After reading all the posts I have to admit, peoples diets is a sensitive subject, kinda like religion or politics.
For me, diet used to be a sensitive matter because I was addicted (unconciously) to sugar highs, especially things that combined sugar + caffeine like Coca Cola. If someone would've told me 2 years ago to stop drinking Coke, without telling me exactly Why, I would've laughed into their face and wave the subject off.
It took me getting seriously ill to get up and research on my own to what's causing my problems.
Now, as much as I know WHY to not cook foods (killing enzymes, denaturing proteins, killing friendly bacteria that mimic a virus, etc), I still have to cook or gently warm some in order to make it palatable to me.
I am what Dr. Peter D'Adamo would consider a 'Super-taster'. I can taste plant toxins immediately, sometimes even still after they've been cooked. The coffee and cacao bean has toxins that I can taste even after boiled to death. Kale and other green, leafy vegetables have toxins that I taste strongly if not at least boiled for 2 minutes. Egg whites if not cooked have an anti-nutrient in them that gives me a reaction in my throat. I had an anaphylactic shock once already, from egg whites...I just have to cook them, and leave the yolk, the most nutritious part raw. I cannot eat ANY nuts in their raw state, that's why I'm limited to chestnuts, which are boiled or roasted anyways, and all is good.
Chicken, Duck, Hens, etc, I heat the outside of the muscle, the area where the skin would be attached, but leave the inside near the bone raw. Reason is because I strip wild duck (from hunting season) ready for the freezer every year, and I found worms/parasites crawling along under the skin, within the slimey tissue of skin and muscle.
So, birds, regardless of what kind, get browned on the outside, regardless of how many enzymes I kill, or how many proteins I denature. I am looking right at the parasite, and I refuse to eat it, sorry.
Pork, for obvious reasons, I cook all the way. I grew up on pork and my grandmother and mother told me to always cook pork fully so I don't get a tapeworm. This wisdom has been passed on from generation to generation and I will follow it til the end of time. Weston Price always said there is much to learn from the 'old ways of eating'...and well this is the ONE thing I am listening to that my recent ancestors have taught me.
Fish, in order to be sold in stores in the US have to be frozen by law to kill parasites...so I was told by some meat guy in Fred Meyer. All fish therefor should be safe to be eaten raw, regardless of quality, so that is what I do. Oysters, I brown because being a 'Super-taster' I throw up from the high amount of salt. It seems to cling to the outside of the oyster, and since it's so delicate to wash under the sink, I throw the thing into a pan with warm butter and the salt taste disappears. Oyster will remain raw inside.
And since I can't do 0 carb, and don't want to always raise my blood sugar with (raw) fruit, I have nothing left but vegetables and those have to be steamed, cooked or boiled for me to consume them, squash is another one of my favorite in fall.
Because of the way I eat and semi-cook, it allows me to take in an extremely large variety of foods.
I like the cellulose broken down because I have severe digestive issues when the fibrous plant matter stays intact. Obstruction, constipation, hard stools, cramps and painful bowel movements.
Many would say, oh just juice them. I can't do that either because of my super taste buds...the salt I have to use to over write the toxic taste is just too great.
I am open for suggestions. I have my reasons for everything I do with foods, but if I'm missing something, or someone could give me more tips or info on anything, I much appreaciate it! :-)