The nutritional value of food is closely related to its cooking methods. Nutrition experts point out that when rice, flour, and corn are steamed, over 91% of their nutritional value can be preserved. In contrast, fried foods are not only difficult to digest and absorb, but they also result in a loss of nearly half of their Vitamin C, Vitamin A, B vitamins (which function to activate protease in the digestive tract), and niacin. Among these, Vitamin B1 is almost completely depleted. A deficiency in Vitamin B1 often leads to symptoms such as loss of appetite and indigestion. Furthermore, the loss rate of iodine in foods processed at high temperatures can be as high as 40%-50%, and it can also produce harmful carcinogenic substances such as benzopyrene.
As a long-time sufferer of gastritis, I often feel discomfort after eating scrambled, fried, or deep-fried eggs, but I do not have this reaction when I eat boiled eggs. After looking into it, I learned that the nutritional absorption rate for boiled eggs is 100%, for scrambled eggs 97%, for fried eggs 92.5%, and for deep-fried eggs 81%. From the perspective of preserving the nutritional value of eggs, steaming and boiling are the best cooking methods. The ideal time for boiling an egg is 5-7 minutes after the water comes to a boil. I once mixed a raw egg into milk and experienced a dull abdominal pain afterward. It was only after a diagnosis from an internist that I learned this is because the ferrous ions in the yolk combine with the sulfide ions in the milk protein to form insoluble ferrous sulfide, which is very difficult for the human body to digest and absorb.
Scientific research confirms that the higher the cooking temperature for food, the more carcinogenic substances are produced, and the more difficult it is for the human body to digest, absorb, and metabolize it. Low-temperature cooking methods, such as steaming, boiling, and stewing, are most beneficial to human health. This is because the cooking temperatures for these methods are often below 120°C and do not produce substances harmful to the human body. The elderly, infants, and those with weaker swallowing and digestive/absorption capabilities should especially adopt these cooking methods.