How to cook: the principles of healthy eating

Temperature

To preserve vitamins and nutritional value, cooking at a low temperature – preferably no higher than 100 ° C, as well as steaming or boiling in water will help.

It is better to cook vegetables at a temperature below 60 ° C – otherwise vitamin C is destroyed. You can save a maximum of valuable substances if you peel the vegetables right before cooking, put them in boiling water, immediately reduce the heat and cook under the lid.

High-temperature cooking over a fire or on a grill is a recent habit, observes food consultant Laurent Chevalier: “In prehistoric times, people baked meat on stones near a fire, in the Middle Ages they cooked food near a fire, but never on the flame itself. In the countryside, until the middle of the 120th century, people continued to use a wood-burning stove, where the temperature does not exceed XNUMX ° C ”*.

Chemists confirm: temperatures above 120 ° C destroy nutrients and trigger reactions that form elements that can harm the body. Thus, cooking on an open fire causes the Maillard reaction: this French chemist discovered that heat changes the quality of an amino acid in the presence of sugar.

“It is this reaction that gives the characteristic color to the bread crust, chicken skin, chips,” says nutritionist Anna Belousova. “It also gives off an appetizing fried smell.”

But all this is accompanied by the production of acrylamide, a molecule recognized by the World Health Organization as potentially carcinogenic.

Good idea: Slow cooking at a low temperature preserves the flavor and health benefits of meat, poultry and fish. For example, it takes an hour and a half to bake 800 g of veal fillet at 70 °C. Marinades help to reduce time and at the same time avoid unwanted chemical reactions. Anna Belousova recommends using kiwi for this at the rate of one ripe fruit per kilogram of meat.

“The main thing is not to overdo it,” the nutritionist emphasizes. “There are so many enzymes in its juice that it can turn old beef into a tender pate.”

It is good to add wine when cooking: evaporating without residue, it improves the taste of meat. To get a golden crust and not harm your health, you can rub the meat with a mixture of curry and paprika – natural antibiotics and antiseptics.

Should be avoided: intensive and long-term processing of food in the oven, in a frying pan and grill. If you do fry, make sure that the food does not burn: the crust should remain golden, not blacken.

It’s also best to avoid chips, crispy cereal, store-bought biscuits, and heavily roasted coffee. These products contain many potentially hazardous substances that are formed during industrial cooking.

Preparation

If it is easy to set the oven to 100 ° C, then we cannot control the temperature of the pan or grill just as clearly. Hot coals, on which fat falls, light up and provoke the release of benzopyrene, a potentially carcinogenic substance.

To avoid this, Laurent Chevalier advises choosing vertical electric or gas grills. And Anna Belousova suggests cooking on “calm”, slightly reddish coals, when there is no smoke from them, and if possible, do not use purchased coal.

“It is impregnated with chemicals so that it flares up faster,” explains the nutritionist.

And what about the microwave oven? “Not a single serious study has yet proven its harm,” says Laurent Chevalier. “However, it is known for sure that under the influence of electromagnetic waves, more than a hundred nutrients, including many vitamins, minerals and bioflavonoids, change their chemical structure. But no one has yet studied how they affect the body. Therefore, they are called only potentially dangerous,” says Anna Belousova.

Experts agree that it is acceptable to use the microwave for reheating from time to time. But it is important not to put food in film or plastic containers (both materials are refined petroleum products) into it, otherwise the food will be in direct contact with hazardous substances – bisphenol A and phthalates.

“By the way, these chemicals are released not only when heated,” the nutritionist emphasizes and recommends minimizing the use of plastic: buy products in cardboard or glass containers or without packaging at all, and instead of plastic containers, use ceramic and enameled dishes or wax paper for storage. .

Good idea: give preference to traditional methods of cooking. Roasting in the oven is convenient, but the temperature in it should not exceed 120 ° C. It is good to have a special thermometer in the kitchen to monitor the cooking process.

Should be avoided: contact of products with open flame. It’s also best not to eat deep-fried cooked foods, especially in restaurants where the same oil is used multiple times. The content of carcinogens in such a dish rolls over.

Crockery

When exposed to heat, non-stick coatings, chipped aluminum cookware and plastics release substances that are harmful to health. Therefore, it is especially important to choose dishes from quality materials, even if they are not cheap.

The best option is stainless steel. The price is tangible, but such dishes practically do not deteriorate over time. It can cook vegetables, meat, rice, pasta and even pastries. Also good are cast iron, glass, ceramic-coated pans, refractory porcelain, enamel, and unglazed ceramics. The latter, however, requires careful care.

“This porous material absorbs everything, so it’s not worth cleaning it with modern detergents,” warns Anna Belousova. “Only baking soda and laundry soap are suitable for him.”

Good idea: instead of aluminum foil, use waxed paper for baking.

Should be avoided: first of all, plastics of all kinds, as well as non-stick coatings, such as Teflon. Its effect on the body is still poorly understood due to the “trade secret” of production. And of course, do not use pots and pans with chips and scratches.

Oil

The most useful oils contain a minimum of saturated and a maximum of unsaturated acids (omega-3 and omega-6). Such characteristics are possessed by rapeseed, soybean and linseed oils.

But they are only suitable for filling ready-made dishes, as they do not tolerate heating well. Among the most resistant to high temperatures are refined olive, sesame and sunflower oils (heating up to 230 ° C is allowed) and grape seed oil (up to 200 ° C).

Good idea: Butter is best stored thawed as it is more resistant to oxidation. To get the required amount of omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, it is optimal to use refined olive oil for frying, and unrefined olive and sunflower oils for dressing ready meals.

Should be avoided: the oil should not smoke. Substances that are released (benzene, benzopyrene, acrolein …) are harmful even in small doses. It is best not to fry with animal fats that darken at high temperatures, such as butter and lard. They begin to burn at 120 ° C, and therefore are only suitable for quick culinary manipulations, such as sautéing flour, roasting garlic.

* L. Chevalier “I lose weight healthy, I eat well” (Fayard, 2011).