Cooking food
 

Ive always been led to believe that cooking food, and im mainly talking about meats and eggs, will diminish its protein value. So if your like me and want your beef to be well done, then your losing most of its protein.

However, i have read today that this is a myth. Cooking may break protein into smaller fragments, cause protein molecules to unfold and form new bonds to other protein molecules and make proteins clump together, but it deosnt kill them.

Anyone have any thoughts on this???

I should have mentioned the process of proteins breaking into smaller fragments ect is called coagulation.

I thought coagulation would be when the proteins bonded together... Just going off of when your blood "coagulates" you get a scab. Anyways, I don't really have much to add on this but I'm interested.

I just did a little more research. We are kinda both right. What happens is the protein bonds break and then it is small pieces. Then they rejoin in random patterns to form sheets. This is the coagulation. I don't know if this has more or less value to your body though.

IW

From what ive read it has the same value. However Ross, Talo and Eric know much more than me and although one book my confirm this i bet theres others that dont. Ive also found an article on olive oil which ill post, very intresting.

I've never heard and I couldn't find any definition of coagulation involving the break down of proteins. It's basically when stuff leaves a dispersed form and clumps together into solid masses..

The easiest example is casein protein in milk. It cogulates in the gut and that's probably the reason for it being a "slow" protein.

Anyway...cooking proteins denatures them which means changing them from their natural state. It doesn't really affect you body's utilization of them since you body breaks down proteins into amino acids and then uses those aminos to form it's own proteins.

You know it's funny how people don't want to get their heads around this. The purpose of PROTEIN is not PROTEIN. It is the AMINOS that make up the protein. You body doesn't absorb whole proteins.

Yes, there has been talk of certain "food enzymes", which are just proteins being useful to the body in their natural state..but it's just talk. Most enzymes/proteins will be broken down just like any other protein.

There ARE certain proteins which are more allergenic than others.

In a nutshell, as long as you get enough protein in your diet cook it how you want. I would avoid burning stuff to a crisp since that is supposed to be bad for you becasue of the "mallard" effect or something. But the simple fact is..cooking make proteins MORE availible to the body. We are not anywhere near as good at digesting uncooked or undercooked animal proteins as we are cooked ones.

When it comes to micronutrients then it's another topic.

I think that sums it up nicely Eric, now i need to sort those micronutrients out, boy does this get deep.

Honestly I'm trying to make it less deep :D. I mean if you really read into what I said..it's simpler than worrying about the protein being no good because you look at it cross-eyed or something.

When i said it was deep, i ment it in an enthusiastic way, you made the process clear and understandable. My understanding of the macronutrients is clear for now, However im now getting into the workings of micronutrients.

Oh, no I didn't take it that way, Matt. Not at all.