Whether cooking food in pressure is good or not is an eternal debate. Yes, pressure cooker cooking does kill a lot of essential nutrients in the process and is known to increase exposure to toxins. However, there are studies proving that pressure cooking does preserve nutrients by reducing the cooking time and the pros are far more than any proven harmful effects. Let’s compare both the beliefs and it’s on you take the call.
Pressure cooking is harmful for health
- If you are cooking especially in Teflon coated cookware, it is known to produce harmful fumes after its heated.
- The ones made of stainless steel are known to cook acidic foods which is dangerous.
- There’s no conclusive research that proves that pressure cooker does not raise the glutamine in cooked food, dramatically. Glutamine can be harmful when it passes the blood brain wall and gets metabolized to glutamate.
Pros of pressure cooking
- According to a study in 1995 in a journal Plant Foods for Human Nutrition, pressure cooking preserves the vitamin C and carotene in spinach and amaranth.
- A recent study in 2007 in the Journal of Food and Science proved that cooked broccoli retains 90% of Vitamin C.
- Studies prove that it reduces the level of anti-nutrient phytic acid which is known to blocks absorption of minerals in the digestive tract.