Does cooking vegetables break down their complex sugars and make them less "keto"?


(Alex K Chen) #1

Eg releases more of their sugars into the bloodstream


(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #2

That’s a very good question. I may be wrong, but I don’t believe cooking damages fibre all that much, though chopping and mashing certainly can. I look forward to other people’s answers.

Did you have any particular food or any particular cooking technique in mind?


(Alex K Chen) #3

Pressure cooking and boiling


(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #4

Again, it’s just a guess, but I would say that pressure-cooking might destroy fibre to the point where it’s not protective, but boiling probably would not.


(Bob M) #5

What I’ve found is that cooking vegetables makes them easier to eat for me. Whereas uncooked vegetables wreak havoc on me, cooked ones are much better.

For instance, I have no problems with cooked sauerkraut, but do have issues with raw. Raw bell peppers are problematic, but well cooked ones are not.

I have no idea what’s happening, other than I now rarely eat uncooked vegetables. Sometimes, I’ll have a salad, but not often.


(Joey) #6

Based on my past reading (and imperfect recollections)…

  • Mechanically breaking down the fibers will make the sugars more readily available, raising their glycemic index (e.g., pure apples vs pure apple juice) even for the same carb/caloric content, per a lab analysis (caloric content of burning in a bomb device).

  • Fermenting vegetables allows the lactobacillus (anaerobic bacteria = good) to break down (consume) the sugar, thereby lowering the actual carb content (fewer carb calories remain).

So there’s a significant difference between smashing veggies and fermenting them. I guess the question re: cooking might fall somewhere between the two effects?


(Bob M) #7

And I wonder if fermenting does more than that? This year, I fermented hot peppers, which where the only thing we were able to grow (it was hot and dry in the summer; everything else died). With many hot peppers, I get allergic reactions to them. With these, I did not.


(KM) #8

There’s a quiz in the NY Times about which vegs to cook or eat raw (sorry, it’s behind a pay wall.). It’s not about fiber / sugar so much as accessible nutrition, but that’s also worth considering; it’s a waste to eat food if you can’t access the micronutrients.