics, hormones, etc. But avoid preparing and cooking these healthy meats grilled, broiled, roasted, char-cooked or burnt. Protect Your Genes:

Supplementing with anti-glycation nutrients should be considered if diet changes aren’t made or eating over-cooked foods, processed, packaged, and fried foods are not avoided.

The following nutrients may help neutralize the damaging effects on the DNA caused by AGE (dosing is listed as a courtesy, and only an estimation from the research):

Carnosine (estimated dose: 1000mg)

2. Benfotiamine (estimated dose: 50 to 500mg)

3. Pyridoxal-5-phosphate (estimated dose: 100mg-200mg)

4. Chlorophyllin (estimated dose: 100mg)

5. Indole-3-carbinol (estimated dose: 80-240 mg)

In summary:

When taking the time to eat organic meats and eat clean, whole foods, make sure you aren’t sabotaging your efforts by cooking your foods at high temperatures.

Cook your foods at the lowest temperature possible. Eat lots of vegetables.

Sources:

Advanced Glycation End Products in Foods and a Practical Guide to Their Reduction in the Diet’J Am Diet Assoc. 2010 Jun; 110(6): 911–16.e12 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3704564/

Protection against loss of innate defenses in adulthood by low advanced glycation end products (AGE) intake: role of the antiinflammatory AGE receptor-1.J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2009 Nov;94(11):4483-91.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19820033

Faloon, William: Live Longer By Changing How You Cook!; Life Extension Magazine 2015 http://www.lifeextension.com/Magazine/2015/CE/CE_Live-Longer-By-Changing-How-You-Cook/Page-01?p=1

Zanteson, L. Advanced Glycation End Products.Today’s Dietician. 2014 Mar 16 (3): 10. https://authoritynutrition.com/advanced-glycation-end-products/

Zheng W, Gustafson DR, Sinha R, et al. Well-done meat intake and the risk of breast cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1998 Nov 18;90(22):1724-9.

6 ENEMIES OF NUTRITION & FLAVOR...and what cookware has to do with it. All of these rob your foods of essential nutrients, vitamins, minerals and flavor. Peeling

· Cooking in Water

· Excessive Heat (boiling, steam, microwave)

· Oxidation

· Fats and Oils

· Light

Saladmaster ™ is a waterless and oil free cooking system, utilizing an advanced semi-vacuum technology which maximizes nutrition and flavor, while saving time and energy.

Keep the nutrients in your cooked foods with the Patented Vapo Valve technology. 93%↑

“Medium-Click-Low, that’s all you need to know!”

The Saladmaster Solutions Cookware features the patented Vapo Valve, which takes the guesswork out of cooking. When the temperature inside reaches the desired temperature for preparing foods without harming the nutritional aspects, the Vapo Valve begins to click, alerting you to turn down the temperature. No need to open the lid or stir the food to prevent scorching or burning. The convenient Vapo Valve eliminates the need for stirring or constant “pot-watching.”

Semi-Vacuum and Heat Distribution Most people believe that the quality of a pan depends on its weight. It’s not the weight that determines the quality or performance of the pan, it’s how quickly the pan heats up, how well it holds the heat, and how well it distributes the heat. Most name brand products on the market today have layers of heat conducting alloys on the bottom of the pan only. This means you either have to constantly stir your food or use water to circulate the temperature. People often become frustrated with traditional pots and pans because food sticks and burns at the bottom where the heat source is. Saladmaster cookware is designed with a thermo-core that distributes the heat evenly across the bottom and up the sides, allowing your food to cook faster while at a lower temperature without the need of stirring. After the Vapo Valve clicks and the element is turned to low, the air inside the pan “shrinks,” creating a semi-vacuum on top of the stove. In most cases, this cuts cooking time in half and turns every pan into a mini oven on top of the stove, meaning even baking is possible!

Saladmaster cooking has these avantages:

The ease of cooking.

Shorter cooking times.

Increased flavor of the food.

Increased nutritional value of the food.

Vegetables retain their bright colors and a firm texture.

Lower amount of fat and cholesterol in meat dishes.

Why Semi Vacuum Cook in Saladmaster

Sous vide is the practice of cooking food at low temperatures in vacuum-packed plastic bags. (The term is essentially French for "vacuum-packed.") A method of cooking that is intended to maintain the integrity of ingredients by heating them for an extended period of time at relatively low temperatures. Food is cooked for a long time, sometimes well over 24 hours. Sous-vide cooking uses airtight plastic bags placed in hot water well below boiling point (usually around 60°C or 140°F). But cooking in a plastic bag has some health concerns, also It takes a long period of time.

Nutrition:

Semi-vacuum is a very healthful way to cook food. Food cooked the semi-vacuum way is a reduced oxygen environment with little added water and cooked at low temperatures.

The three elements- heat, oxygen and water, most responsible for reducing the nutritional content of conventionally prepared foods are of much lesser scale in semi-vacuum style cooking.

Cooking in a vacuum, oxidation is significantly reduced, preserving the qualities of essential polyunsaturated fatty acids. Moisture and flavors are also preserved in the same manner. Cooking semi-vacuum is all about using less of everything- fat, oil, salt, spices and water, this all translates into foods with more retained natural minerals and essential vitamins.

“As with all foods, freshness and minimal processing intervals greatly affect the nutritional profile. Food items prepared using semi-vacuum highlight fresh textures and lively flavors, making healthful food more interesting to consume. Because dishes are richer in taste, semi-vacuum cooking appeals to the palate, while still maintaining valuable nutritional properties of fresh, wholesome foods.”

Cooking at lower temperatures for a shorter time is the essence of semi-vacuum cooking and has many benefits:

• Foods retain their natural moisture better, shrink less and are more tender.

• Natural flavor, color and aroma are retained for better sensual values.

• Healthy minerals and vitamins are not destroyed during the semi-vacuum cooking process.

• Recipes can be easily repeated with consistent results. Reduce food costs - less food wastage, better yield due to less food shrinkage, better utilization of food ingredients including tougher cuts of meats

• Reduce costs – semi-vacuum cooking simply requires less energy to cook and make kitchen environment cleaner and cooler