Why Eat Raw Meat?

[Muhammad.Sunshine]

The purpose of this post is to gain information on the benefits of raw vs. cooked proteins and amino acids.

Please offer your input regarding the following questions:
1.   Are amino acids digested and utilized better when raw?
2.   Which amino acids are affected by normal cooking?
3.   How significant is the degradation of cooked amino acids?

Your answers are appreciated.

[RawZi]

    I think it loses about 75% of protein and B vitamins.

    Why do I eat raw meat?  Partially due to that I am unable to digest cooked meat, any cooking makes it too fibrous for my type of system to break it down.

[Muhammad.Sunshine]

It is a serious situation if cooking reduces the effectiveness of proteins by 75%.

It would be nice to know which amino acids are affected and by how much. Are there any scientific studies on cooking and amino acid degradation?

If anyone in the raw food community knows about the benefits of raw protein, especially for exercise performance, please share.

[goodsamaritan]

I wont bet the lives of the very sick on cooked meat.

[RawZi]

    Pottenger's cats went sterile in three generations on cooked.

    A couple of generations ago people Didn't buy precooked foods from supermarkets. Their meat was really raw, so when then might cook it, it could be truly rare in the center.

[Isthmus]

A study I heard of put the digestibility/availability of cooked animal protein reduced by a couple of percent at the outside [compared to raw].

[Muhammad.Sunshine]

Kumusta ho Goodsamaritan ,

Many raw foodists claim that amino acids are damaged in their quality or quantity by cooking, but such statements are not referenced empirically. Is the superiority of raw amino acids based on facts or just wishful thinking?

[TylerDurden]

Here's some info:-

"# Cooking - Amino acids are more or less sensitive to heat. For example, arginine is extremely stable and will decompose only if exposed to sustained temperatures about 470 degrees F. Carnitine decomposes at temperatures of 284 F. Cooking, in addition to killing micro-organisms, makes the long spiral polypeptide chains unwind, causing the amino acid to become more exposed when it reaches the digestive system. " taken from:-

http://www.getbig.com/articles/protein.htm

"Overcooking foods containing protein can destroy heat sensitive amino acids (for example, lysine) or make the protein resistant to digestive enzymes." taken from:-

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=92

"Seidler [1987] studied the effects of heating on the digestibility of the protein in hake, a type of fish. Fish meat heated for 10 minutes at 130°C (266°F), showed a 1.5% decrease in protein digestibility. Similar heating of hake meat in the presence of potato starch, soy oil, and salt caused a 6% decrease in amino acid content."  quoted by beyondveg.com he silly anti-raw site, thus shooting itself in the foot but at least being honest.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3748129

[Muhammad.Sunshine]

Tyler, thank you for the links.

The Pottenger's Cats experiment is what inspired this inquest. The essential amino acid taurine was destroyed by cooking; without taurine the cats degenerated and became extinct. Can cooking destroy the amino acids that are essential to humans, can it lead to our degeneration. Although we can survive on cooked foods, it is better if we are getting the maximum quality and quantity of nutrients from our foods.

The amino acids listed below have miraculous health promoting and bodybuilding properties, they are also heat sensitive, therefore best obtained raw.

•   L-Lysine (essential amino acid)
•   Methionine (essential amino acid)
•   Arginine (semi-essential amino acid)
•   Glutamine (semi-essential amino acid)
•   Taurine
•   Tryptophan

Exact information on the amino acid degradation caused by cooking will be a great benefit in favor of the raw food argument.  The amino acids listed above came from online sources that claimed the amino acids were degraded by cooking, however no evidence was cited. It would be great if a study can be conducted on cooked amino acids and concisely list what degradation occurs to each one.